Search

In today's global economy, the origin of the food we eat is becoming more and more difficult to identify. Verifying the authenticity of products to protect supply chains is a complicated problem that requires a multidisciplinary approach. Chemical authentication of foodstuffs often includes a mass spectrometer detector; however, they are costly and require advanced operating skills. As an alternative, simple and robust post-column derivatization processes undertaken with HPLC may potentially provide chemical signatures of samples based upon the antioxidant profiles of the coffee samples. In this experiment, students employed a HPLC-PCD-VIS hyphenated separation protocol to produce a high-resolution chromatogram with minimal sample preparation, and the analysis was tuned to antioxidants in the coffee. Students encountered common analytical instruments and the commercially relevant CUPRAC assay. Using chromatographically derived data, students constructed MS Excel spreadsheets to normalize data and apply information theory to make statements about the similarity between coffee samples. Students were introduced to analytical protocols and chemometric techniques typical of 21st-century solutions to complex problems while utilizing common analytical instruments and reagents. Students were able to gain real-world laboratory skills, including running HPLC columns for sample analysis, method hyphenation, and signal retrieval. Students then utilized software to plot data for interpretation and to simplify data via preprocessing and chemometric operations to solve real-world problems.

Purpose: Our purpose was to determine and model the dose-response relations of different parts of the pelvis regarding the endpoint of hematocrit level drop after pelvic radiation therapy (RT). Methods and Materials: Two hundred and twenty-one patients treated with RT for prostate adenocarcinoma between 2014 and 2016 were included. All patients had complete blood counts collected at baseline and 3 months post-RT. The net difference of hematocrit level post-RT versus baseline was calculated, and the level of the 15th percentiles defined the thresholds of response in each case. The doses to 8 different pelvic structures were derived and fitted to the hematocrit levels using the relative seriality normal tissue complication probability model and the biologically equivalent uniform dose (D=). Results: Pelvic structures that correlated with significant decreases in hematocrit were the os coxae bilaterally superior to the acetabulum (OCUB), the total os coxae bilaterally, and the bone volume of the whole pelvis. The structure showing the highest correlation was OCUB with a maximum area under the curve (AUC) of 0.74. For V20 Gy < 30% the odds ratio was 9.8 with 95% CI of 2.9 to 32.9. For mean dose (Dmean) to OCUB, an AUC of 0.73 was observed where the dose threshold was 23 Gy and the odds ratio was 2.7 and 95% CI 1.3 to 5.6. The values for the D50, γ, and s parameters of the relative seriality model were 26.9 Gy (25.9-27.9), 1.3 (1.2-2.2), and 0.12 (0.10-0.83), respectively. The AUC of D= was 0.73 and patients with D= to OCUB ≥ 27 Gy had 8.2 times higher rate of significant hematocrit drop versus

Overlap syndrome (OVS) is a distinct clinical entity that seems to result in potential cardiovascular consequences. We aimed to estimate the prevalence and risk factors for OVS in OSA patients and analyze clinical and PSG characteristics associated with OVS. In this cross-sectional study, 2616 patients evaluated for OSA underwent type-1 polysomnography (PSG). They were grouped as pure OSA (AHI > 15/h) and OVS patients. Demographics, PSG data, pulmonary function tests and arterial blood gases (ABGs) were compared between groups after adjustments for confounders. OSA was diagnosed in 2108 out of 2616 patients. Of those, 398 (19%) had OVS. Independent predictors of OVS were older age [OR: 5.386 (4.153–6.987)], current/former smoking [OR: 11.577 (7.232–18.532)], BMI [OR: 2.901 (2.082–4.044)] and ABG measurements [PaCO2 ≥ 45 OR: 4.648 (3.078–7.019), PO2 [OR: 0.934 (0.920–0.949)], HCO3− [OR: 1.196 (1.133–1.263), all p < 0.001]. OVS was also associated with prevalent hypertension [OR: 1.345 (1.030–1.758), p = 0.03] and cardiovascular disease [OR: 1.617 (1.229–2.126), p < 0.001], depressive symptoms [OR: 1.741 (1.230–2.465), p = 0.002] and nocturia [OR: 1.944 (1.378–2.742), p < 0.001], as well as with indices of OSA severity. Disturbances in sleep architecture were more prominent in OVS expressed by lower %N3 and REM% and higher arousal index. Our data suggest that OVS is prevalent among OSA patients, with distinct clinical and PSG characteristics. These characteristics could be utilized as predictive factors for early identification and further evaluation of these patients towards desirable patient-reported outcomes.

