Low-Dose Sparse-View HAADF-STEM-EDX Tomography of Nanocrystals Using Unsupervised Deep Learning.

High-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) can be acquired together with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy to give complementary information on the nanoparticles being imaged. Recent deep learning approaches show potential for accurate 3D tomographic reconstruction for these applications, but a large number of high-quality electron micrographs are usually required for supervised training, which may be difficult to collect due to the damage on the particles from the electron beam. To overcome these limitations and enable tomographic reconstruction even in low-dose sparse-view conditions, here we present an unsupervised deep learning method for HAADF-STEM-EDX tomography. Specifically, to improve the EDX image quality from low-dose condition, a HAADF-constrained unsupervised denoising approach is proposed. Additionally, to enable extreme sparse-view tomographic reconstruction, an unsupervised view enrichment scheme is proposed in the projection domain. Extensive experiments with different types of quantum dots show that the proposed method offers a high-quality reconstruction even with only three projection views recorded under low-dose conditions.

DeepPhaseCut: Deep Relaxation in Phase for Unsupervised Fourier Phase Retrieval.

Fourier phase retrieval is a classical problem of restoring a signal only from the measured magnitude of its Fourier transform. Although Fienup-type algorithms, which use prior knowledge in both spatial and Fourier domains, have been widely used in practice, they can often stall in local minima. Convex relaxation methods such as PhaseLift and PhaseCut may offer performance guarantees, but these algorithms are usually computationally expensive for practical use. To address this problem, here we propose a novel unsupervised feed-forward neural network for Fourier phase retrieval which generates high quality reconstruction immediately. Unlike the existing deep learning approaches that use a neural network as a regularization term or an end-to-end blackbox model for supervised training, our algorithm is a feed-forward neural network implementation of physics-driven constraints in an unsupervised learning framework. Specifically, our network is composed of two generators: one for the phase estimation using PhaseCut loss, followed by another generator for image reconstruction, all of which are trained simultaneously without matched data. The link to the classical Fienup-type algorithms and the recent symmetry-breaking learning approach is also revealed. Extensive experiments demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms all existing approaches in Fourier phase retrieval problems.

Two-stage deep learning for accelerated 3D time-of-flight MRA without matched training data.

Time-of-flight magnetic resonance angiography (TOF-MRA) is one of the most widely used non-contrast MR imaging methods to visualize blood vessels, but due to the 3-D volume acquisition highly accelerated acquisition is necessary. Accordingly, high quality reconstruction from undersampled TOF-MRA is an important research topic for deep learning. However, most existing deep learning works require matched reference data for supervised training, which are often difficult to obtain. By extending the recent theoretical understanding of cycleGAN from the optimal transport theory, here we propose a novel two-stage unsupervised deep learning approach, which is composed of the multi-coil reconstruction network along the coronal plane followed by a multi-planar refinement network along the axial plane. Specifically, the first network is trained in the square-root of sum of squares (SSoS) domain to achieve high quality parallel image reconstruction, whereas the second refinement network is designed to efficiently learn the characteristics of highly-activated blood flow using double-headed projection discriminator. Extensive experiments demonstrate that the proposed learning process without matched reference exceeds performance of state-of-the-art compressed sensing (CS)-based method and provides comparable or even better results than supervised learning approaches.

Investigation of the Factors Responsible for the Poor Oral Bioavailability of Acacetin in Rats: Physicochemical and Biopharmaceutical Aspects.

Acacetin, an important ingredient of acacia honey and a component of several medicinal plants, exhibits therapeutic effects such as antioxidative, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and anti-plasmodial activities. However, to date, studies reporting a systematic investigation of the in vivo fate of orally administered acacetin are limited. Moreover, the in vitro physicochemical and biopharmaceutical properties of acacetin in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and their pharmacokinetic impacts remain unclear. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to systematically investigate the oral absorption and disposition of acacetin using relevant rat models. Acacetin exhibited poor solubility (≤119 ng/mL) and relatively low stability (27.5-62.0% remaining after 24 h) in pH 7 phosphate buffer and simulated GI fluids. A major portion (97.1%) of the initially injected acacetin dose remained unabsorbed in the jejunal segments, and the oral bioavailability of acacetin was very low at 2.34%. The systemic metabolism of acacetin occurred ubiquitously in various tissues (particularly in the liver, where it occurred most extensively), resulting in very high total plasma clearance of 199 ± 36 mL/min/kg. Collectively, the poor oral bioavailability of acacetin could be attributed mainly to its poor solubility and low GI luminal stability.

