Early thrombus detection in the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation circuit by noninvasive real-time ultrasonic sensors.

Thrombus formation in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) remains a major concern as it can lead to fatal outcomes. To the best of our knowledge, there is no standard non-invasive method for quantitatively measuring thrombi. This study's purpose was to verify thrombus detection in an ECMO circuit using novel, non-invasive ultrasonic sensors in real-time, utilizing the fact that the ultrasonic velocity in a thrombus is known to be higher than that in the blood. Ultrasonic sensors with a customized chamber, an ultrasonic pulse-receiver, and a digital storage oscilloscope (DSO) were used to set up the measuring unit. The customized chamber was connected to an ECMO circuit primed with porcine blood. Thrombi formed from static porcine blood were placed in the circuit and ultrasonic signals were extracted from the oscilloscope at various ECMO flow rates of 1-4 L/min. The ultrasonic signal changes were successfully detected at each flow rate on the DSO. The ultrasonic pulse signal shifted leftward when a thrombus passed between the two ultrasonic sensors and was easily detected on the DSO screen. This novel real-time non-invasive thrombus detection method may enable the early detection of floating thrombi in the ECMO system and early management of ECMO thrombi.

Ultrasound-based strategies for the recovery of microalgal carotenoids: Insights from green extraction methods to UV/MS-based identification.

Carotenoids, versatile natural pigments with numerous health benefits, face environmental concerns associated with conventional petrochemical-based extraction methods and limitations of their synthetic equivalents. In this context, this study aims to introduce eco-friendly approaches using ultrasound-based strategies (probe and bath) for the extraction of carotenoids from microalgae, initially focusing on Microchloropsis gaditana and subsequently evaluating the versatility of the method by applying it to other microalgae species of interest (Tisochrysis lutea, Porphyridium cruentum, and Phaeodactylum tricornutum) and defatted microalgal residues. Among the approaches evaluated, the 5-min ultrasonic probe system with ethanol showed comparable carotenoid recovery efficiency to the reference method (agitation, 24 h, acetone) (9.4 ± 2.5 and 9.6 ± 3.2 mg g-1 carotenoids per dry biomass, for the green and the reference method, respectively). Moreover, the method's sustainability was demonstrated using the AGREEprep™ software (scored 0.62 out of 1), compared to the traditional method (0.22 out of 1). The developed method yielded high carotenoid contents across species with diverse cell wall compositions (3.1 ± 0.2, 2.1 ± 0.3, and 4.1 ± 0.1 mg g-1 carotenoid per dry biomass for T. lutea, P. cruentum, and P. tricornutum, respectively). Moreover, the application of the method to defatted biomass showed potential for microalgal valorization with carotenoid recovery rates of 41 %, 60 %, 61 %, and 100 % for M.gaditana, P. tricornutum, T. lutea, and P. cruentum, compared to the original biomass, respectively. Furthermore, by using high-performance liquid chromatography with a diode array detector (HPLC-DAD) and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS), we reported the carotenoid and chlorophyll profiles of the different microalgae and evaluated the impact of the eco-friendly methods. The carotenoid and chlorophyll profiles varied depending on the species, biomass, and method used. In summary, this study advances a green extraction method with improved environmental sustainability and shorter extraction time, underscoring the potential of this approach as a valuable alternative for the extraction of microalgal pigments.

A comparative study of sequential and simultaneous enzymatic and ultrasound-assisted aqueous two-phase extraction for anticholesterol compounds from Strobilanthes crispus leaves.