Abstract Truck drivers are a vulnerable population due to the high number of workplace injuries and fatalities predominant in their occupation. In Australia, the road freight transportation industry has been identified as a national priority area in terms of creating preventative measures to improve the health and safety of its workers. With an environment conducive to poor nutritional food choices and unhealthy lifestyle behaviours, many barriers exist to creating a safe and healthy workforce. Thus, the current study aimed to describe the pre-injury hospital-recorded health conditions and health service use of truck drivers with a worker’s injury compensation claim/s when compared to workers in other industries. Data was obtained from a compensation claims database and linked with hospital admissions data recorded five years prior to the injury claim. Health and lifestyle behaviour data for the occupational code of truck drivers was compared to other occupational drivers, as well as to all other occupations. Analysis was conducted via logistic regression. The results found that when compared to other occupational drivers, truck drivers were significantly more likely to have a hospital-recorded diagnosis of diabetes and/or hypertension, as well as being significantly more likely to have a hospital record of tobacco use and/or alcohol misuse/abuse. The findings show that there is a need to review and revise existing health strategies to promote the health and wellbeing of truck drivers, especially given their challenging work environment.

A general method for the synthesis of spiroacetals was investigated. Simple symmetrical [n,n]‐spiroacetals (n=5,6) can be prepared from α,ω‐alkanediols by their conversion to the respective ω‐benzyloxyalkyl bromides, addition of their Grignard reagents to ethyl formate, further oxidation of the resulting secondary alcohols and finally deprotection with spontaneous intramolecular acetalization. Access to the respective unsymmetrical [m,n]‐spiroacetals (m,n=5,6,7) was similarly achieved by addition of the above Grignard reagent to a ω‐benzyloxyalkanal, followed by the same reaction sequence. This method was further adapted for the synthesis of the unsubstituted structural core of natural spiroacetals oleocaran and elmonin, thus demonstrating its potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The regiospecific Cα−Cβ cleavage of allylic alcohols under modified aerobic Mukaiyama hydration conditions is presented. The new methodology can be regarded as an equivalent of a two‐step process, a typical hydration of the parent allylic alcohol followed by a 1,2‐diol cleavage. A broad scope of substrates, both cyclic and acyclic, are applicable, thus introducing substantial structural modification to the core, especially of the former type of substrates. Mechanistic investigation of the reaction reveals the importance of the nearby hydroxyl group for the deviation from the typical Mukaiyama hydration pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest fires are a seasonal phenomenon in Greece, reoccurring annually and causing adverse impacts on both human-made and natural environments. Our case study focuses on the devastating fire that took place in July 2018 in the second-housing area of Mati, East Attica. In this research, we propose a simple and effective approach that combines the deformation trend obtained from the Permanent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) analysis with the burn severity assessment aiming to identify and classify potential ground-burn hazard zones. To maximize the number of measuring points, we employ a weighted full-graph PSI approach. Additionally, we calculate the burn severity by comparing Sentinel-2 satellite images captured before and after the event. The resulting datasets are reclassified on a scale from 1 to 5, and the proposed equation yields the final product. Numerous high and very high hazard zones have been identified using this methodology. The research findings reveal the proximity between these hazard zones and the stream network. Overall, the proposed method offers valuable insights for the post-fire monitoring and management of urban and peri-urban landscapes in the affected areas.

