An efficient deep eutectic magnetic nano gel for rapid ultrasound-assisted dispersive µ-solid phase extraction of residue of tetracyclines in food samples.

In the present study, a magnetic nano gel as the sorbent which is the combination of octatonic acid: cumarin as eutectic solvent and Fe3O4@SiO2 was introduced as the sorbent in ultrasound-assisted dispersive µ-solid phase extraction process coupled with high performance liquid chromatography with photo diode array detector for simultaneous separation and determination of tetracyclines residues in food samples. FT-IR, SEM, VSM were used for the characterization of the synthetized magnetic nano gel. Under obtained optimum conditions, the obtained linear ranges were 1.5-500 (µg L-1), 2.5-750 (µg L-1), 2-750 (µg L-1), and 2.5-500 (µg L-1) for tetracycline, oxytetracycline, chlortetracycline, and doxycycline, respectively. Moreover, the below level of quantification (BLQ) (based on S/N = 3) of 0.47 µg L-1, 0.11 µg L-1, 0.85 µg L-1, 0.66 µg L-1, 0.81 µg L-1 and the limit of quantification (based on S/N = 10) of 1.61, 2.74, 2.23 (µg L-1), and 2.66 were achieved for tetracycline, oxytetracycline, chlortetracycline, and doxycycline, respectively. The intra-day and inter-day precision (%) of the procedure were less than 3.2 and 3.8, respectively. The recoveries over 95% confirmed high sufficiency of the proposed method for application in complex matrices such as honey, milk, and egg. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-023-05798-w.

Social vulnerability and initial COVID-19 community spread in the US South: a machine learning approach.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: More than 93 million COVID-19 cases and more than 1 million COVID-19 deaths have been reported in the USA by August 2022. The disproportionate effect of the pandemic and its severe impact on vulnerable communities raised concerns. This research aimed to identify and rank Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) factors highly predictive of the spread of COVID-19 in the US South at the beginning of the pandemic. METHODS: We used Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) machine learning methodology and SVI data, and the number of COVID-19 cases across all counties in the US South to predict the number of positive cases within 30 days of a county's first case. RESULTS: Our results showed that the percentage of mobile homes is the most important feature in predicting the increase in COVID-19. Also, population density per square mile, per capita income, percentage of housing in structures with 10+ units, percentage of people below poverty and percentage of people with no high school diploma are important predictors of COVID-19 community spread, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: SVI can help assess the vulnerability or resilience of communities to the spread of COVID-19 and can help identify communities at high risk of COVID-19 spread.

Social vulnerability predictors of drug poisoning mortality: A machine learning analysis in the United States.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Drug poisoning is a leading cause of unintentional deaths in the United States. Despite the growing literature, there are a few recent analyses of a wide range of community-level social vulnerability features contributing to drug poisoning mortality. Current studies on this topic face three limitations: often studying a limited subset of vulnerability features, focusing on small sample sizes, or solely including local data. To address this gap, we conducted a national-level analysis to study the impacts of several social vulnerability features in predicting drug mortality rates in the United States. METHODS: We used machine learning to investigate the role of 16 social vulnerability features in predicting drug mortality rates for US counties in 2014, 2016, and 2018-the most recent available data. We estimated each vulnerability feature's gain relative contribution in predicting drug poisoning mortality. RESULTS: Among all social vulnerability features, the percentage of noninstitutionalized persons with a disability is the most influential predictor, with a gain relative contribution of 18.6%, followed by population density and the percentage of minority residents (13.3% and 13%, respectively). Percentages of households with no available vehicles, mobile homes, and persons without a high school diploma are the following features with gain relative contributions of 6.3%, 5.8%, and 5.1%, respectively. CONCLUSION AND SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE: We identified social vulnerability features that are most predictive of drug poisoning mortality. Public health interventions and policies targeting vulnerable communities may increase the resilience of these communities and mitigate the overdose death and drug misuse crisis.