An innovative ultrasonic-assisted enzymatic aqueous two-phase extraction (UAE-ATPE) method was applied to enhance the yield from Strobilanthes crispus leaves, exploring both sequential and simultaneous approaches. Comparative analysis included assessing total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), partition coefficient (k) and recovery (R). Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and scanning electron microscopy evaluated extracts from both techniques. Simultaneous UAE-ATPE demonstrated significantly higher TPC (5.7±0.1 mg GAE/g dry leaves) and TFC (3.3±0.1 mg QE/g dry leaves) compared to sequential extraction, where TPC and TFC measured 4.5±0.3 mg GAE/g dry leaves and 1.7±0.1 mg QE/g dry leaves. Additionally, simultaneous UAE-ATPE yielded higher k and R values for phenolic and flavonoid compounds. Notably, it identified 32.4% of the area corresponding to 6 compounds, surpassing the 25.3% area identified sequentially with 13 compounds. A collaborative effect of enzymatic hydrolysis and ultrasonic extraction was observed in simultaneous UAE-ATPE. In the inhibition test on the HMG-CoA reductase enzyme, simultaneous UAE-ATPE extract (200 µg/mL) exhibited exceptional results, achieving superior inhibition of 66.1% compared to the sequential method's inhibition of 39.4%. This underscores the efficacy of simultaneous UAE-ATPE in producing concentrated anti-cholesterol compounds. The study strongly emphasizes the superiority of simultaneous UAE-ATPE over the sequential approach.

Lentil protein isolate (Lens culinaris) subjected to ultrasound treatment combined or not with heat-treatment: structural characterization and ability to stabilize high internal phase emulsions.

This study evaluated the effect of ultrasound treatment combined or not with heat treatment applied to lentil protein isolate (LPI) aiming to enhance its ability to stabilize high internal phase emulsions (HIPE). LPI dispersion (2%, w/w) was ultrasound-treated at 60% (UA) and 70% (UB) amplitude for 7 min; these samples were subjected to and then heat treatments at 70 °C (UAT70 and UBT70, respectively) or 80 °C (UAT80 and UBT80, respectively) for 20 min. HIPEs were produced with 25% untreated and treated LPI dispersions and 75% soybean oil using a rotor-stator (15,500 rpm/1 min). The LPI dispersions were evaluated for particle size, solubility, differential scanning calorimetry, electrophoresis, secondary structure estimation (circular dichroism and FT-IR), intrinsic fluorescence, surface hydrophobicity, and free sulfhydryl groups content. The HIPEs were evaluated for droplet size, morphology, rheology, centrifugal stability, and the Turbiscan test. Ultrasound treatment decreased LPI dispersions' particle size (∼80%) and increased solubility (∼90%). Intrinsic fluorescence and surface hydrophobicity confirmed LPI modification due to the exposure to hydrophobic patches. The combination of ultrasound and heat treatments resulted in a reduction in the free sulfhydryl group content of LPI. HIPEs produced with ultrasound-heat-treated LPI had a lower droplet size distribution mode, greater oil retention values in the HIPE structure (> 98%), lower Turbiscan stability index (< 2), and a firmer and more homogeneous appearance compared to HIPE produced with untreated LPI, indicating higher stability for the HIPEs stabilized by treated LPI. Therefore, combining ultrasound and heat treatments could be an effective method for the functional modification of lentil proteins, allowing their application as HIPE emulsifiers.

End-to-End Ultrasonic Hand Gesture Recognition.

As the number of electronic gadgets in our daily lives is increasing and most of them require some kind of human interaction, this demands innovative, convenient input methods. There are limitations to state-of-the-art (SotA) ultrasound-based hand gesture recognition (HGR) systems in terms of robustness and accuracy. This research presents a novel machine learning (ML)-based end-to-end solution for hand gesture recognition with low-cost micro-electromechanical (MEMS) system ultrasonic transducers. In contrast to prior methods, our ML model processes the raw echo samples directly instead of using pre-processed data. Consequently, the processing flow presented in this work leaves it to the ML model to extract the important information from the echo data. The success of this approach is demonstrated as follows. Four MEMS ultrasonic transducers are placed in three different geometrical arrangements. For each arrangement, different types of ML models are optimized and benchmarked on datasets acquired with the presented custom hardware (HW): convolutional neural networks (CNNs), gated recurrent units (GRUs), long short-term memory (LSTM), vision transformer (ViT), and cross-attention multi-scale vision transformer (CrossViT). The three last-mentioned ML models reached more than 88% accuracy. The most important innovation described in this research paper is that we were able to demonstrate that little pre-processing is necessary to obtain high accuracy in ultrasonic HGR for several arrangements of cost-effective and low-power MEMS ultrasonic transducer arrays. Even the computationally intensive Fourier transform can be omitted. The presented approach is further compared to HGR systems using other sensor types such as vision, WiFi, radar, and state-of-the-art ultrasound-based HGR systems. Direct processing of the sensor signals by a compact model makes ultrasonic hand gesture recognition a true low-cost and power-efficient input method.