The aim of our study was to assess university students’ sleep quality and fatigue before and during the academic exam period and identify potential associated factors. A Web-based survey was completed by 940 students of 20 different Tertiary Institutions including demographics, sleep habits, exercise, caffeine, tobacco, alcohol use, subjective sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index—PSQI), and fatigue (Fatigue severity scale—FSS) at the beginning of the semester and during the examination period. During the exam period, PSQI (8.9 vs. 6.1, p < 0.001) and FSS scores (36.9 vs. 32.7, p < 0.001) were significantly elevated compared to the pre-exam period. An increase in the PSQI score was associated with age (β = 0.111, p = 0.011), presence of chronic disease (β = 0.914, p = 0.006), and depressive symptoms (β = 0.459, p = 0.001). An increase in the FSS score was associated with female gender (β = 1.658, p < 0.001), age, (β = 0.198, p = 0.010), increase in smoking (β = 1.7, p = 0.029), coffee/energy drinks consumption (β = 1.988, p < 0.001), decreased levels of physical exercise (β = 1.660, p < 0.001), and depressive symptoms (β = 2.526, p < 0.001). In conclusion, our findings indicate that exam periods have a negative impact on the sleep quality and fatigue levels of university students. Potential factors were identified that could contribute to the formulation of strategies for improved sleep quality and wellness.

In the present study, the potential of hedgerows from Mediterranean aromatic plant species, i.e., oregano, rosemary, sage, and savory, in orange field margins to function as reservoirs of natural enemies of citrus pests was tested in comparison to the common management practice of bare soil or weed vegetation. Assessments were based on the abundance and diversity of parasitoid wasps, spiders, and insect predators in the field margins and on the orange trees for two growing seasons. Savory plants harbored more parasitoids compared to weed vegetation and the other aromatic plants (savory > organic rosemary > sage > oregano). Weed vegetation hosted more arachnid predators than the aromatic plants in their first year in the orchard, but this was reversed with their full growth in the following year (most abundant on rosemary). Oregano and sage favor insect predators. The similarity of the natural enemy communities on the field margins and on the orange trees increased with time, indicating the insects’ movement from the field margins to the trees. The results support the use of the tested aromatic plant species in conservation practices for targeted groups of beneficial arthropods in orange orchards, also considering the exploitation of suitable wild flowering plants of the weed flora.

Purpose: Monaco treatment planning system (TPS) version 5.1 uses a Monte-Carlo (MC)-based dose calculation engine. The aim of this study is to verify and compare the Monaco-based dose calculations with both Pinnacle3 collapsed cone convolution superposition (CCCS) and Eclipse anisotropic analytical algorithm (AAA) calculations. Materials and Methods: For this study, 18 previously treated lung and head-and-neck (HN) cancer patients were chosen to compare the dose calculations between Pinnacle, Monaco, and Eclipse. Plans were chosen from those that had been treated using the Elekta VersaHD or a Novalis Tx linac. All of the treated volumetric-modulated arc therapy plans used 6 MV or 10 MV photon beams. The original plans calculated with CCCS or AAA along with the recalculated ones using MC from the three TPS were exported into Velocity software for intercomparison. Results: To compare the dose calculations, Planning target volume (PTV) heterogeneity indexes and conformity indexes were calculated from the dose volume histograms (DVH) of all plans. While mean lung dose (MLD), lung V5 and V20 values were recorded for lung plans, the computed dose to parotids, brainstem, and mandible were documented for HN plans. In plan evaluation, percent differences of the above dosimetric values in Monaco computation were compared against each of the other TPS computations. Conclusion: It could be concluded through this research that there can be differences in the calculation of dose across different TPSs. Although relatively small, these differences could become apparent when compared using DVH. These differences most likely arise from the different dose calculation algorithms used in each TPS. Monaco employs the MC allowing it to have much more detailed calculations that result in it being seen as the most accurate and the gold standard.