Unpaired Training of Deep Learning tMRA for Flexible Spatio-Temporal Resolution.

Time-resolved MR angiography (tMRA) has been widely used for dynamic contrast enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) due to its highly accelerated acquisition. In tMRA, the periphery of the k -space data are sparsely sampled so that neighbouring frames can be merged to construct one temporal frame. However, this view-sharing scheme fundamentally limits the temporal resolution, and it is not possible to change the view-sharing number to achieve different spatio-temporal resolution trade-offs. Although many deep learning approaches have been recently proposed for MR reconstruction from sparse samples, the existing approaches usually require matched fully sampled k -space reference data for supervised training, which is not suitable for tMRA due to the lack of high spatio-temporal resolution ground-truth images. To address this problem, here we propose a novel unpaired training scheme for deep learning using optimal transport driven cycle-consistent generative adversarial network (cycleGAN). In contrast to the conventional cycleGAN with two pairs of generator and discriminator, the new architecture requires just a single pair of generator and discriminator, which makes the training much simpler but still improves the performance. Reconstruction results using in vivo tMRA and simulation data set confirm that the proposed method can immediately generate high quality reconstruction results at various choices of view-sharing numbers, allowing us to exploit better trade-off between spatial and temporal resolution in time-resolved MR angiography.

An orally available inverse agonist of estrogen-related receptor gamma showed expanded efficacy for the radioiodine therapy of poorly differentiated thyroid cancer.

Estrogen-related receptor gamma (ERRγ) is the NR3B subgroup of associated transcription factors. In this report, a new generation of a potent and selective ERRγ inverse agonist (25) with good biocompatibility was proposed. We also explored the potential of the newly developed compound 25 in the PDTC model to expand the original indications from ATC. In addition, an X-ray crystallographic study of the ligand and ERRγ co-complex showed that 25 completely binds to the target protein (PDB 6KNR). Its medicinal chemistry, including a distinctive structural study to in vivo results, denotes that 25 may be directed towards the development of a pivotal treatment for ERRγ-related cancers.

Ionization of Gas-Phase Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Electrospray Ionization Coupled with Gas Chromatography.

Herein, gas-phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as nonpolar compounds were ionized to protonated molecular ions [M + H]+ without radical cations and simultaneously analyzed using gas chromatography (GC)/electrospray ionization (ESI)-tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). The ionization profile, dissociation, and sensitivity were first investigated to understand the significant behavior of gas-phase PAHs under ESI. The formation of protonated molecular ions of PAHs was distinguished according to the analyte phase and ESI spray solvents. The protonated PAHs exhibited characteristic dissociations, such as H-loss, H2-loss, and acetylene-loss, via competition of internal energy. In addition, GC/ESI-MS/MS resulted in relatively lower concentration levels (better sensitivity) for the limits-of-detection (LODs) of PAHs than liquid chromatography (LC)/ESI-MS/MS, and it seems to result from the characteristic ionization mechanism of the gas-phase analyte under ESI. Furthermore, the LODs of gas-phase PAHs depended on molecular weight and proton affinity (PA). Consequently, we demonstrated the relationship among the analyte phases, sensitivities, and structural characteristics (molecular weight and PA) under ESI. The gas-phase PAHs provided enhanced protonation efficiency and sensitivity using GC/ESI-MS/MS, as their molecular weight and PA increased. Based on these results, we offered important information regarding the behavior of gas-phase analytes under ESI. Therefore, the present GC/ESI-MS/MS method has potential as an alternative method for simultaneous analysis of PAHs.

Online Simultaneous Hydrogen/Deuterium Exchange of Multitarget Gas-Phase Molecules by Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry Coupled with Gas Chromatography.

