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In this study, at first were prepared novel multi-walled carbon nanotubes modified with catalytic nanoparticles of iron oxide and silver (MWCNTs-Fe3O4/Ag) by mixing the magnetic particles. Due to their excellent absorption and desorption capability towards hydrophobic compounds, the magnetic MWCNTs were used as adsorbent of magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) to extract phthalate acid esters (PAEs). Our results showed the highest concentration of phthalate esters of bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) which is much higher than the standard level in the four samples (6766.6, 9201, 9301.6, and 14,008 ng/L). Finally, the established MSPE-GC/MS method was successfully applied to the determination of PAEs from carbonated soft drinks and the MSPE-GC/MS method developed in current study provides a new option for the detection of PAEs from carbonated soft drinks with complex matrices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we developed a simple and sensitive HPLC method for the determination of lisinopril in human plasma. The sample clean-up was carried out by solid-phase extraction (SPE) using a cation-exchange (Strata-SCX®) extraction cartridge. After a pre-column derivatization with 4-fluoro-7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole, the reaction mixture was analyzed on an Agilent Zorbax SB®-C18 (150 mm×4.6 mm, 5 μm). The flow rate was set at 1.0 mL/min. Fluorescence detection was performed at an excitation wavelength of 470 nm and an emission wavelength of 530 nm. The mobile phase consisted of a mixture of methanol and 0.02 M sodium dihydrogen phosphate (pH = 3.0, 60:40, v/v). The average extraction recovery of lisinopril and fluvoxamine (internal standard) was >85%. The method exhibited a linear calibration curve over the concentration range of 1-1000 ng/mL with a correlation coefficient (r²) of ≥0.98 and a limit of quantification (LOQ) equal to 2 ng/mL. The within-run and between-run precisions were satisfactory with an RSD of 3.8%-13.7% (accuracy: from 95.0% to 96.4%) and 4.273%-14.3% (accuracy: from 94.4% to 98.5%), respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exposure of health care workers to antineoplastic drugs and subsequent adverse health effects is still an open issue. Very little has been studied on the extent of occupational exposure and handling conditions of antineoplastic drugs in Iran. We aimed to determine cyclophosphamide and ifosfamide concentrations in the urine samples of oncology healthcare workers. In addition, we assessed workplace safety controls that are important to decrease occupational exposure. Urinary samples of subject and control groups were collected to measure pre and post-shift cyclophosphamide and ifosfamide concentrations. Prior to sample collection, an occupational toxicologist observed and recorded working safety conditions for the healthcare workers during an eight-week period. Heath care workers were also asked about occurrence of acute adverse health effects. A total number of 425 chemotherapeutic drugs (389.83 g) were prepared during the study. Cyclophosphamide was detected in five pre-shift and nine post-shift urine samples. One pre-shift and four post-shift urine samples were positive for Ifosfamide. The urine samples of control group had no detectable concentrations of cyclophosphamide and ifosfamide. Personal protective equipment usage was not adequate for handling activities. Some adverse health effects reported by oncology personnel confirmed exposure to antineoplastic drugs. High percentage of oncology personnel was exposed to antineoplastic drugs that could be related to the large amount of drug preparations and inadequate safety controls. We recommend training of oncology personnel, implementation of safety controls, and periodic surveillance in order to minimize workplace contamination and occupational exposure to antineoplastic drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Telomeres contain TTAGGG repetitive sequences and are located at the end of human chromosomes. Telomere dysfunction is associated with some age-related and chronic diseases, but its relationship with foods, dietary patterns, and occupational class in the young male population is not yet known. In this cross-sectional study, 300 healthy men, residents of Tehran, aged 25–40 years were enrolled from January to December 2016. We employed a cross-sectional study of 300 healthy people, residents of Tehran, aged 25-40 years. A food frequency questionnaire was used to obtain food intakes of all participants and converted into actual food intake (g/day). The principal components analysis was used to determine dietary patterns and other demographic characteristics. Leukocyte telomere length (TL) was measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to measure number of telomere repeat copy number (T) to the relative number of 36B4 copies (S) (T/S ratio). T/S in office-workers, waste recyclers, and other workers were 1.22 ± 0.4, 1.08 ± 0.3, and 1.094 ± 0.34, respectively. The results of multivariate linear regression adjusted for age, body mass index (BMI), and smoking were showed that whole grains (β = 0.02; p = .05), refined grains, fruits and vegetables, fish and dairy products were associated with an increase in log-T/S, but consumption of nuts and seeds (β = −0.00072; p = .06), meats (β = −0.00043; p = .9), produced meats (β = −0.00238; p = .03), oils and solid fats (β = −0.00146; p = .03) had a negative relationship with log-T/S in all studied occupational classes. A positive relationship was reported between the healthy (β = 0.017; p = .2) and traditional dietary pattern (β = 0.012; p = .4) with log-T/S, but western pattern identified negative relationship (β = −0.004; p = .7). Adherence to a healthy (with consumption whole grains, refined grains, dairy, and cereals) and then traditional pattern with increased consumption of fruits, vegetables