Background: The increased use of deformable registration algorithms in clinical practice has also increased the need for their validation. Aims and Objectives: The purpose of the study was to investigate the quality, accuracy, and plausibility of three commercial image registration algorithms for 4-dimensional computed tomography (4DCT) datasets using various similarity measures. Materials and Methods: 4DCT datasets were acquired for 10 lung cancer patients. 23 similarity measures were used to evaluate image registration quality. To ensure selected method's invertibility and assess resultant mechanical stress, the determinant of the Jacobian for the displacement field and 3-D Eulerian strain tensor were calculated. All the measures and calculations were applied on to extended deformable multi pass (EXDMP) and deformable multi pass (DMP) methods. Results: The results indicate the same trend for several of the studied measures. The Jacobian determinant values were always positive for the DMP method. The Eulerian strain tensor had smaller values for the DMP method than EXDMP in all of the studied cases. The negative values of the Jacobian determinant point to non-physical behavior of the EXDMP method. The Eulerian strain tensor values indicate less tissue strain for the DMP method. Large differences were also observed in the results between complete and cropped datasets (coefficient of determination: 0.55 vs. 0.93). Conclusion: A number of error and distance measures showed the best performance among the tested measures. The evaluated measures might detect CT dataset differences with higher precision if the analysis is restricted to a smaller volume.

Introduction. Acetaminophen is a common medication involved in deliberate and accidental self-poisoning. The acetaminophen treatment nomogram is used to guide acetylcysteine treatment. It is rare to develop hepatotoxicity with an initial acetaminophen concentration below the nomogram line. We present a case of acetaminophen ingestion with an initial concentration below the nomogram line that developed hepatic failure, due to a delayed peak acetaminophen concentration secondary to coingesting medications that slow gastric emptying. Case Report. A 43-year-old (55 kg) female presented after ingesting an unknown quantity of acetaminophen, clonidine, and alcohol. Her acetaminophen level was 41 mg/L (256 μmol/L) at 4.5 h post-ingestion, well below the nomogram line, and ALT was 25 U/L. Hence, acetylcysteine was not commenced. She was intubated for decreased level of conscious. A repeat acetaminophen level 4 h later was 39 mg/L (242 μmol/L), still below the nomogram line. She was extubated 24 h later.At 38 h post-ingestion she developed abdominal pain, the repeat acetaminophen level was 85 mg/L (560 μmol/L), ALT was 489 U/L, and acetylcysteine was commenced. The patient developed hepatic failure with a peak ALT of 7009 U/L and INR of 7.5 but made a full recovery. It was discovered that she had ingested a combination acetaminophen product containing dextromethorphan and chlorphenamine. Acetaminophen metabolites were measured, including nontoxic glucuronide and sulfate conjugates and toxic cytochrome P450 (CYP) metabolites. The metabolite data demonstrated increasing CYP metabolites in occurrence with the delayed acetaminophen peak concentration. Discussion. Opioids and antimuscarinic agents are known to delay gastric emptying and clonidine may also have contributed. These coingested medications resulted in delayed acetaminophen absorption. This case highlights the issue of altered pharmacokinetics when patients coingest gut slowing agents.

Coffee is one of the world’s most popular beverages, with the global coffee capsule market worth over USD 4 billion and growing. The incidence of coffee fraud is estimated to be up to one in five coffees being contaminated with cheaper blends of coffee. Given the worsening extent of climate change, coffee crop yields are harder to maintain, while demand is increasing. The 2021 Brazil frost delaying or destroying many coffee crops is an example. Hence, the incidence of coffee fraud is expected to increase, and as the market becomes more complex, there needs to be faster, easier, and more robust means of real-time coffee authentication. In this study, we propose the use of novel approaches to postcolumn derivatization (termed herein as in-column derivatization) to visualize the antioxidant profiles of coffee samples, to be later used as indicators for authentication purposes. We propose three simple mathematical similarity metrics for the real-time identification of unknown coffee samples from a sample library. Using the CUPRAC assay, and these metrics, we demonstrate the capabilities of the technique to identify unknown coffee samples from within our library of thirty.

