Search

BACKGROUND: The heat sensitivity of phenolics and flavonoids leads to considerable losses of these compounds during conventional drying. Microwave drying has the advantage of shorter drying time and rigorous process control, minimizing damage to heat‐sensitive compounds. Microwave drying kinetics and the impacts of microwave drying on physicochemical characteristics, morphological structure, antioxidant properties, total phenolics, and flavonoid content of propolis extract were investigated. RESULTS: Increasing the microwave power output from 180 to 900 W resulted in a 67% reduction in drying time. Morphological changes were more noticeable at higher microwave power levels as shown in scanning electron microscopy images. Water activity values of microwave dried propolis extracts were below 0.4, which satisfied the requirement for shelf‐stable dry products. The solubility of microwave dried propolis extract increased with increasing microwave power level, and the highest solubility was achieved for the propolis extract microwave dried at 900 W. Microwave dried propolis extracts exhibited lower total phenolic content levels than fresh propolis extract. The microwave power level did not affect the total flavonoid content but it affected 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free‐radical scavenging activity of microwave dried propolis extracts. The DPPH free‐radical scavenging activity closest to the fresh propolis extract was obtained for the microwave dried propolis extract at 900 W. This also showed the highest 6‐hydroxy‐2,5,7,8‐tetramethyl‐2‐carboxylic acid (Trolox) equivalent antioxidant capacity. CONCLUSION: Microwave drying of propolis extract at 900 W was found to be the most efficient drying condition because it yielded the shortest drying time, the highest effective moisture diffusivity, and phenolic and flavonoid content levels that were very similar to those in fresh propolis extract. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antidepressants accumulate in the aquatic environment due to human wastes. "Here, microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology is investigated as a candidate for elimination of antidepressants introduced into environment via human wastewaters." Human urine containing selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (paroxetine) and serotonin‐norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (venlafaxine, O‐desmethylvenlafaxine (ODV)) are used as substrates in MFCs. Electricity production by the MFCs is monitored while simultaneous drug degradation is analyzed using liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry. When the human urine samples containing drugs (10 or 50 ng drug per mL) are treated in MFCs, electricity production decreases in response to increasing drug concentrations. Upon addition of drugs‐containing urine, chemical oxygen demand removal capacity of MFCs decreases from 54% to 37%. Mass spectrometry results show that drugs are degraded at a rate of 10 ng mL−1 per hour for paroxetine, 11 ng mL−1 per hour for venlafaxine, and 16 ng mL−1 per hour for ODV, i.e., 94% of paroxetine, 66% of venlafaxine, and 48% of ODV is cleared in 9 h of treatment. In conclusion, MFC exhibits great potential in elimination of paroxetine, venlafaxine, and ODV from wastewater. These results can help to develop sustainable strategies to combat antidepressant pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Teacher self‐efficacy is a critical component of school life quality, leading scholars to explore the mechanisms behind it. Most studies have focused on this factor's mediation and moderation functions, with some indicating a strong link between teachers' academic optimism and self‐efficacy. However, the roles of teachers' professional development and subjective well‐being in this connection require further investigation. Our study takes an exclusive approach by positioning teacher self‐efficacy as the outcome variable and examining how teacher academic optimism is predicted through teacher professional development and subjective well‐being. Data were collected from 405 teachers working in K‐12 schools in Türkiye and analyzed using a cross‐sectional design. Using the bootstrapping technique, structural equation modeling results confirm the relationship between teacher academic optimism and self‐efficacy. The findings reveal that teachers' professional development and subjective well‐being mediate the relationship between teacher academic optimism and self‐efficacy. In this regard, our paper makes original contributions to the education literature by highlighting the importance of teachers' self‐efficacy. Importantly, our findings carry practical implications for practitioners and policymakers, and