In this study, graphene based photocatalysts containing different silver doped titanium dioxide nanosheets (Ag-TNs-RGO) were fabricated. The successful reduction of graphene oxide (as support) was ...confirmed by Raman analysis. Also, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) analysis confirmed pure anatase phase of the obtained TiO2 nanosheets as well as Raman spectroscopy. The efficiency of Ag-TNs-RGO (0.038) for degradation of tetracycline (TC) antibiotic as an organic pollutant model under visible light and UV irradiation for 180 min was evaluated 48.57% and 77.84%, respectively. Artificial neural network (ANN) and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) were used to describe the photocatalytic degradation process. Five degradation variables (catalyst dosage, initial concentration of TC, silver nitrate content, visible light irradiation time and ammonium persulfate (APS) concentration) were defined as the input variables of the models and the removal percentage of TC was the output. Sensitivity analysis was performed by weights method on the outputs of models.
Wireless body area networks (WBANs) consist of tiny sensors that placed around or implant in the human body. These nodes can permanently monitor the health of patients. WBANs require medical ...applications for remote monitoring and health care. In WBANs, the main challenge is delay and limitations of energy consumption to prolong the network lifetime. In this context, a MAC protocol has been provided to guarantee energy consumption and delay reduction based on priority of data traffic. The design of this protocol consisted of four sections: First, the patient data traffic is prioritized and classified, which included normal data, periodic data, and emergency data. Second, the superframe structure is improved according to IEEE 802.15.4 and the priorities for the data are optimized. Third, the energy consumption and delay have been reduced by using the radio wake-up mechanism and through controlling the node modes. Four, for checking the node modes, the state diagram and the asymmetric hidden Markov method have been exploited to model the limited capacity of the buffers. This protocol has been simulated using NS-3, and simulation and evaluation results indicated that lower energy consumption and delay as well as improved network lifetimes compared to the previous methods.
Mining activity constitutes a potential source of heavy metal pollution in the environment. Long-term exposure to heavy metals (e.g., cadmium) has adverse health effects. Rodents frequently serve as ...bioindicators to monitor the levels of heavy metals in the environment. In the present study, concentrations of 10 heavy metals (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, and Zn) in kidney, liver, and muscle tissue of the Persian jird (
Meriones persicus
) were evaluated. This is the first study to examine the histopathological changes in Persian jird tissues caused by the bioaccumulation heavy metals. The samples were taken at location that surrounded by Sangan Iron Ore Mine (SIOM) mining activities, in northeastern Iran. The results show that the highest concentrations for the metals were observed in kidney and liver, whereas lowest concentrations were found in muscle of Persian jirds. The concentration of Pb was below the limit of detection. Sex and age were two factors that could explain the different levels of heavy metal bioaccumulation, which affects the concentration of some metals. Adults had significantly higher Cu and Cd levels compared to juveniles. Males bioaccumulated more Zn in their kidneys than females, whereas females bioaccumulated more Fe in their livers. As expected, heavy metals affected various organs of the studied specimens. Hyperemia, hemorrhage, necrosis, and degenerative damage to the epithelial cells of the tubules, the presence of hyaline casts, and in one case, mononuclear leukocyte infiltration, were observed in samples of renal tissue. Hemorrhage and hepatocyte vacuolization were the most common histopathological changes found in samples of hepatic tissue. These effects and the concentrations of heavy metals in the studied specimens indicate the need for monitoring and frequent sampling to evaluate long-term persistent pollutants.