Ultrasound combined with microwave hydrodiffusion and gravity for enhancement of caffeine extraction from guarana powder.

The extraction of valuable compounds from dried fruits and vegetables by microwave hydrodiffusion and gravity (MHG) requires previous hydration of the plant material. In this work, ultrasound was used to speed up the hydration of guarana powder before MHG extraction and increase caffeine recovery. The humidification step was speeded up with ultrasound taking only 15 min over 60 min without ultrasound. Water and 50% (v/v) ethanol were evaluated as green solvents for humidification, with a higher concentration of caffeine obtained for the hydroalcoholic solution. Ultrasound pretreatment allowed guarana extracts from MHG with two times more caffeine for both solvents evaluated. Therefore, ultrasound can be used in the hydration step before MHG extraction to reduce time and increase caffeine recovery from guarana powder.

Concern about the risk of aerosol contamination from ultrasonic scaler: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Many instruments used in dentistry are rotary, such as handpieces, water syringes, and ultrasonic scalers that produce aerosols. The spray created by these instruments can carry, in addition to water, droplets of saliva, blood, and microorganisms, which can pose a risk of infections for healthcare professionals and patients. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this gained attention. OBJECTIVE: The aim was to carry out a systematic review of the evidence of the scope of the aerosol produced by ultrasonic scaler in environmental contamination and the influence of the use of intraoral suction reduction devices. DESIGN: Scientific literature was searched until June 19, 2021 in 6 databases: Pubmed, EMBASE, Web of science, Scopus, Virtual Health Library and Cochrane Library, without restrictions on language or publication date. Studies that evaluated the range of the aerosol produced by ultrasonic scaler during scaling/prophylaxis and the control of environmental contamination generated by it with the use of low (LVE) and high (HVE) volume evacuation systems were included. RESULTS: Of the 1893 potentially relevant articles, 5 of which were randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The meta-analysis of 3 RCTs showed that, even at different distances from the patient's oral cavity, there was a significant increase in airborne bacteria in the dental environment with the use of ultrasonic scaler. In contrast, when meta-analysis compared the use of HVE with LVE, there was no significant difference (P = 0.40/CI -0.71[-2.37, 0.95]) for aerosol produced in the environment. CONCLUSIONS: There is an increase in the concentration of bioaerosol in the dental environment during the use of ultrasonic scaler in scaling/prophylaxis, reaching up to 2 m away from the patient's mouth and the use of LVE, HVE or a combination of different devices, can be effective in reducing air contamination in the dental environment, with no important difference between different types of suction devices.

Experimental investigation of ultrasonic assisted coating on three-point bending behavior of 3D printed polymeric bone plates for biomedical applications.

3D printed Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) bone plates exhibit limited three-point bending strength, restricting their viability in biomedical applications. The application of polydopamine (PDM) enhances the three-point bending strength by undergoing covalent interactions with PLA molecular structure. However, the heavy nature of PDM particles leads to settling at the container base at higher coating solution concentrations. This study investigates the impact of ultrasonic-assisted coating parameters on the three-point bending strength. Utilizing Response Surface Methodology (RSM) for statistical modeling, the study examines the influence of ultrasonic vibration power (UP), coating solution concentration (CC), and submersion time (TIME). RSM optimization recommended 100 % UP, 6 mg/ml CC, and 150 min TIME, resulting in maximum three-point bending strength of 83.295 MPa. Microscopic images from the comparative analysis revealed non-uniform coating deposition with mean thickness of 6.153 µm under normal coating. In contrast, ultrasonic-assisted coating promoted uniform deposition with mean thickness of 18.05 µm. The results demonstrate that ultrasonic-assisted coating induces PDM particle collision, preventing settling at the container base, and enhances three-point bending strength by 7.27 % to 23.24 % compared to the normal coating condition. This study emphasizes on the potential of ultrasonic-assisted coating to overcome the limitations of direct immersion coating technique.