In this study, a hydrogen/deuterium (H/D) exchange method using gas chromatography-electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry (GC-ESI/MS) was first investigated as a novel tool for online H/D exchange of multitarget analytes. The GC and ESI source were combined with a homemade heated column transfer line. GC-ESI/MS-based H/D exchange occurs in an atmospheric pressure ion source as a result of reacting the gas-phase analyte eluted from GC with charged droplets of deuterium oxide infused as the ESI spray solvent. The consumption of the deuterated solvent at a flow rate of 2 µL min-1 was more economical than that in online H/D exchange methods reported to date. In-ESI-source H/D exchange by GC-ESI/MS was applied to 11 stimulants with secondary amino or hydroxyl groups. After H/D exchange, the spectra of the stimulants showed unexchanged, partially exchanged, and fully exchanged ions showing various degrees of exchange. The relative abundances corrected for naturally occurring isotopes of the fully exchanged ions of stimulants, except for etamivan, were in the range 24.3-85.5%. Methylephedrine and cyclazodone showed low H/D exchange efficiency under acidic, neutral, and basic spray solvent conditions and nonexchange for etamivan with an acidic phenolic OH group. The in-ESI-source H/D exchange efficiency by GC-ESI/MS was sufficient to determine the number of hydrogen by elucidation of fragmentation from the spectrum. Therefore, this online H/D exchange technique using GC-ESI/MS has potential as an alternative method for simultaneous H/D exchange of multitarget analytes.

Coupling of gas chromatography and electrospray ionization high resolution mass spectrometry for the analysis of anabolic steroids as trimethylsilyl derivatives in human urine.

In this study, gas chromatography (GC) was interfaced with high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) with electrospray ionization source (ESI) and the relevant parameters were investigated to enhance the ionization efficiency. In GC-ESI, the distances (x-, y- and z) and angle between the ESI needle, GC capillary column and MS orifice were set to 7 (x-distance), 4 (y-distance), and 1 mm (z-distance). The ESI spray solvent, acid modifier and nebulizer gas flow were methanol, 0.1% formic acid and 5 arbitrary units, respectively. Based on these results, analytical conditions for GC-ESI/HRMS were established. In particular, the results of spray solvent flow indicated a concentration-dependent mechanism (peak dilution effect), and other parameters also greatly influenced the ionization performance. The developed GC-ESI/HRMS was then applied to the analysis of anabolic steroids as trimethylsilyl (TMS) derivatives in human urine to demonstrate its application. The ionization profiles of TMS-derivatized steroids were investigated and compared with those of underivatized steroids obtained from gas chromatography-electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry (GC-ESI/MS) and liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry (LC-ESI/MS). The steroids exhibited ionization profiles based on their structural characteristics, regardless of the analyte phase or derivatization. Groups I and II with conjugated or unconjugated keto functional groups at C3 generated the [M+H]+ and [M+H-TMS]+ ions, respectively. On the other hand, Groups III and IV gave rise to the characteristic fragment ions [M+H-TMS-H2O]+ and [M+H-2TMS-H2O]+, corresponding to loss of a neutral TMS·H2O moiety from the protonated molecular ion by in-source dissociation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to successfully ionize and analyze steroids as TMS derivatives using ESI coupled with GC. The present system has enabled the ionization of TMS derivatives under ESI conditions and this method has potential as a novel ionization tool. It is also useful for the simultaneous analysis of steroids as TMS derivatives.

25-Hydroxycholesterol is involved in the pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

This study aimed to evaluate the levels of three major hydroxycholesterols (24-, 25-, and 27-hydroxycholesterols) in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), as well as to show their role in the pathogenesis of ALS experimental models. The level of 25-hydroxycholesterol were higher in untreated ALS patients (n = 30) than in controls without ALS (n = 33) and ALS patients treated with riluzole (n = 9) both in their serum and CSF. The level of 25-hydroxycholesterol in the serum of ALS patients were significantly associated with their disease severity and rate of progression. In the motor neuron-like cell line (NSC34) with the human mutant G93A superoxide dismutase 1 gene (mSOD1-G93A), 25-hydroxycholesterol induced motor neuronal death/ apoptosis via glycogen synthase kinase-3ß and liver X receptor pathways; riluzole treatment attenuated these effects. The expressions of enzymes that synthesize 25-hydroxycholesterol were significantly increased in the brains of early symptomatic mSOD1G93A mice. Our data, obtained from patients with ALS, a cellular model of ALS, and an animal model of ALS, suggests that 25-hydroxycholesterol could be actively involved in the pathogenesis of ALS, mostly in the early symptomatic disease stage, by mediating neuronal apoptosis.