Cytotoxicity and mechanism of action of metal complexes: An overview.

After the discovery of cisplatin, many metal compounds were investigated for the therapy of diseases, especially cancer. The high therapeutic potential of metal-based compounds is related to the special properties of these compounds, such as their redox activity and ability to target vital biological sites. The overproduction of ROS and the consequent destruction of the membrane potential of mitochondria and/or the DNA helix is one of the known pathways leading to the induction of apoptosis by metal complexes. The apoptosis process can occur via the death receptor pathway and/or the mitochondrial pathway. The expression of Bcl2 proteins and the caspase family play critical roles in these pathways. In addition to apoptosis, autophagy is another process that regulates the suppression or promotion of various cancers through a dual action. On the other hand, the ability to interact with DNA is an important property found in several metal complexes with potent antiproliferative effects against cancer cells. These interactions were classified into two important categories: covalent/coordinated or subtle, and non-coordinated interactions. The anticancer activity of metal complexes is sometimes achieved by the simultaneous combination of several mechanisms. In this review, the anticancer effect of metal complexes is mechanistically discussed by different pathways, and some effective agents on their antiproliferative properties are explained.

Fingerprint matching using the onion peeling approach and turning function.

Fingerprint, as one of the most popular and robust biometric traits, can be used in automatic identification and verification systems to identify individuals. Fingerprint matching is a vital and challenging issue in fingerprint recognition systems. Most fingerprint matching algorithms are minutiae-based. The minutiae points are the ways that the fingerprint ridges can be discontinuous. Ridge ending and ridge bifurcation are two frequently used minutiae in most fingerprint matching algorithms. This article presents a new minutiae-based fingerprint matching using the onion peeling approach. In the proposed method, fingerprints are aligned to find the matched minutiae points. Then, the nested convex polygons of matched minutiae points are constructed and the comparison between peer-to-peer polygons is performed by the turning function distance. Simplicity, accuracy, and low time complexity of the onion peeling approach are three important factors that make it a standard method for fingerprint matching purposes. The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated on the database FVC2002. Since the fingerprints that the difference between the number of their layers is more than 2 and the a minutiae matching score lower than 0.15 are ignored, better results are obtained. KEYWORDS: Fingerprint Matching, Minutiae, Convex Layers, Turning Function, Computational Geometry.

High-speed and high-contrast two-channel all-optical modulator based on solution-processed CdSe/ZnS quantum dots.

Recently, all-optical modulators are potentially the most promising candidate to achieve high-bit rate modulation in high-speed all-optical communication technologies and signal processing. In this study, a two-channel all-optical modulator based on a solution-processed quantum dot structure is introduced for two sizes of quantum dots to operate at two wavelengths of MIR spectra (3 µm and 5 µm). To perform numerical and theoretical analysis and evaluate the optical behavior of the proposed all-optical modulator, the coupled rate and propagation equations have been solved by considering homogeneous and inhomogeneous broadening effects. The modulation depth at the 50 GHz frequency and 3 mW probe power is attained, about 94% for channel-1 with the wavelength of 559 nm at 300 Wcm-2 pump power density as well as approximately 83.5% for channel-2 with the wavelength of 619 nm at 500 Wcm-2 pump power density. The introduced two-channel all-optical modulator can operate simultaneously at two wavelengths during the modulation process in which information could be transmitted through both signals from the control light. This approach can present the practical device as a high-contrast and high-speed two-channel all-optical modulator with a high modulation depth in numerous applications such as thermal imaging in night vision cameras, wavelength de-multiplexing, signal processing, free-space communication.

New and efficient magnetic nanocomposite extraction using multifunctional deep eutectic solvent based on ferrofluid and vortex assisted-liquid-liquid microextraction: Determining primary aromatic amines (PAAs) in tetra-packed fruit juices.