Cavitron ultrasonic surgical aspirator (CUSA) compared with conventional pancreatic transection in distal pancreatectomy: study protocol for the randomised controlled CUSA-1 pilot trial.

BACKGROUND: Postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) remains the most common and serious complication after distal pancreatectomy. Many attempts at lowering fistula rates have led to unrewarding insignificant results as still up to 30% of the patients suffer from clinically relevant POPF. Therefore, the development of new innovative methods and procedures is still a cornerstone of current surgical research.The cavitron ultrasonic surgical aspirator (CUSA) device is a well-known ultrasound-based parenchyma transection method, often used in liver and neurosurgery which has not yet been thoroughly investigated in pancreatic surgery, but the first results seem very promising. METHODS: The CUSA-1 trial is a randomised controlled pilot trial with two parallel study groups. This single-centre trial is assessor and patient blinded. A total of 60 patients with an indication for open distal pancreatectomy will be intraoperatively randomised after informed consent. The patients will be randomly assigned to either the control group with conventional pancreas transection (scalpel or stapler) or the experimental group, with transection using the CUSA device. The primary safety endpoint of this trial will be postoperative complications ≥grade 3 according to the Clavien-Dindo classification. The primary endpoint to investigate the effect will be the rate of POPF within 30 days postoperatively according to the ISGPS definition. Further perioperative outcomes, including postpancreatectomy haemorrhage, length of hospital stay and mortality will be analysed as secondary endpoints. DISCUSSION: Based on the available literature, CUSA may have a beneficial effect on POPF occurrence after distal pancreatectomy. The rationale of the CUSA-1 pilot trial is to investigate the safety and feasibility of the CUSA device in elective open distal pancreatectomy compared with conventional dissection methods and gather the first data on the effect on POPF occurrence. This data will lay the groundwork for a future confirmatory multicentre randomised controlled trial. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The CUSA-1 trial protocol was approved by the ethics committee of the University of Heidelberg (No. S-098/2022). Results will be published in an international peer-reviewed journal and summaries will be provided in lay language to study participants and their relatives. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: DRKS00027474.

Response surface optimization of sludge dewatering process: synergistic enhancement by ultrasonic, chitosan and sludge-based biochar.

Due to the colloidal stability, the high compressibility and the high hydration of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), it is difficult to efficiently dehydrate sludge. In order to enhance sludge dewatering, the process of ultrasonic (US) cracking, chitosan (CTS) re-flocculation and sludge-based biochar (SBB) skeleton adsorption of water-holding substances to regulate sludge dewaterability was proposed. Based on the response surface method, the prediction model of the specific resistance to filtration (SRF) and sludge cake moisture content (MC) was established. The US cracking time and the dosage of CTS and SBB were optimized. The results showed that the optimal parameters of the three were 5.08 s, 10.1 mg/g dry solids (DS) and 0.477 g/g DS, respectively. Meantime, the SRF and MC were 5.4125 × 1011 m/kg and 76.8123%, which significantly improved the sludge dewaterability. According to the variance analysis, it is found that the fitting degree of SRF and MC model is good, which also confirms that there is significant interaction and synergy between US, CTS and SBB, and the contribution of CTS and SBB is greater. Moreover, the process significantly improves the sludge's calorific value and makes its combustion more durable.

Dried Blood Spots and Miniaturized Ultrasonic Nebulization Microplasma Optical Emission Spectrometry for Point-of-Care Testing of Blood Lithium.

