Evaluation of exposure to phthalate esters through the use of various brands of drinking water bottled in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) containers under different storage conditions

Background: There are many concerns about the migration of phthalates into bottled water. These compounds are hazardous to consumers. In this study, the risk factors of the use of various brands of drinking water bottled in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) containers under different storage conditions were examined. Methods: Phthalate esters were measured and analyzed using air-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction (AALLME) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Subsequently, the risk of exposure to the desired compounds was evaluated by calculating the risk factor and excess cancer risk. Data were statistically analyzed using SPSS version 24 software. Results: The average concentration of phthalate esters (DEHP, DBP, DIBP, DEP, and DMP) after 5 and 15 days of storage at incubator temperature of 42°C, and after 15, 45, and 75 days at incubator temperature of 25°C by increasing the initial level of the conditions was 7.28, 8.99, 1.78, 5.6, 6.45, and 8.55 ppb, respectively. The risk factor of non-carcinogenic effects of phthalates for consumers was low and can be ignored (HQ<1). Also, the risk of additional cancer due to the presence of diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) in bottled water is very low (4.8551×10-6). Conclusion: However, due to the increase in the concentration of phthalate esters in bottled water by increasing the storage time and temperature, as well as increasing the ethylene hexyl phthalate content from its established limit, the use of bottled water kept in unsuitable conditions for the society, and especially the sensitive groups, is not appropriate. Keywords: Phthalate esters, Bottled water, Storage conditions, Risk assessment, Various brand

Calcium and Magnesium in Ilam Drinking Water Sources during 2009-2013 using Geographic Information System (GIS)

Physicochemical quality of water from the acceptability point of view is essential for consumers; protecting the health of consumers and maintenance of water supply systems. The aim of this study is to determine temporal and spatial variations of Calcium and Magnesium in Ilam drinking water sources using the GIS system. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 20 drinking water sources in Ilam city and the 5 years results by water and wastewater company archive GIS software version 3.9 were analyzed via SPSS version 16 as well as one-way variance analysis. Water and wastewater sampling and measurement were conducted in order to verify the data by researchers according to standard methods. Based on interpolation map, the maximum calcium and magnesium contents are related to western and central regions. ANOVA test showed that there no a significant difference between the mean calcium variable verification test in summer during 2009-2013 and at 95% level. (P=0.760>0.05). The one-way analysis of variance showed that there is a significant difference between the average magnesium variable in summer during 2013-2009 years and the verification test at 95% level. (P=0.01

Slaughterhouse wastewater treatment by combined anaerobic baffled reactor and anaerobic filter: study of OLR and HRT optimization in ABR/AF reactors

Background: Slaughterhouse wastewater (SWW) is hardly treated due to the large amount of organic matter, nutrients and suspended solids. These materials are naturally decomposed through biological processes, and then environmental pollution, transmission of pathogens and problems become smelled. Conventional purification methods require high investment costs, high energy consumption and expert workforce. Therefore, the efficient and sufficient treatment of SWW with low cost, efficient construction and operation is important. Methods: A combined anaerobic system consisting of three pilot-scale anaerobic baffled reactors (ABRs) in the first stage and three anaerobic filters (AFs) were used to treat SWW. The ABR reactors arranged at three hydraulic retention times (HRTs) of 12, 18 and 24 hours and organic loading rates (OLRs) of 4, 7 and 10 kg/m3/d. The OLR applied for ABR reactors, was 0.5 to 1.55 kg COD/m3/d. Results: Evaluation of the ABR reactor indicated that this reactor at OLR of 7 and 10 kg COD/m3/d and HRT of 18 hours, had removal efficiency of 83.29% and 85.79%, respectively. AF reactor, at OLR of 0.981, 0.576 and 0.561 kg COD/m3/d and HRT of 36 hours, had removal efficiency of 79.39%, 74.09% and 63.14%, respectively. Conclusion: The optimum HRT and OLR were 24 hours and 7 kg COD/m3/d and 36 hours and 1 kg COD/m3/d in ABR and AF reactor, respectively. Keywords: Waste water, Slaughterhouse, Anaerobic treatmen