we offer specific suggestions based on the results to help them make informed decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives/Hypothesis: During intraoperative neuromonitoring in thyroid surgery, two different kinds of stimulator probes, monopolar and bipolar, are commonly used to stimulate the laryngeal nerves. We explore the unique characteristics of both of these probes as they relate to intraoperative laryngeal nerve mapping. Methods: Twenty‐one patients undergoing neuromonitored thyroidectomy by a single surgeon were enrolled. Electromyography (EMG) amplitude and latency measurements were prospectively recorded concurrently from 1 mA stimulation of vagus nerve (VN) and inferior/superior recurrent laryngeal nerve before (with and without fascia) and after thyroid resection using bipolar and monopolar stimulator probes. Results: Significantly higher amplitudes were obtained with monopolar stimulator probes as compared to bipolar probes, in several stimulation scenarios such as at right VN pre‐resection (carotid sheath intact), right VN pre‐resection (carotid sheath dissected), right VN post‐resection and left VN (carotid sheath dissected). No significant differences were found between amplitudes and latency values in all other stimulation scenarios. Conclusions: According to this study, both probes are reliable and safe for neural mapping. The kind of probe used during neural monitoring is based on surgical situations and surgeon preference. Level of Evidence: 3 (According to Oxford Centre for Evidence‐Based Medicine 2011 Levels of Evidence) Laryngoscope, 131:E2718–E2726, 2021 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Mevastatin is one of the common pharmaceuticals found in wastewaters, and its biodegradation is still an environmental problem due to its recalcitrant properties. Although various biological, chemical and physical methods have been investigated for the removal of mevastin, microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) have not been examined, yet. MECs are new generation biotechnological tools used in hydrogen energy production. In this study, the effects of mevastatin on hydrogen production in MECs were investigated for the first time. MECs produced hydrogen gas in the presence of mevastatin, and an increase in hydrogen production was observed. Over 90% of the mevastatin were removed in MECs. These results also showed that the fermentation process associated with carbon dioxide production can favor hydrogen production with mevastatin. In conclusion, the efficiency of hydrogen production in microbial cells can be increased by the use of wastewaters contaminated with mevastatin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acamprosate is a medication used to treat alcohol dependence. Therapeutic drug monitoring is important in drugs for the treatment of substance‐related disorders. Therefore, in this study, a new selective, very simple and rapid ultra‐performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometer method was developed for the therapeutic drug monitoring of acamprosate. The developed method allows the determination of acamprosate in human plasma. The method was validated in terms of selectivity and linearity, which was in the range of 100–1,200 ng/ml for acamprosate. Intra‐assay and inter‐assay accuracy and precision were within the acceptable limits of the Eueopean Medicines Agency guideline. The lower limit of quantitation was 100 ng/ml for acamprosate. The developed method was successfully applied for therapeutic drug monitoring in patient plasma samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Levetiracetam is an antiepileptic drug for the treatment of psychiatric patients. In this study, a selective, straightforward, and rapid online heart‐cutting liquid chromatography method was developed for the therapeutic drug monitoring of levetiracetam. This method allows for the determination of levetiracetam in human plasma without complex sample preparation. The mobile phases consisted of 30 mM aq. orthophosphoric acid solution/methanol (70:30) at a flow rate of 1 mL/min for the first system and 10 mM aq. orthophosphoric acid solution/methanol (55:45) at a flow rate of 1 mL/min for the second system. The first separation was carried out on a GL Sciences Intersil ODS‐3 column (4.6 mm × 150 mm, 3 µm) and the second separation was carried out on a Restek Ultra PFPP column (4.6 mm × 150 mm, 5 µm). The detection was carried out at 205 nm for both systems. The method was validated for selectivity and linearity, which were in the 6–60 µg/mL range. Intra‐ and interassay accuracies were <112.6%, and the intra‐ and interassay precisions were <6.4% for all quality control samples. The lower limit of quantitation was 6 µg/mL. The developed method was successfully applied for therapeutic drug monitoring of plasma samples from patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

