A simple, environmental friendly and selective sample preparation technique employing porous membrane protected micro-solid phase extraction (μ-SPE) loaded with molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) for the determination of ochratoxin A (OTA) is described. After the extraction, the analyte was desorbed using ultrasonication and was analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography. Under the optimized conditions, the detection limits of OTA for coffee, grape juice and urine were 0.06 ng g−1, 0.02 and 0.02 ng mL−1, respectively while the quantification limits were 0.19 ng g−1, 0.06 and 0.08 ng mL−1, respectively. The recoveries of OTA from coffee spiked at 1, 25 and 50 ng g−1, grape juice and urine samples at 1, 25 and 50 ng mL

Intelligent or smart completion wells vary from conventional wells. They have downhole flow control devices like Inflow Control Devices (ICD) and Interval Control Valves (ICV) to enhance reservoir management and control, optimizing hydrocarbon output and recovery. However, to explain their adoption and increase their economic return, a high level of justification is necessary. Smart horizontal wells also necessitate optimizing the number of valves, nozzles, and compartment length. A three-dimensional geological model of the As reservoir in AG oil field was used to see the influence of these factors on cumulative oil production and NPV. After creating the dynamic model for the As reservoir using the program Petrel (2017.4), we

Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) were investigated in 143 pretreatment orthodontic patients (43 males and 102 females) whose age ranged between 10-25 years at the College of Dentistry, University of Baghdad, Iraq. The study was undertaken to elucidate the prevalence and severity of TMDs in malocclusion patients and to defme the relationships between malocclusion and TMDs. The clinical signs and subjective symptoms were recorded according to the principles introduced by Helkimo (1974b). Subjective symptoms were reported by 65.7% of the patients with 22.40/0 described as severe, and the most common symptoms were TMJ sounds and feeling offatigue. Clinical signs were observed in 81.8% of the sample with 22.4 and 6.3% described as moderate and

The rapid increase in the number of older people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other forms of dementia represents one of the major challenges to the health and social care systems because of a large number of people affected. Early detection of AD makes it possible for patients to access appropriate services and to benefit from new treatments and therapies, as and when they become available, and to plan for the future. The onset of AD starts many years before the clinical symptoms become clear. A biomarker that can measure the brain changes in this period would be useful for early diagnosis of AD. Potentially, the electroencephalogram (EEG) can play a valuable role in early detection of AD. Damage caused to the brain due to AD leads t

As many expensive and invasive procedures are used for the diagnosis or follow-up of clinical conditions, the measurement of cell-free DNA is a promising, noninvasive method, which considers using blood, follicular fluid, or seminal fluid. This method is used to determine chromosomal abnormalities, genetic disorders, and indicators of some diseases such as polycystic ovary syndrome, pre-eclampsia, and some malignancies. Cell-free DNA, which are DNA fragments outside the nucleus, originates from an apoptotic process. However, to be used as a marker for the previously mentioned diseases is still under investigation. We discuss some aspects of using cell-free DNA measurements as an indicator or marker for pathological conditions.

Experts have given much attention on the use of waste in asphalt paving because of its significance from a sustainability perspective. This paper evaluated the performance properties of asphalt concrete mixes modified with Crumb Rubber (CR) as a partial replacement for two grade sizes of fine aggregate (2.36, and 0.3 mm) at six replacement rates: 0%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, and 10% by weight. Asphalt concrete mixes were prepared at their Optimum Asphalt Content (OAC) and then tested for their engineering properties. Marshall properties, fatigue, rutting, ideal CT index test, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Energy-Dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy were deployed to examine the crystalline structure and elemental composition of the C

 Corrosion behavior of aluminium in 0.6 mol. dm-3 NaCL solution in acidic medium (      ) was investigated in the absence and presence of different concentrations of amino acid, glutamic acid, as environmentally – friendly corrosion inhibitor over temperature range (293-308)K. The investigation involved electrochemical polarization method using potentiostatic technique and optical microscopy, the inhibition efficiency increased with an increase in inhibitor concentration but decreased with increase in temperature. Results showed that the inhibition occurs through adsorption of the inhibitor molecules on the metal surface and it was found to obey Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Some thermodynamic paramet