Levosimendan exerts anticonvulsant properties against PTZ-induced seizures in mice through activation of nNOS/NO pathway: Role for K<inf>ATP</inf> channel

Aims Although approving new anticonvulsants was a major breakthrough in the field of epilepsy control, so far we have met limited success in almost one third of patients suffering from epilepsy and a definite and reliable method is yet to be found. Levosimendan demonstrated neuroprotective effects and reduced mortality in conditions in which seizure can be an etiology of death; however, the underlying neuroprotective mechanisms of levosimendan still eludes us. In the light of evidence suggesting levosimendan can be a KATP channel opener and nitrergic pathway activator, levosimendan may exert antiseizure effects through KATP channels and nitrergic pathway. Main methods In this study, the effects of levosimendan on seizure susceptibility was studied by PTZ-induced seizures model in mice. Key findings Administration of a single effective dose of levosimendan significantly increased seizures threshold and the nitrite level in the hippocampus and temporal cortex. Pretreatment with noneffective doses of glibenclamide (a KATP channel blocker) and L-NAME (a non-selective NOS inhibitor) neutralize the anticonvulsant and nitrite elevating effects of levosimendan. While 7-NI (a neural NOS inhibitor) blocked the anticonvulsant effect of levosimendan, Aminoguanidine (an inducible NOS inhibitor) failed to affect the anticonvulsant effects of levosimendan. Cromakalim (a KATP channel opener) or L-arginine (an NO precursor) augmented the anticonvulsant effects of a subeffective dose of levosimendan. Moreover, co-administration of noneffective doses of Glibenclamide and L-NAME demonstrated a synergistic effect in blocking the anticonvulsant effects of levosimendan. Significance Levosimendan has anticonvulsant effects possibly via KATP/nNOS/NO pathway activation in the hippocampus and temporal corte

Bayesian Time-Series Classifier for Decoding Simple Visual Stimuli from Intracranial Neural Activity

Understanding how external stimuli are encoded in distributed neural activity is of significant interest in clinical and basic neuroscience. To address this need, it is essential to develop analytical tools capable of handling limited data and the intrinsic stochasticity present in neural data. In this study, we propose a straightforward Bayesian time series classifier (BTsC) model that tackles these challenges whilst maintaining a high level of interpretability. We demonstrate the classification capabilities of this approach by utilizing neural data to decode colors in a visual task. The model exhibits consistent and reliable average performance of 75.55% on 4 patients' dataset, improving upon state-of-the-art machine learning techniques by about 3.0 percent. In addition to its high classification accuracy, the proposed BTsC model provides interpretable results, making the technique a valuable tool to study neural activity in various tasks and categories. The proposed solution can be applied to neural data recorded in various tasks, where there is a need for interpretable results and accurate classification accuracy

Application of temperature simulation for seepage inspection in earth-fill dams

U ovom se radu razmatra procjeđivanje zemljane brane simuliranjem procjednog toka i toplinskih parametara. Jednadžbe za izjednačavanje masa i za konvekciju-difuziju diskretizirane su pomoću metode konačnih elemenata radi rješavanja tih pojava u zasićenim i nezasićenim zonama. Predloženi model je provjeren na primjeru zemljane brane Shamil. Analizirani su materijali raznih karakteristika provodljivosti te je izvršena usporedba s mjernim podacima. Rezultati pokazuju da se ispitivanjem temperaturnih varijacija pojava procjeđivanja može jasnije sagledati nego kod piezometarske kontrole procjeđivanja.The earth-fill dam leakage is studied in this paper by applying the seepage flow and thermal simulation. The mass balance and convection-diffusion equations are discretized based on the finite element method to solve the phenomena in saturated and unsaturated zones. The Shamil embankment dam is used for verification of the proposed model. Different conductivity cases are analyzed and compared against measured data. Results show that investigation of temperature variations can magnify the effect of leakage more clearly than the inspection of seepage piezometric levels