pH and temperature responsive nanocomposite hydrogels were synthesized with sodium alginate (NaAlg), N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPA), and nanoclay. The structure, morphology, thermal behavior, and swelling and deswelling behaviors of the hydrogels were studied. The NaAlgm/PNIPA/Clayn hydrogels revealed a highly porous structure in which the pore sizes decreased and the amount of pores increased with increasing the nanoclay content in the hydrogels. PNIPA retained its own characteristics regardless of the amount of NaAlg and nanoclay. The effect of pH and nanoclay content on the swelling and effect of temperature on the deswelling behavior were investigated. The equilibrium swelling ratios of the nanocomposite hydrogels increased with increasing the pH from 2 to 6. The maximum swelling was attained at pH 6. Deswelling increased with increasing the nanoclay content in the hydrogels. The hydrogels were found to be pH and temperature responsive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with a modified iterative projection method for approximating a solution of hierarchical fixed point problems for nearly nonexpansive mappings. Some strong convergence theorems for the proposed method are presented under certain approximate assumptions of mappings and parameters. As a special case, this projection method solves some quadratic minimization problem. It should be noted that the proposed method can be regarded as a generalized version of Wang and Xu (2013), Ceng et al. (2011), Sahu et al. (2012), and many other authors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suppose that is nonempty closed convex subset of a uniformly convex and smooth Banach K space E with P as a sunny nonexpansive retraction and F := F(T1) ∩ F(T2) = {x ∈ K : T1x = T2x = x ≠ Ø. Let T1, T2 : K → E be two weakly inward nonself asymptotically nonexpansive mappings with respect to P with two sequences {kn(i)} ⊂ [1, ∞ satisfying ∑n=1∞ (kn(i) -1) < ∞(i = 1, 2), respectively. For any given x1 ∈ K, suppose that {xn} is a sequence generated iteratively by xn+1 = (1 - αn) (PT1)n yn + α n (PT2,n yn = (1 - βn)xn+βn(PT1)nxn n ∈ ℕ, where {αn} and {βn} are sequences in [a, 1 - a] for some a ∈ (0, 1). Under some suitable conditions, the strong and weak convergence theorems of {xn} to a common fixed point of T1 and T2 are obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We introduce a new two-step iterative scheme for two asymptotically nonexpansive nonself-mappings in a uniformly convex Banach space. Weak and strong convergence theorems are established for this iterative scheme in a uniformly convex Banach space. The results presented extend and improve the corresponding results of Chidume et al. (2003), Wang (2006), Shahzad (2005), and Thianwan (2008). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flaked red peppers inoculated with Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus and B. cereus spores were exposed to gaseous ozone at 20 °C and 70% relative humidity (RH). Ozone concentrations of 0.1, 0.5 and 1.0 ppm up to 360 min were used to reduce E. coli and B. cereus, whereas 1.0, 5.0, 7.0 and 9.0 ppm ozone concentrations for 360 min were used to treat B. cereus spores. When flaked red peppers were treated with 1.0 ppm ozone concentration for 360 min, B. cereus and E. coli counts were decreased by 1.5 and 2.0 log numbers, respectively. Bacillus cereus spores were reduced by 1.5 log numbers at ozone concentrations of 7.0 ppm or above for 360 min. There were slight changes in flavour, appearance and overall palatability of flaked red peppers treated with ozone between 5.0 and 9.0 ppm. Ozone concentration (1.0 ppm) for 360 min can be used to decrease E. coli and B. cereus, whereas ozone concentrations ≥5.0 ppm can be used to reduce B. cereus spores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effectiveness of ozone for the decontamination of Escherichia coli and Bacillus cereus in kernels, shelled and ground pistachios was investigated. Pistachios were inoculated with known concentrations of E. coli and B. cereus. Pistachio samples were exposed to gaseous ozone in a chamber at three different concentrations (0.1, 0.5 and 1.0 ppm) for various times (0–360 min) at 20 °C and 70% relative humidity. The effectiveness of ozone against E. coli and B. cereus increased with increasing exposure time and ozone concentration. The physico-chemical properties including: pH, free fatty acids and peroxide values, colour and fatty acid composition of pistachios did not change significantly after the ozonation treatments, except for