In this work, a novel magnetic nanocomposite solvent (MNCS) based on ferrofluid and multifunctional deep eutectic solvent (MDES) was synthesized and applied in vortex assisted-liquid-liquid microextraction (VA-LLME). The ferrofluid has been composed from zirconium phosphate (modified magnetic graphene oxide) and tetrabutylammonium bromide-octanoic acid deep eutectic solvent (MGO/α-ZrP@TBAB-OA). This efficient method was employed to determine primary aromatic amines including aniline, 4-methoxyanniline, 4,4'-diaminodiphenylmethane, orthotoluidine, 2,6-dimethylaniline, 2-naphtylamine in tetra-packed juice samples. The proposed method showed the excellent extraction efficiency of PAAs according to strong interactions of new extraction solvent including electrostatic, π-π, and hydrogen bonding attractions. The found levels of PAAs are lower than the limit of quantifications (2.0 µg L-1). Therefore, the migration of PAAs from packaging to the juice samples is lower than permitted level (<10 µg kg-1). The results indicated high potential use of the offered method to analyze aromatic amine compounds in foodstuff and biologic samples in the future.

Ultrasound-guided post-pyloric feeding tube insertion in peri-operative cardiac infants.

Delivery of enteral nutrition in critical infants post-paediatric cardiac surgery is sometimes hampered, necessitating direct feeding into the small intestine. This study is highlighting the role of ultrasound-guided post-pyloric feeding tube insertion performed by the paediatric cardiac ICU intensivist in critically ill infants. METHODS: We carried out a prospective pilot observational experimental study in peri-operative cardiac infants with feeding intolerance between 2019 and 2021. Feeding tube insertion depends on a combination of ultrasound and gastric insufflation with air-saline mixture. Insertion was confirmed by bedside abdominal X-ray. RESULTS: Out of 500 peri-operative cardiac infants, 15 needed post-pyloric feeding tube insertion in median 15 postoperative day. All were under 6 months of age with average weight of 3 ± 0.2 kg. Median Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery Categories was 4. Median insertion time was 15 minutes. No complications have been reported. First pass success rate was 87%, while a second successful insertion attempt was needed in 2 cases (13%). Target daily calorie intake was achieved within average of 3.5 ± 0.4 days. Mean post-pyloric feeding tube stay was 20 ± 3 days. Out of 15 infants, 3 patients died, 1 patient needed gastrostomy tube, and 11 patients were discharged home on oral feeds. CONCLUSIONS: Ultrasound-guided post-pyloric feeding tube insertion using gastric insufflation with air-saline mixture in peri-operative cardiac infants with feeding intolerance is a useful and practical bedside tool, and it can be performed by a trained paediatric cardiac ICU intensivist. It may have potential positive effects on morbidity and outcome.

The role of good governance in the race for global vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Governments have developed and implemented various policies and interventions to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 vaccines are now being produced and distributed globally. This study investigated the role of good governance and government effectiveness indicators in the acquisition and administration of COVID-19 vaccines at the population level. Data on six World Bank good governance indicators for 172 countries for 2019 and machine-learning methods (K-Means Method and Principal Component Analysis) were used to cluster countries based on these indicators and COVID-19 vaccination rates. XGBoost was used to classify countries based on their vaccination status and identify the relative contribution of each governance indicator to the vaccination rollout in each country. Countries with the highest COVID-19 vaccination rates (e.g., Israel, United Arab Emirates, United States) also have higher effective governance indicators. Regulatory Quality is the most important indicator in predicting COVID-19 vaccination status in a country, followed by Voice and Accountability, and Government Effectiveness. Our findings suggest that coordinated global efforts led by the World Health Organization and wealthier nations may be necessary to assist in the supply and distribution of vaccines to those countries that have less effective governance.

Sensitive Simultaneous Measurement of Metformin and Linagliptin in Plasma Samples by Couple of Nano Graphene Oxide-based Dispersive Solid Phase Extraction Method and Liquid Chromatography.