Despite the significant importance of blood lithium (Li) detection in the treatment of bipolar disorder (BD), its point-of-care testing (POCT) remains a great challenge due to tedious sample preparation and the use of large-footprint atomic spectrometers. Herein, a system coupling dried blood spots (DBS) with a point discharge optical emission spectrometer equipped with a miniaturized ultrasonic nebulizer (MUN-µPD-OES) was developed for POCT of blood Li. Three microliters of whole blood were used to prepare a dried blood spot on a piece of filter paper to which 10 µL of eluent (1% (v/v) formic acid and 0.05% (v/v) Triton-X) was added. Subsequently, the paper was placed onto the vibrating steel membrane of the ultrasonic nebulizer and powered on to generate aerosol. The aerosol was directly introduced to the µPD-OES for quantification of Li by monitoring its atomic emission line at 670.8 nm. The proposed method minimized matrix interference caused by high levels of salts and protein. It is worth noting that the MUN suitably matches the needs of DBS sampling and can provide aerosolized introduction of Li into the assembled µPD-OES, thus eliminating all tedious sample preparation and the need for a commercial atomic spectrometer. Calibration response is linear in the therapeutic range and a limit of detection (LOD) of 1.3 µg L-1 is well below the Li minimum therapeutic concentration (2800 µg L-1). Li in mouse blood was successfully detected in real-time using MUN-µPD-OES after intraperitoneal injection of lithium carbonate, confirming that the system holds great potential for POCT of blood Li for patients with BD.

The effect of germinated black lentils on cookie quality by applying ultraviolet radiation and ultrasound technology.

Black lentils contain protein, carbohydrates, dietary fiber, minerals, and vitamins, as well as phytochemicals and various bioactive compounds. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation and ultrasound (US) methods are innovative technologies that can be used to increase the efficiency of the germination process in grains and legumes. To improve the nutritional value and bioactive compounds of the cookies, black lentils germinated by applying UV radiation and US technology were used in the cookie formulation. Before the germination process, UV, US, and their combination (UV+US) were applied, and pretreated and unpretreated germinated black lentil flours were used at a level of 20% in the cookie formulation. The results revealed that pretreatment application increased the total phenolic content and antioxidant activity more than the lentil sample germinated without any treatment. In addition, the pretreatments applied further reduced the amount of phytic acid in black lentils and the lowest phytic acid content was obtained with the UV-US combination. Compared to cookies containing unpretreated germinated black lentil flour, higher L* values and lower a* values were obtained in the cookie samples containing pretreated germinated black lentil flour. Cookies containing all pretreated germinated lentils generally exhibited higher Ca and K content. This study demonstrated that UV radiation and US improved the nutritional value and bioactive components of the germinated black lentil flour and the cookies in which it was used, compared to the black lentils germinated without any treatment. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Pretreatment of black lentils with UV/US application before germination resulted in a greater increase in total phenolic content and antioxidant activity compared to the control sample. The applied pretreatments caused a further decrease in the amount of phytic acid in black lentil samples. Black lentils germinated with the UV+US combination revealed higher Ca, Fe, K, and Mg content compared to the sample germinated without any treatment.

Ultrasound assisted hot water extraction of polysaccharides from Taraxacum mongolicum: Optimization, purification, structure characterization, and antioxidant activity.

Ultrasound assisted hot water extraction (UAHWE) was applied to extraction of polysaccharides from Taraxacum mongolicum with hot water as extract solvent. Experimental factors in UAHWE process were optimized by response surface methodology. The optimal extraction parameters to achieve the highest Taraxacum mongolicum polysaccharides (TMPs) yield (12.08 ± 0.14)% by UAHWE were obtained under the ultrasound power of 200 W, extraction temperature of 62°C, solid-to-liquid ratio of 1:20 g/mL, and extraction time of 40 min, and then the crude TMPs were further purified by DEAE-52 and Sephadex G-100 chromatography to obtain a homogenous polysaccharide fraction (TMPs-1-SG). Subsequently, the structure of TMPs-1-SG was characterized by UV-vis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), high performance gel permeation chromatography (HPGPC), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Congo red test. The results display that TMPs-1-SG with an average molecular weight of 5.49 × 104 Da was comprised of mannose (Man), galactose (Gal), xylose (Xyl), and arabinose (Ara) with a molar ratio of 39.85:52.61:27.14:6.30. Moreover, TMPs-1-SG did not contain a triple helix structure. Furthermore, TMPs-1-SG and TEM presented a sheet-like, rod-shaped, and irregular structure. Finally, the antioxidant activity of TMPs-1-SG was evaluated by in vitro experiment. The IC50 values of scavenging DPPH and OH radicals for TMPs-1-SG achieved 0.71 mg/mL and 0.75 mg/mL, respectively. The findings can provide an effective method for extracting polysaccharides from natural resources.