Aloe Vera Gel-derived Eye Drops for Alkaline Corneal Injury in a Rabbit Model

Purpose: To investigate the efficacy of topical Aloe Vera (AV) gel-derived eye drops on the healing of alkali-burned corneas in rabbits. Methods: Thirty alkali-burned corneas of 30 New Zealand albino rabbits were categorized into three groups: AV treatment group that received AV gel-derived eye drops four times a day; medical therapy (MT) group that received conventional treatment; and the control group. Clinical examinations together with digital imaging of the corneas were performed on days 0, 1, 2, 4, and 7. The area of the corneal epithelial defect (CED) was measured using ImageJ software. After euthanizing the rabbits, the affected corneas were evaluated by histopathological examination. Finally, the clinical and histopathological results were compared among the groups. Results: The CED area on days 2 and 7 was significantly less in the AV group than that in the MT group (P = 0.007 and P = 0.024, respectively) and the control group (P = 0.003 and P = 0.037, respectively). None of the cases developed hypersensitivity reactions, limbal ischemia, descemetocele, or corneal perforation during the study period. Based on histopathology, the AV group had notably less keratocyte loss than the MT group (P = 0.001) and the control group (P = 0.022). The inflammatory response after the alkali burn was higher in the AV group than that in the controls (P = 0.028). Conclusion: Short-term topical AV treatment was effective in healing alkali-burned corneas and hastened corneal re-epithelialization as compared to MT; however, AV gel-derived eye drops did not reduce the inflammatory response

Detection of Legionella pneumophila in the bronchoalveolar lavage samples by real time PCR in patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia in ICU

زمینه و هدف: لژیونلا پنوموفیلا به خاطر توانایی آن در ایجاد پنومونی ناشی از ونتیلاسیون مکانیکی مورد توجه مراکز درمانی است. هدف از این مطالعه ردیابی گونه های لژیونلا پنوموفیلا در نمونه های بدست آمده از برونکوآلوئولار لاواژ با روشReal Time PCR در بیماران بستری در بخش مراقبت های ویژه ی بیمارستان الزهرا(س) اصفهان می باشد. روش بررسی: در یک مطالعه توصیفی تحلیلی سی و نه نمونه برونکوآلوئولار لاواژ در بیماران مبتلا به پنومونی همراه با ونتیلاتور بستری در بخش مراقبت های ویژه (ICU) بیمارستان الزهرای اصفهان در سال 1390 گرفته و تا زمان آزمایش در 20- درجه سانتیگراد نگهداری شد. DNA به روش فنل کلروفرم استخراج و آزمایش Real Time PCR در 45 چرخه شامل oC95 برای 4 ثانیه و oC58 برای 30 ثانیه انجام شد. در حالی که پروب به روش Taq Man عمل می کرد. یافته ها: نتیجه برای حضور باکتری لژیونلا پنوموفیلا در همه نمونه ها منفی شد. حداقل سن افراد در مطالعه 20 و حداکثر 86 سال بوده است. مدت زمان بستری افراد مورد مطالعه در ICU حداقل 2 روز و حداکثر 65 روز است. مدت زمان ونتیلاسیون افراد مورد مطالعه حداقل 2 روز و حداکثر 65 روز بود. نتیجه گیری: این مطالعه عدم حضور لژیونلا پنوموفیلا در بیماران دچار پنومونی وابسته به ونتیلاتور در ICU بیمارستان الزهرای اصفهان رادریک مقطع زمانی نشان می دهد؛ لذا بر اساس مطالعه فوق، شناخت الگوی میکروبیولوژیک لژیونلا پنوموفیلا در سایر مراکز درمانی نیز امری منطقی به نظر می رسد

The Edge Szeged Index of Product Graphs

The edge Szeged index of a molecular graph G is defined as the sum of products mu(e|G)mv(e|G) over all edges e = uv of G, where mu(e|G) is the number of edges whose distance to vertex u is smaller than the distance to vertex v, and where mv(e|G) is defined analogously. The aim of this paper is to compute the edge Szeged index of the Cartesian product of graphs. As a consequence of our result, the edge Szeged index of Hamming graphs and C4-nanotubes are computed