A simple, rapid, and ultra sensitive dispersive solid phase extraction based on nano graphene oxide was developed for simultaneous measurement of trace amounts of metformin (MET) and linagliptin (LIN) in plasma samples by HPLC-UV-Vis. Affecting factors on the extraction of these drugs, including adsorbent weight, extraction time, organic solvent type, desorption situations, and composition of solvent were examined and optimized. In optimum conditions, the LOD (limit of detection) and LOQ (limit of quantification) of the suggested technique were 2.0 ngmL-1 and 6.1 (ngmL-1) for LIN and 3.0 ngmL-1 and 9.2 ngmL-1 for MET, respectively. Suitable linear behavior in the considered ranges of concentration (10-2000 ngmL-1) and good correlation coefficient of 0.9901 and 0.9903 (r2) for LIN and MET were obtained, respectively. The RSD (relative standard deviations) according to three replicate measurements at 2, 20, 200 ngmL-1 levels of these drugs was less than 8.0%. In the last step, applicability of the suggested technique was examined by analyzing the drugs in plasma samples and reasonable results were achieved.

Magnetic solid phase extraction based on poly(ß-cyclodextrin-ester) functionalized silica-coated magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) for simultaneous extraction of the malachite green and crystal violet from aqueous samples.

In this research, an efficient sorbent based on poly(ß-cyclodextrin-ester)-functionalized silica-coated magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs-CDP) was prepared and used for magnetic solid-phase extraction of the malachite green (MG) and crystal violet (CV) from water samples prior to their determination by high-performance liquid chromatography-ultra violet detection (HPLC-UV). The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by the field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Of course, the factors, which could influence the extraction efficiency like pH, sorbent amount, salt content, extraction time, desorption time, eluent type, and volume and sample volume, were optimized by response surface methodology. Then, for both of MG and CV, good linearity (0.1-200 µg L-1, r2 ≥ 0.99) was achieved under the optimized conditions. The limits of detection (LODs) and the limits of quantification (LOQs), for both of MG and CV, were 0.03 µg L-1 and 0.1 µg L-1, respectively. Precision of the method expressed as the relative standard deviations (RSDs) at concentration level of 100 µg L-1 was 5.6 and 4.2 for MG and CV, respectively. Ultimately, usability of proposed method was investigated by analysis of CV and MG in tap water, fish pond water, and the lake water, and the satisfactory recoveries were obtained in the range of 92-100.5%.

Green, fast and simple dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction method by using hydrophobic deep eutectic solvent for analysis of folic acid in fortified flour samples before liquid chromatography determination.

A fast, simple, sensitive, and efficient vortex-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction method (VA-DES-DLME) was developed based on hydrophobic deep eutectic solvent for extraction of folic acid from flour samples followed by HPLC determination. Hydrophobic DES was prepared by mixing amylalcohol as a hydrogen bond donor and methyltriocthylammonium chloride as a hydrogen bond acceptor. Factors affecting DLLME were considered and optimized. In optimal conditions, the calibration curve was linear in the range 5.0-500 ng g-1 with a correlation coefficient higher than 0.99. The limit of detection (LOD) and the limit of quantification (LOQ) were 1.0 and 3.0 ng g-1, respectively. The intra-day and inter-day precision at concentrations of 10 and 100 ng g-1 were less than 8%. Finally, application of the proposed procedure was investigated by folic acid analysis in flour samples and the relative recoveries obtained were acceptable (Recovery ≥ 90%).

Effect of Shirazi thyme on oxidant status and absorptive surface area of the intestine in cold-induced pulmonary hypertensive broiler chickens.