Hydroxycholesterol Levels in the Serum and Cerebrospinal Fluid of Patients with Neuromyelitis Optica Revealed by LC-Ag+CIS/MS/MS and LC-ESI/MS/MS with Picolinic Derivatization: Increased Levels and Association with Disability during Acute Attack.

Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is an inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS). Hydroxycholesterols (OHCs), metabolites of CNS cholesterol, are involved in diverse cellular responses to inflammation and demyelination, and may also be involved in the pathogenesis of NMO. We aimed to develop a sensitive and reliable method for the quantitative analysis of three major OHCs (24S-, 25-, and 27-OHCs), and to evaluate their concentration in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum of patients with NMO. The levels of the three OHCs in the serum and CSF were measured using liquid chromatography-silver ion coordination ionspray tandem mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry with picolinyl ester derivatization, respectively. The linear range was 5-250 ng/mL for 24S- and 27-OHC, and 0.5-25 ng/mL for 25-OHC in serum, and was 0.1-5 ng/mL for 24S- and 27-OHC, and 0.03-1 ng/mL for 25-OHC in CSF. Precision and accuracy were 0.5%-14.7% and 92.5%-109.7%, respectively, in serum, and were 0.8%-7.7% and 94.5%-119.2%, respectively, in CSF. Extraction recovery was 82.7%-90.7% in serum and 68.4%-105.0% in CSF. When analyzed in 26 NMO patients and 23 control patients, the 25-OHC (0.54 ± 0.96 ng/mL vs. 0.09 ± 0.04 ng/mL, p = 0.032) and 27-OHC (2.68 ± 3.18 ng/mL vs. 0.68 ± 0.25 ng/mL, p = 0.005) were increased in the CSF from NMO patients. When we measured the OHCCSF index that controls the effects of blood-brain barrier disruption on the level of OHC in the CSF, the 27-OHCCSF index was associated with disability (0.723; 95% confidence interval (CI)- 0.181, 0.620; p = 0.002), while the 24-OHCCSF index (0.518; 95% CI- 1.070, 38.121; p = 0.040) and 25-OHCCSF index (0.677; 95% CI- 4.313, 18.532; p = 0.004) were associated with the number of white blood cells in the CSF of NMO patients. Our results imply that OHCs in the CNS could play a role in the pathogenesis of NMO.

Analysis of Insecticide-Treated Net Use by Pregnant Women: Implications for Donor Organizations.

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the use of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) for the prevention of malaria and reduction of mortality and morbidity from mosquito-borne diseases. Although many countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, have adopted this recommendation and distributed bed nets to their inhabitants, the percentage of the population using ITNs remains low. METHODS: This study was conducted with 400 mothers with at least one child under 5 years of age in health zones in the Bandundu province. Face-to-face interviews were conducted using structured pre-coded questionnaires. Chi-square tests and logistic regressions were calculated using the SPSS Version 21.0 software. RESULTS: Among the studied variables, education status (p = 0.013), marital status (p = 0.004), ANC utilization (p = 0.13), suffering from malaria during pregnancy (p = 0.019), and knowledge of the seriousness of malaria (p = 0.013) were significant determinants of the use of ITNs in logistic regression analyses. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that the regular use of ITNs by women during pregnancy is associated with marital status, attending ANC services, and awareness of the serious nature of malaria. Therefore, education about the risk factors among populations is needed.

Direct and rapid quantitation of ephedrines in human urine by paper spray ionization/high resolution mass spectrometry.

A rapid and direct paper spray ionization/mass spectrometry (PSI/MS) method was developed for quantitative analysis of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, and methylephedrine in human urine. This method involves the use of a triangular filter paper and high-resolution mass spectrometry, where the molecular ions of ephedrines were generated by applying high voltage after loading the spray solvent to the paper which urine sample was pre-loaded. Small amounts (2µL) of urine spiked with an internal standard were directly analyzed for ephedrines. The PSI/MS method was validated for linearity, within- and between-run precision, accuracy, and limit of detection. The results showed good linearity (R(2)≥0.9928) and acceptable precision and accuracy. Furthermore, the accuracy of the method was assessed by analyzing a blind urine sample from World Anti-Doping Agency and comparing the measured concentrations with the nominal concentrations. This test resulted in accuracies ranging from 96.4 to 106.1%, indicating that the PSI/MS method has the potential to be an alternative technique for the fast quantitation of ephedrines in doping control analysis.