the peroxide value of ground pistachios ozonized at 1.0 ppm for 360 min. Ozone concentration of 1.0 ppm was effective in reducing E. coli and B. cereus counts in kernels and shelled pistachios, while ozone concentrations <1.0 ppm were found to be appropriate in reducing the number of both bacteria in ground pistachios without having any change in their physico-chemical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 25–2 fractional factorial design was used to investigate the effect of salt (2–10%), sorbitol (0–10%) concentration, agitation (0–80 r.p.m.), tissue to solution ratio (1:3 to 1:6) and temperature (20–50 °C) on weight loss, solids gain, salt and sorbitol uptake, water activity, tissue brix and solution brix, during osmotic dehydration (OD) of diced green peppers. Results showed that salt and sorbitol concentration were the most significant factors. In the first half hour of the osmotic process, salt and sorbitol significantly increased weight loss, solids gain and tissue brix, and decreased water activity. Temperature was also a significant factor. It increased weight loss during the first 2 h of the process, and decreased water activity after 20 h of osmosis. Agitation and tissue to solution ratio were less important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of addition of κ-carrageenan to solutions containing 40% (w/w) sugar substitute on the rheological properties of these systems were investigated at 25 °C using a rotational viscometer at rotational speeds of 6, 12, 30, and 60 rev min-1. The flow behaviour of the solutions was adequately described by the power law model with or without yield stress. The consistency index (K) and the flow behaviour index (n) were determined from shear stress vs. shear rate data. The flow parameters of the solutions depended on the carrageenan concentration. The apparent viscosities of the systems decreased with increasing shear rate, indicating pseudoplastic behaviour. The final carrageenan concentration was found to be an effective factor controlling the degree of sliminess of the model food systems studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inclusion complex of curcumin with β‐cyclodextrin (Cur‐β‐CD) was prepared using coprecipitation method. Stoichiometric ratio between curcumin and β‐cyclodextrin was found to be 1:2 with an association constant of 3.80 × 108 M−2 using Benesi–Hildebrand method. Inclusion complex formation was confirmed by FTIR and DSC analyses. Water solubility of curcumin increased from 0.00122 to 0.721 mg mL−1 with the inclusion complex formation. Release of the inclusion complex from the nanocomposite and conventional poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide/sodium alginate hydrogels crosslinked by nanoclay and N,N′‐methylenebis(acrylamide) (BIS), respectively, were investigated in simulated gastrointestinal conditions. Swelling ratio and cumulative release were dependent on the hydrogel composition and pH. At pH = 1.2, hydrogels showed the lowest release ratio, but at pH = 6.8 highest swelling ratios were attained. The swelling ratio and cumulative release decreased with increasing the nanoclay content in nanocomposite hydrogels. On the contrary, as the ratio of BIS in the conventional hydrogels increased, the swelling ratio and cumulative release increased. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 47554. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the ocular surface disorders and tear function changes in patients with nodulo-cystic acne. Eighty-seven patients with nodulo-cystic acne vulgaris and 50 healthy subjects were included in the study. All subjects underwent full ocular examinations. Subjective ocular complaints were recorded. Corneal staining with fluorescein, tear film break-up time (BUT), and Schirmer test were applied. Abnormal tear film BUT and abnormal Schirmer scores were significantly more common in the acne group than in the control group. The tear film BUT was abnormal in 18 (20.7%) cases in the patient group and in 2 (4%) subjects in the control group (p=0.007). The mean Schirmer score was abnormal in 7 (8%) and decreased in 18 (20.7%) acne patients, and it was decreased in only 3 (6%) control subjects (p=0.005). Corneal punctuate epithelial erosions were detected in 3 (3.4%) acne patients, but not any of the control subjects. However, the difference between the groups was not statistically significant (p=0.184). Subjective ocular complaints were present in 28 cases (32.2%) in the patient group. Five (10%) subjects in the control group had such complaints (p=0.003). Tear function tests are also significantly altered in patients with nodulo-cystic acne. Our data suggest that severe acne patients should be referred to an ophthalmologist.