The effects of Shirazi thyme as a medicinal plant on oxidant status (lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation, total antioxidant capacity, and catalase activity) and absorptive surface area were measured in three segments of the small intestine in cold-induced pulmonary hypertensive chickens. Birds were reared at four groups (thyme 0, 0.25, 0.50, and 1.00 % of diet) for 42 days. To induce pulmonary hypertension, the temperature was gradually decreased. The body weight was increased in thyme-0.25% birds compared to control ones, while it was decreased in thyme-1% of birds. The feed consumption was only increased in thyme-1.00% birds. The feed conversion ratio was lower in thyme-0.25% birds and higher in thyme-1.00% birds than control ones. The duodenal and jejunal villus surface area was lower in thyme-1.00% birds than control ones, while it was greater in the thyme-0.50% birds. The ileal villus surface area and duodenal lamina propria thickness were also greater in thyme-0.50% birds. Lipid peroxidation was only decreased in the duodenum and ileum of thyme-0.50% birds compared to control ones, whereas it was increased in the duodenum and jejunum of thyme-1.00% birds. Catalase activity was only elevated in the duodenum and jejunum of thyme-1.00% fed chickens. Total antioxidant capacity was increased in the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum of thyme-0.50% birds. It is concluded that the Shirazi thyme has beneficial effects on growth performance, intestinal absorptive surface area / secretory system, and pulmonary hypertension response at low doses (0.25 and 0.50% of diet), whereas high dose (1.00% of diet) of this plant may be toxic.

Bio-Inspired Evolutionary Model of Spiking Neural Networks in Ionic Liquid Space.

One of the biggest struggles while working with artificial neural networks is being able to come up with models which closely match biological observations. Biological neural networks seem to capable of creating and pruning dendritic spines, leading to synapses being changed, which results in higher learning capability. The latter forms the basis of the present study in which a new ionic model for reservoir-like networks, consisting of spiking neurons, is introduced. High plasticity of this model makes learning possible with a fewer number of neurons. In order to study the effect of the applied stimulus in an ionic liquid space through time, a diffusion operator is used which somehow compensates for the separation between spatial and temporal coding in spiking neural networks and therefore, makes the mentioned model suitable for spatiotemporal patterns. Inspired by partial structural changes in the human brain over the years, the proposed model evolves during the learning process. The effect of topological evolution on the proposed model's performance for some classification problems is studied in this paper. Several datasets have been used to evaluate the performance of the proposed model compared to the original LSM. Classification results via separation and accuracy values have shown that the proposed ionic liquid outperforms the original LSM.

Determination of some red dyes in food samples using a hydrophobic deep eutectic solvent-based vortex assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction coupled with high performance liquid chromatography.

A simple, sensitive, efficient and rapid method was developed based on vortex assisted deep eutectic solvent dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (VA-DES-DLLME) of five commonly used synthetic red dyes (amaranth, ponceau 4R, allura red, azorubine, and erythrosine) in food samples and simultaneous determination by high performance liquid chromatography. The novel hydrophobic deep eutectic solvent was readily prepared by mixing thymol as hydrogen bonding donor and benzyltriethylammonium chloride as hydrogen bonding acceptor at 70 °C for 15 min. Affecting parameters on VA-DES-DLLME were evaluated and optimized. Under optimum conditions, the limits of detection were obtained in the range of 0.01-0.08 µg L-1 and linearity of the dyes were also obtained in the range of 0.5-500 µg L-1 (r2 ≥ 0.99). The enrichment factors and absolute extraction recoveries were in the range of 95-100 and 90-97, respectively. The relative standard deviations (intra-day and inter-days at 10 and 100 µg L-1 concentration levels) were <6%. Finally, applicability of the proposed method was examined by analyzing the food colors in beverage, jelly and chocolate dragee samples and satisfactory results (the relative recoveries ranged from 94.2 to 100.8%) were obtained.

Simultaneous extraction of acidic and basic drugs via on-chip electromembrane extraction using a single-compartment microfluidic device.