Relationship between chromatographic resolution and amide structure of chiral 2-hydroxy acids as O-(-)-menthoxycarbonylated diastereomeric derivatives for enantiomeric separation on achiral gas chromatography.

The relationship between chromatographic resolution and amide structure of chiral 2-hydroxy acids as O-(-)-menthoxycarbonylated diastereomeric derivatives on achiral gas chromatography was investigated to elucidate the best diastereomeric conformation for enantiomeric separation of chiral 2-hydroxy acids. Thirteen chiral 2-hydroxy acids were converted into nine different diastereomeric O-(-)-menthoxycarbonylated amide derivatives using the primary, secondary and cyclic amines to achieve complete enantiomeric separation through an achiral column. Each enantiomeric pair of 2-hydroxy acids as O-(-)-menthoxycarbonylated tert-butylamide derivatives was resolved on both the DB-5 and DB-17 columns with resolution factors ranging from 1.7 to 4.8 and 1.7 to 3.4, respectively. The results revealed that the structure of the amide moiety is shown to significantly affect chromatographic resolution. In addition, O-(-)-menthoxycarbonylated tert-butylamide derivatives were shown to be the best diastereomeric conformations for enantiomeric separation of 2-hydroxy acids. When comparing with our previous O-trifluoroacetylated(-)-menthyl ester derivatization method, the present results suggested that size differences between groups attached to the chiral center and conformational rigidity can have stronger effects on resolution than the distance between chiral centers. The elution of R- and S-stereoisomers was affected by the class of amine; i.e., primary, secondary, or cyclic, regardless of the substituents on the amine group, the structure of the 2-hydroxy acid, and the polarity of the column.

Relationships between structure, ionization profile and sensitivity of exogenous anabolic steroids under electrospray ionization and analysis in human urine using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

The relationships between the ionization profile, sensitivity, and structures of 64 exogenous anabolic steroids (groups I-IV) was investigated under electrospray ionization (ESI) conditions. The target analytes were ionized as [M + H](+) or [M + H-nH2 O](+) in the positive mode, and these ions were used as precursor ions for selected reaction monitoring analysis. The collision energy and Q3 ions were optimized based on the sensitivity and selectivity. The limits of detection (LODs) were 0.05-20 ng/mL for the 64 steroids. The LODs for 38 compounds, 14 compounds and 12 compounds were in the range of 0.05-1, 2-5 and 10-20 ng/mL, respectively. Steroids including the conjugated keto-functional group at C3 showed good proton affinity and stability, and generated the [M + H](+) ion as the most abundant precursor ion. In addition, the LODs of steroids using the [M + H](+) ion as the precursor ion were mostly distributed at low concentrations. In contrast, steroids containing conjugated/unconjugated hydroxyl functional groups at C3 generated [M + H - H2 O](+) or [M + H - 2H2 O](+) ions, and these steroids showed relatively high LODs owing to poor stability and multiple ion formation. An LC-MS/MS method based on the present ionization profile was developed and validated for the determination of 78 steroids (groups I-V) in human urine.

Sensitivity of GC-EI/MS, GC-EI/MS/MS, LC-ESI/MS/MS, LC-Ag(+) CIS/MS/MS, and GC-ESI/MS/MS for analysis of anabolic steroids in doping control.

This study compared the sensitivity of various separation and ionization methods, including gas chromatography with an electron ionization source (GC-EI), liquid chromatography with an electrospray ionization source (LC-ESI), and liquid chromatography with a silver ion coordination ion spray source (LC-Ag(+) CIS), coupled to a mass spectrometer (MS) for steroid analysis. Chromatographic conditions, mass spectrometric transitions, and ion source parameters were optimized. The majority of steroids in GC-EI/MS/MS and LC-Ag(+) CIS/MS/MS analysis showed higher sensitivities than those obtained with other analytical methods. The limits of detection (LODs) of 65 steroids by GC-EI/MS/MS, 68 steroids by LC-Ag(+) CIS/MS/MS, 56 steroids by GC-EI/MS, 54 steroids by LC-ESI/MS/MS, and 27 steroids by GC-ESI/MS/MS were below cut-off value of 2.0 ng/mL. LODs of steroids that formed protonated ions in LC-ESI/MS/MS analysis were all lower than the cut-off value. Several steroids such as unconjugated C3-hydroxyl with C17-hydroxyl structure showed higher sensitivities in GC-EI/MS/MS analysis relative to those obtained using the LC-based methods. The steroids containing 4, 9, 11-triene structures showed relatively poor sensitivities in GC-EI/MS and GC-ESI/MS/MS analysis. The results of this study provide information that may be useful for selecting suitable analytical methods for confirmatory analysis of steroids.