Green and efficient method to acquire high-value phycobiliprotein from microalgal biomass involving deep eutectic solvent-based ultrasound-assisted extraction.

Phycoerythrin (PE) is a phycobiliprotein holding great potential as a high-value food colorant and medicine. Deep eutectic solvent (DES)-based ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) was applied to extract B-PE by disrupting the resistant polysaccharide cell wall of Porphyridium purpureum. The solubility of cell wall monomers in 31 DESs was predicted using COSMO-RS. Five glycerol-based DESs were tested for extraction, all of which showed significantly higher B-PE yields by up to 13.5 folds than water. The DES-dependent B-PE extraction efficiencies were proposedly associated with different cell disrupting capabilities and protein stabilizing effects of DESs. The DES-based UAE method could be considered green according to a metric assessment tool, AGREEprep. The crude extract containing DES was further subjected to aqueous two-phase system, two-step ammonium sulfate precipitation, and ultrafiltration processes. The final purified B-PE had a PE purity ratio of 3.60 and a PC purity ratio of 0.08, comparable to the purity of commercial products.

Photocatalytic oxidation of formaldehyde under visible light using BiVO4-TiO2 synthesized via ultrasonic blending.

Formaldehyde (HCHO) is one of the primary indoor air pollutants, and efficiently eliminating it, especially at low concentrations, remains challenging. In this study, BiVO4-TiO2 catalyst was developed using ultrasonic blending technology for the photocatalytic oxidation of low-level indoor HCHO. The crystal structure, surface morphology, element distribution, and active oxidation species of the catalyst were examined using XRD, SEM, TEM, UV-Vis, EDS, and ESR techniques. Our results demonstrated that the BiVO4-TiO2 catalyst, prepared by ultrasonic blending, exhibited good oxidation performance and stability. The HCHO concentration reduced from 1.050 to 0.030 mg/m3 within 48 h, achieving a removal rate of 97.1%. The synergy between BiVO4 and TiO2 enhanced the efficiency of separating photogenerated carriers and minimized the likelihood of recombination between photogenerated electrons and holes. Additionally, this synergy significantly enhanced the presence of hydroxyl radicals (·OH) on the catalyst, resulting in an oxidation performance superior to that of either BiVO4 or TiO2. Our research offers valuable insights for the development of new photocatalysts to address HCHO pollution.

Predictive value of ultrasonic artificial intelligence in placental characteristics of early pregnancy for gestational diabetes mellitus.

Background: To explore the predictive value of placental features in early pregnancy for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) using deep and radiomics-based machine learning (ML) applied to ultrasound imaging (USI), and to develop a nomogram in conjunction with clinical features. Methods: This retrospective multicenter study included 415 pregnant women at 11-13 weeks of gestation from two institutions: the discovery group from center 1 (n=305, control group n=166, GDM group n=139), and the independent validation cohort (n=110, control group n=57, GDM group n=53) from center 2. The 2D USI underwent pre-processed involving normalization and resampling. Subsequently, the study performed screening of radiomics features with Person correlation and mutual information methods. An RBF-SVM model based on radiomics features was constructed using the five-fold cross-validation method. Resnet-50 as the backbone network was employed to learn the region of interest and constructed a deep convolutional neural network (DLCNN) from scratch learning. Clinical variables were screened using one-way logistic regression, with P<0.05 being the threshold for statistical significance, and included in the construction of the clinical model. Nomogram was built based on ML model, DLCNN and clinical models. The performance of nomogram was assessed by calibration curves, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and decision curve analysis (DCA). Results: The AUCs for the ML model in the discovery cohort and independent validation cohort were 0.91 (0.88-0.94) and 0.86 (0.79-0.93), respectively. And 0.65 (0.59-0.71), 0.69 (0.59-0.79) for the DLCNN, 0.66 (0.59-0.72), 0.66 (0.55-0.76) for the clinical model, respectively. The nomogram exhibited the highest performance with AUCs of 0.93 (0.90-0.95) and 0.88 (0.81-0.94) The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) proved the superiority of the nomogram of clinical utility, and calibration curve showed the goodness of fit of the model. The DCA curve indicated that the nomogram outperformed other models in terms of net patient benefit. Conclusions: The study emphasized the intrinsic relationship between early pregnancy placental USI and the development of GDM. The use of nomogram holds potential for clinical applications in predicting the development of GDM.