In this study, a new chip was designed for simultaneous extraction of acidic and basic drugs by a single chamber on-chip electromembrane extraction (CEME) followed by high performance liquid chromatography. Diclofenac (DIC) and nalmefene (NAL) were selected as acidic and basic model analytes, respectively. In this device, simultaneous extraction of the analytes was carried out using a single compartment. The chip was composed of three PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate) parts with sandwiched structures and carved spiral microfluidic channels in each part. The middle part was cut and an "M" pattern provided interfaces for contact between the sample solution flow and two porous polypropylene sheets on both sides. Two other parts had the same spiral channels dedicated to the corresponding acceptor phases of the acidic and basic analytes and were located at both sides. Each polypropylene sheet was impregnated with the appropriate organic solvent for the acidic and basic analytes. Two platinum electrodes connected to a power supply were mounted at the bottom of the acceptor channels. These electrodes provided the electrical fields across SLMs to extract the analytes from a single sample flow. When the extraction was completed, the acceptor solutions were collected, mixed, and then injected into the chromatographic system. The effective parameters on the extraction efficiency were investigated and optimized. Under the optimal conditions, the calibration curves were linear in the range of 9.0-500 µg L-1 for NAL and 11.0-500 µg L-1 for DIC with the coefficient of determination (R2) higher than 0.9913. The relative standard deviations (RSD%) based on five replicate measurements were less than 6.3%. LOD values were 4.0 and 3.0 µg L-1 for DIC and NAL, respectively. Finally, the method was successfully applied to determine DIC and NAL in the human urine samples and satisfactory results were obtained (recovery ≥90).

Bedside ultrasonography screening for congenital renal anomalies in children with congenital heart diseases undergoing cardiac repair.

INTRODUCTION: Ultrasound (US) assessment of renal anomalies in children requiring pediatric cardiac surgery is not a standard practice. This study is highlighting the role of bedside US performed by intensivist to detect occult renal anomalies associated with congenital heart disease (CHD). METHODS: A cross sectional study for 100 consecutive children with CHD admitted to Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (PCICU) in 2015. US of kidneys screening was performed by trained pediatric cardiac intensivists to ascertain the presence of both kidneys in renal fossae without gross anomalies and to investigate if early detection of occult kidney anomaly would have any impact on outcome. RESULTS: After screening of 100 consecutive children with CHD with renal US, we identified in 94 cases (94%) normal right and left kidney in the standard sonographer shape within the renal fossae. In 6 cases further investigation revealed ectopic kidney in 3 patients (50%), solitary functional kidney in 2 patients (33%) and bilateral grade IV hydronephrosis in one patient (17%). Urinary tract infection developed peri-operatively in 66% of the cases with kidney anomalies with statistical significance compared to patients with normal renal US (P: 0.0011). No significant renal impairment was noted in these patients post-surgery. We observed no specific association between the type of renal anomaly and specific CHD. CONCLUSION: Routine renal US in children with CHD demonstrated prevalence of associated congenital renal anomalies in 6% of children undergoing cardiac surgery. The presence of occult renal anomalies was associated with higher UTI risk. Performing routine renal US as a standard practice in children with CHD is justifiable.

2-Naphthalenthiol derivatization followed by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction as an efficient and sensitive method for determination of acrylamide in bread and biscuit samples using high-performance liquid chromatography.

In this research, an ultrasonic-assisted extraction followed by 2-naphthalenthiol derivatization and dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction of acrylamide (AA) was developed as simple and sensitive sample preparation method for AA in bread and biscuit samples using high performance liquid chromatography. Influence of derivatization and microextraction parameters were evaluated and optimized. Results showed that the derivatization of AA leads to improve its hydrophobicity and chromatographic behavior. Under optimum conditions of derivatization and microextraction, the method yielded a linear calibration curve ranging from 10 to 1000 µg L-1 with a determination coefficient (R2) of 0.9987. Limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were 3.0 and 9.0 µg L-1, respectively. Intra-day (n = 6) and inter-day (n = 3) precisions based on relative standard deviation percent (RSD%) for extraction and determination of AA at 50 and 500 µg L-1 levels were less than 9.0%. Finally, the performance of proposed method was investigated for determination of AA in some bread and biscuit samples, and satisfactory results were obtained (relative recovery ≥ 90%).