In many countries globally, information for new buildings is either scarce or incomplete. In an effort to bridge this information gap an approach based on public domain synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite data is introduced. The method is based on the persistent scatterer interferometry (PSI) technique in order to detect newly constructed buildings and estimate their heights in a selected case study area in Athens, Greece. The overall objective is to derive timely spatial information for building activity. A key concept of the approach is the residual height, i.e., the difference in height of each point compared to a reference point that is suitably selected. The data used are acquired by the Sentinel-1 satellite. Both ascending and descending orbits and dual polarizations (VV/VH) are used. The results show that as much as 70% of new buildings can be detected at a vertical accuracy approximately of 2.5 m, which is sufficient to determine the number of stories per building. Overall, the proposed method can provide an efficient insight regarding building activity and provide a significant information layer for urban studies in a rapidly changing world.

Acute fibrinous and organizing pneumonia (AFOP) is an entity that can be secondary to various conditions leading to lung injury, such as infections, malignancies, and various autoimmune conditions or idiopathic interstitial lung disease, when no obvious underlying cause is identified. Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), on the other hand, are a spectrum of clonal myeloid disorders, with a higher risk of acute leukemia, characterized by ineffective bone marrow (BM) hematopoiesis and, thus, peripheral blood (PB) cytopenias. Immune deregulation is thought to take part in the pathophysiology of the disease, including abnormal T and/or B cell responses, innate immunity, and cytokine expression. In the literature, there are a few case reports of patients with MDS that have presented pulmonary infiltrates and were diagnosed as having AFOP or organizing pneumonia (OP). It is rare, though, to have isolated pulmonary infiltrates without Sweet's syndrome or even the pulmonary infiltrates to precede the diagnosis and treatment of MDS, which was our case. We present a 72-year-old female developing new lung infiltrates refractory to antibiotic treatment that responded well to corticosteroids and was histologically described as having OP. The treatment was gradually successfully switched to mycophenolate mofetil (MMF). The patient was later diagnosed with MDS. This interesting case report suggests firstly that a diagnosis of AFOP or OP should alert the clinician to search for an underlying cause including MDS and vice versa, the use of systemic steroids should not be postponed, and, finally, that MMF can successfully be used in these patients.

Background: The prevention of radiation-induced liver disease (RILD) is very significant in ensuring a safe radiation treatment and high quality of life. Aims and Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate the correlation of physical and biological effective dose (BED) metrics with liver toxicity from hypo-fractionated liver radiotherapy. Materials and Methods: 41 hypo-fractionated patients in 2 groups were evaluated for classic radiation-induced liver disease (RILD) and chronic RILD, respectively. Patients were graded for effective toxicity (post-treatment minus pre-treatment) using the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) v4.0. Physical dose (PD) distributions were converted to BED. The V10Gy, V15Gy, V20Gy, V25Gy and V30Gy physical dose-volume metrics were used in the analysis together with their respective BED-converted metrics of V16.7Gy3, V30Gy3, V46.7Gy3, V66.7Gy3 and V90Gy3. All levels were normalized to their respective patient normal liver volumes (NLV) and evaluated for correlation to RILD. Results were measured quantitatively using R2 regression analysis. Results: The classic RILD group had median follow-up time of 1.9 months and the average PD-NLV normalized V10Gy, V15Gy, V20Gy, V25Gy and V30Gy metrics per grade were plotted against RILD yielding R2 correlations of 0.84, 0.72, 0.73, 0.65 and 0.70, respectively while the BED-volume metrics of V16.7Gy3, V30Gy3, V46.7Gy3, V66.7Gy3 and V90Gy3 resulted in correlation values of 0.84, 0.74, 0.66, 0.78 and 0.74, respectively. BED compared to PD showed a statistically significant (p=.03) increase in R2 for the classic RILD group. Chronic RILD group had median follow-up time of 12.3 months and the average PD-NLV normalized V10Gy, V15Gy, V20Gy, V25Gy and V30Gy metrics per grade were plotted against RILD grade yielding R2 correlations of 0.48, 0.92, 0.88, 0.90 and 0.99 while the BED-volume metrics of V16.7Gy3, V30Gy3, V46.7Gy3, V66.7Gy3 and V90Gy3 resulted in correlation values of 0.43, 0.94, 0.99, 0.21 and 0.00, respectively. Conclusion: The strong correlations of the V10Gy and V15Gy PD-volume metrics as well as the V16.7Gy3(BED of V10Gy) to both classic and chronic RILD imply the appropriateness of the current 15Gy evaluation level for liver toxicity with hypo-fractionated treatments.