Simultaneous analysis of 210 prohibited substances in human urine by ultrafast liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry in doping control.

RATIONALE: Doping analysis is a two-step process consisting of a screening step for prohibited substances and a confirmation step to verify the presence of specific substances found during the screening. The entire process must be performed within a limited time period, but traditional screening procedures commonly employ separate analytical methods for each class of prohibited substances being screened and thus require a great deal of human resources and instrumentation. A single simple and rapid multiresidue analytical method that could accommodate multiple classes of prohibited substances would be extraordinarily useful in doping analyses. METHODS: Urine samples were extracted via two consecutive liquid-liquid extractions at different pH values following enzymatic hydrolysis. Analyses were performed by ultrafast liquid chromatography/triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry with polarity switching and time-dependent selected reaction monitoring. RESULTS: We developed a rapid multiresidue screening and confirmation method for efficient high-throughput doping analyses. The present method was validated with regard to the limits of detection (0.01-100.0 ng/mL for screening analyses and 0.2-500.0 ng/mL for confirmation assays), matrix effects (48.9-118.9%), recovery (20.6-119.7%) and intra- (0.6-17.6%) and inter-day (4.0-20.0%) precision. CONCLUSIONS: A multiresidue analytical method was developed and validated for screening and confirming the presence of performance-enhancing drugs. A total of 210 substances from diverse classes of prohibited substances were successfully identified with an analytical run time of 10 min.

Simultaneous ionization and analysis of 84 anabolic androgenic steroids in human urine using liquid chromatography-silver ion coordination ionspray/triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry.

Metal ion coordination ionspray (M(+) CIS) ionization is a powerful technique to enhance ionization efficiency and sensitivity. In this study, we developed and validated an analytical method for simultaneous ionization and analysis of 84 anabolic androgenic steroids (65 exogenous and 19 endogenous) using liquid chromatography-silver ion coordination ionspray/triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC-Ag(+) CIS/MS/MS). The concentrations of silver ions and organic solvents have been optimized to increase the amount of silver ion coordinated complexes. A combination of 25 µM of silver ions and methanol showed the best sensitivity. The validation results showed the intra- (0.8-9.2%) and inter-day (2.5-14.9%) precisions, limits of detection (0.0005-5.0 ng/mL), and matrix effect (71.8-100.3%) for the screening analysis. No significant ion suppression was observed. In addition, this method was successfully applied to analysis of positive samples from suspected abusers and useful for the detection of the trace levels of anabolic steroids in human urine samples.

Use of headspace mulberry paper bag micro solid phase extraction for characterization of volatile aromas of essential oils from Bulgarian rose and Provence lavender.

In this study, a new sampling method called headspace mulberry paper bag micro solid phase extraction (HS-MPB-mu-SPE) combined to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry has been applied for the analysis of volatile aromas of liquid essential oils from Bulgarian rose and Provence lavender. The technique uses an adsorbent (Tenax TA) contained in a mulberry paper bag, minimal amount of organic solvent. Linearities for the six-points calibration curves were excellent. LOD values were in the rage from 0.38 ng mL(-1) to 0.77 ng mL(-1). Overall, precision and recovery were generally good. Phenethyl alcohol and citronellol were the main components in the essential oil from Bulgarian rose. Linalyl acetate and linalool were the most abundant components in the essential oils from true lavender or lavandin. Additionally, the relative extraction efficiencies of proposed method have been compared with HS-SPME. The overall extraction efficiency was evaluated by the relative concentration factors (CF) of the several characteristic components. CF values by HS-MPB-mu-SPE were lower than those by headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME). The HS-MPB-mu-SPE method is very simple to use, inexpensive, rapid, requires small sample amounts and solvent consumption. In addition, this method allowed combining of extraction, enrichment, and clean-up in a single step. HS-MPB-mu-SPE and GC/MS is a promising technique for the characterization of volatile aroma compounds from liquid essential oils.