and whole grains, fish and dairy products are necessary to prevent TL destruction in all studied occupational classes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A sensitive, reliable and simple HPLC method was developed for the determination of lisinopril in human plasma. The method consists of extraction and clean‐up steps based on magnetic solid‐phase extraction and pre‐column derivatization with a fluorescent reagent. The mobile phase consisted of a mixture of methanol–sodium dihydrogen phosphate (pH 3.0; 0.005  m; 75:25, v/v). The flow rate was set at 0.7 mL/min. Fluorescence detection was performed at 470nm excitation and 530nm emission wavelengths. Total chromatography run time was 5 min. The average extraction recovery of lisinopril and fluvoxamine (internal standard) was ≥82.8%. The limits of detection and quantification were determined as 1 and 3 ng/mL respectively. The method exhibited a linear calibration line over the concentration range of 3–1000 ng/mL with coefficient of determination (r2) of ≥0.98. The within‐run and between‐run precisions were satisfactory with values of CV of 1.8–12.8% (accuracy from 99.2 to 94.7%) and 2.4–13.7% (accuracy from 99.5 to 92.2%), respectively. These developments led to considerable improvement in method sensitivity and reliability. The method was validated according to the US Food and Drug Administration guidelines. Therefore, it can be considered as a suitable method for determination of lisinopril in plasma samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cadmium is an important environmental contaminant. High consumption of chemical fertilizers and industrial activities in recent decades has caused people to be worried about exposure to cadmium. There is no policy for environmental and biological monitoring of exposure to cadmium in the general population in Iran. This study was aimed to review cadmium content in consuming foods and biological samples in Iran, systematically. We developed a comprehensive search strategy and used it to search on Web of Science, Scopus, Science Direct, and Scientific Information Database until 28 December 2016. The totals of 285 articles were identified and finally 31 original papers were selected. Cadmium contamination was found in Iranian food groups such as rice, cereal and legumes, canned tuna fish, vegetables, fruit juice, and egg. This study showed that cadmium amount in 75% of the consumed rice samples (domestic and imported) was higher than the maximum limits approved by institute of standards and industrial research of Iran. Lettuce samples in Yazd were recorded the highest concentration of cadmium compared to other studies. In addition, high amount of cadmium was observed in the blood of the general population. Regarding the cadmium contamination in food and blood samples in Iran, policies must be adopted to reduce exposure to cadmium through different matrices as much as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acidic liquids such as verjuice, lemon juice and vinegar are frequently consumed in Iran. Different kinds of acidic liquids are packaged in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and high- -density polyethylene (HDPE) bottles. There is evidence indicating that phthalates can leach from PET and HDPE bottles into their contents. In this work the effect of storage time, temperature and bottle type on the migration of phthalates from packaging materials into acidic liquids is studied by analyzing the samples stored under different conditions, before storage and after 2, 4 and 6 months of storage. The determined mean phthalate concentrations in μg/L were: <0.04 to 0.501 in verjuice, <0.04 to 0.231 in lemon juice and <0.04 to 0.586 in vinegar. The highest concentrations of diethyl phthalate (DEP) and diethyl hexyl phthalate (DEHP) were found in PET and HDPE bottles, respectively. Results of analyses before and after storage indicate that under some storage conditions, the concentrations of DEP, DEHP and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) increased in acidic liquids. The possible migration of phthalic acid esters from plastic packaging materials into the contents was indicated by the results of the present study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of β-D-mannuronic acid (M2000) on hematological parameters in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis. This study was conducted on 25 patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (identifier: IRCT2014011213739N2). M2000 was administered orally for anemic and non-anemic RA patients at a dose of 500 mg twice daily for 12 weeks. The patients were permitted to continue the conventional treatments excluding NSAIDs. Blood samples were collected at baseline, 4 and 12 weeks after drug administration and were tested for hematological parameters. Moreover, serum levels of TNF-α and IL-6 were analysed before and after M2000 therapy compared to healthy controls using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay method. We found a significant increase in the count of red blood cells and also hemoglobin (Hb) concentration (0.9 g/dL) in anemic patients after 12 weeks of M2000 therapy (p<0.02 and p<0.01, respectively). Furthermore, our results showed an improvement in Hb level (0.45 g/dL) even in non-anemic patients who were treated by M2000 (p<0.04). The leukocytosis in RA patients, significantly decreased in both anemic and non-anemic patients after 12 weeks of M2000 therapy (p<0.02 and p<0.03, respectively). The percent of neutrophils significantly increased in anemic patients (p<0.01) while in non-anemic patients it significantly decreased after 12 weeks of M2000 therapy (p<0.01). The serum levels of IL-6 and TNF-α significantly decreased after 12 weeks of M2000 therapy (p<0.01 and p<0.04, respectively). M2000 improves hematological parameters in RA patients by its potent inhibitory effect on serum levels of TNF-α and IL-6. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]