Introduction: Clinical evaluation of a two-dimensional (2D) liquid-filled ion chamber detector array used in the verification of highly modulated small beams of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) has been conducted. Materials and Methods: Measurements with the Octavius 1000 SRS (PTW, Freiburg, Germany) detector with 977 liquid-filled ion chambers were compared against EDR2 film and PTW Octavius Seven29. The performance of detector array has been evaluated on ten SBRT patient plans. Dose profiles of individual and composite fields' calculated using Pinnacle3 treatment planning system were compared against measurements with Octavius 1000 SRS detector array, EDR2 film, and Octavius Seven29 detector. Gamma index and profile comparison were used in the evaluation and assessment of the detector's performance. Results: The Gamma index measurements show agreement between Pinnacle3 computations and Octavius 1000 SRS array, PTW Octavius Seven29, and EDR2 film for >90% of the points using 2%, 2 mm tolerance criteria. Profiles obtained with the Octavius 1000 SRS were in agreement with the EDR2 film profiles, demonstrating the detector's superior sampling rate. Conclusions: The Octavius 1000 SRS is a dosimetrically accurate device to perform quality assurance checks in SBRT treatments. The broad range of measurements performed in this study quantified the dosimetric accuracy of Octavius 1000 SRS detector in the clinical setup of the small fields in radiotherapy.

Essential oils (EOs) have been widely exploited for their biological properties (mainly as antimicrobials) in the food industry. Encapsulation of EOs has opened the way to the utilization of EOs in the pharmaceutical and biomedical fields. Electrospinning (ES) has proved a convenient and versatile method for the encapsulation of EOs into multifunctional nanofibers. Within the last five years (2017–2022), many research articles have been published reporting the use of ES for the fabrication of essential oil—loaded nanofibers (EONFs). The objective of the present mini-review article is to elucidate the potential of EONFs in the pharmaceutical and biomedical fields and to highlight their advantages over traditional polymeric films. An overview of the conventional ES and coaxial ES technologies for the preparation of EONFs is also included. Even though EONFs are promising systems for the delivery of EOs, gaps in the literature can be recognized (e.g., stability studies) emphasizing that more research work is needed in this field to fully unravel the potential of EONFs.

Background: Index admission laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the standard of care for patients admitted to hospital with symptomatic acute cholecystitis. The same standard applies to patients suffering with mild acute biliary pancreatitis. Operating theatre capacity can be a significant constraint to same admission surgery. This study assesses the impact of dedicated theatre capacity provided by a specialist surgical team on rates of index admission cholecystectomy.Methods: This clinical cohort study compares the management of patients with symptomatic gallstone disease admitted to a tertiary care university teaching hospital over two equal but chronologically separate time periods. The periods were before and after service reconfiguration including a specialist HPB service with dedicated operating theatre time allocation.Results: There was a significant difference in the number of admissions over the two time periods with a greater proportion of patients having index admission surgery in the second time period with correspondingly fewer having more than one admission during this latter time period. In the second time period 43% of patients underwent index admission cholecystectomy compared to 23% in the first (P < 0.001). The duration of surgery was shorter for patients undergoing surgery during the second time period [135 (102–178) min in the first period and in the second period 106 (89–145) min] (P = 0.02).Discussion: This paper shows that the concentration of theatre resources and surgical expertise into regular theatre access for patients undergoing urgent laparoscopic cholecystectomy is an effective and safe model for dealing with acute biliary disease.