Ultrasonic treatment of dye chemicals in wastewater: A review.

The existence of pollutants, such as toxic organic dye chemicals, in water and wastewater raises concerns as they are inadequately eliminated through conventional water and wastewater treatment methods, including physicochemical and biological processes. Ultrasonic treatment has emerged as an advanced treatment process that has been widely applied to the decomposition of recalcitrant organic contaminants. Ultrasonic treatment has several advantages, including easy operation, sustainability, non-secondary pollutant production, and saving energy. This review examines the elimination of dye chemicals and categorizes them into cationic and anionic dyes based on the existing literature. The objectives include (i) analyzing the primary factors (water quality and ultrasonic conditions) that influence the sonodegradation of dye chemicals and their byproducts during ultrasonication, (ii) assessing the impact of the different sonocatalysts and combined systems (with ozone and ultraviolet) on sonodegradation, and (iii) exploring the characteristics-based removal mechanisms of dyes. In addition, this review proposes areas for future research on ultrasonic treatment of dye chemicals in water and wastewater.

Structure and composition of dissolved organic matters in sludge by ultrasonic treatment.

The leaching of dissolved organic matter (DOM) from the sludge into the liquid phase is induced by ultrasound. However, there is limited investigation into the structure and molecular composition of sludge DOM in this process. The molecular structure and composition of sludge DOM in ultrasonic treatment were comprehensively elucidated in this study. The sludge dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and three-dimensional fluorescence spectroscopy (3D-EEM) image had most significant change at 15-min ultrasonic time and 1.2 W/mL ultrasonic density, respectively. Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis indicated that ultrasonic treatment of sludge reduced the macromolecules to small molecules in DOM. Then, electrospray ionization Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (ESI FT-ICR-MS) analysis revealed that lignin, tannins, and carbohydrates were the main components of sludge DOMs after ultrasound treatment. analysis revealed that lignin, tannins, and carbohydrates were the main components of sludge DOMs after ultrasound treatment. Furthermore, through the Van Krevelen analysis, the major components were CHO (48.50%) and CHOS (23.20%) in the DOM of ultrasonicated sludge. This research provides the basis for the practical application of ultrasonic treatment of sludge and provides basic information for DOM components.

The Mouse Inferior Colliculus Responds Preferentially to Non-Ultrasonic Vocalizations.

The inferior colliculus (IC), the midbrain auditory integration center, analyzes information about social vocalizations and provides substrates for higher level processing of vocal signals. We used multichannel recordings to characterize and localize responses to social vocalizations and synthetic stimuli within the IC of female and male mice, both urethane anesthetized and unanesthetized. We compared responses to ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) with other vocalizations in the mouse repertoire and related vocal responses to frequency tuning, IC subdivisions, and sex. Responses to lower frequency, broadband social vocalizations were widespread in IC, well represented throughout the tonotopic axis, across subdivisions, and in both sexes. Responses to USVs were much more limited. Although we observed some differences in tonal and vocal responses by sex and subdivision, representations of vocal responses by sex and subdivision were largely the same. For most units, responses to vocal signals occurred only when frequency response areas overlapped with spectra of the vocal signals. Since tuning to frequencies contained within the highest frequency USVs is limited (<15% of IC units), responses to these vocalizations are correspondingly limited (<5% of sound-responsive units). These results highlight a paradox of USV processing in some rodents: although USVs are the most abundant social vocalization, their representation and the representation of corresponding frequencies are less than lower frequency social vocalizations. We interpret this paradox in light of observations suggesting that USVs with lower frequency elements (<50 kHz) are associated with increased emotional intensity and engage a larger population of neurons in the mouse auditory system.