CdS/ZnO nanosheets heterostructures ((x)CdS/ZNs) with different mole ratios of Cd/Zn ((x) = 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6) were synthesized by the impregnation-calcination method. PXRD patterns showed that the ...(100) diffraction of ZNs was the most significant in the (x)CdS/ZNs heterostructures, and it confirmed that CdS nanoparticles (in cubic phase) occupied the (101) and (002) crystal facets of ZNs with hexagonal wurtzite crystal phase. UV–Vis DRS results indicated that CdS nanoparticles decreased the band gap energy of ZNs (2.80–2.11 eV) and extended the photoactivity of ZNs to the visible light region. The vibrations of ZNs were not observed clearly in the Raman spectra of (x)CdS/ZNs due to the extensive coverage of CdS nanoparticles shielding the deeper-laying ZNs from Raman response. The photocurrent of (0.4) CdS/ZNs photoelectrode reached 33 μA, about 82 times higher than that for ZNs (0.4 μA, 0.1 V vs Ag/AgCl). The formation of an n-n junction at the (0.4) CdS/ZNs reduced the recombination of electron-hole pairs and increased the degradation performance of the as-prepared (0.4) CdS/ZNs heterostructure. The highest percentage removal of tetracycline (TC) in the sonophotocatalytic/photocatalytic processes was obtained by (0.4) CdS/ZNs under visible light. The quenching tests showed that O2•-, h+, and OH• were the main active species in the degradation process. The degradation percentage decreased negligibly in the sonophotocatalytic (84%–79%) compared to the photocatalytic (90%–72%) process after four re-using runs due to the presence of ultrasonic waves. For the estimation of degradation behavior, two machine learning methods were applied. The comparison between the ANN and GBRT models evidenced that both models had high prediction accuracy and could be used for predicting and fitting the experimental data of the %removal of TC. The excellent sonophotocatalytic/photocatalytic performance and stability of the fabricated (x)CdS/ZNs catalysts made them promising candidates for wastewater purification.
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CdS/ZnO nanosheets heterostructures were fabricated by impregnation-calcination method.
The hybrids were applied to sonophotocatalytic degradation of tetracycline (TC).
The heterostructures showed higher activity compared to ZnO due to presence of CdS.
Two strong machine learning models (ANN and GBRT) were designed for degradation prediction.
The hybrid photocatalysts showed the excellent stability and performance.
Designing a high-efficiency solar-activated photocatalyst is a distinctive approach to employing green, abundant solar energy to eliminate anthropogenic environmental contaminants, including ...pharmaceutical effluents. Herein, the novel plasmo-magnetic quaternary nanocomposite of Ag/CuO/α-Fe2O3/rGO, as an original photocatalyst, indicated enhanced photocatalytic efficiency in the visible range with improved synergistic effects of the individual constituent components. It was fabricated by photo-deposition of plasmonic Ag nanoparticles on the hydrothermally grown CuO/α-Fe2O3 p-n heterostructures on the monolayered graphene oxide (GO) surface. The GO and Ag precursor amounts were changed to optimize magnetic and photocatalytic properties. It was fabricated by photo-deposition of plasmonic Ag nanoparticles on the hydrothermally grown CuO/α-Fe2O3 p-n heterostructures on the monolayered graphene oxide (GO) surface. The GO and Ag precursor amounts were changed to optimize magnetic and photocatalytic properties. The fabricated samples were characterized by various techniques such as PXRD, FESEM/EDX/elemental mapping, Raman, DRS, N2 physisorption, PL, TEM, HR-TEM, XPS, VSM, and EIS. The obtained photocatalyst showed a significantly improved percentage of photocatalytic degradation (~73%) of the organic probe pollutant (tetracycline (TC), 30 mg/L) after 360 min of exposure to visible light. Furthermore, the coexistence of rGO single layer and silver nanoparticles led to extending the absorption edge to the visible region and the decrease of charge carrier recombination. The quenching experiments characterized OH•, h+, and O2•− as the active species in the photocatalytic degradation process. The developed ANN and ANFIS techniques successfully anticipated the degradation percentage of TC and illustrated close agreement with the experimental data (R2 =0.96). Moreover, sensitivity analysis determined the relative importance of input variables in the architecture of both artificial intelligence tools. These characteristics confirm the high feasibility of the synthesized photocatalyst for future environmental remediations such as hydrogen production, air purification, antiviral/antibacterial applications, and water/wastewater treatment.
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•Magnetic GO containing CuO/α-Fe2O3 was fabricated via a facile hydrothermal method.•CFG(0.5) nanocomposite was photo-deposited by plasmonic Ag NPs (A(y)CFG(0.5)).•Plasmomagnetic A(2.4)CFG(0.5) showed highest TC removal% (73%) under visible light.•The photocatalytic degradation process was modeled by ANN and ANFIS tools.•The designed AI models predicted the experimental data with high accuracy (R2 = 0.96).
Pregnant women with epilepsy frequently experience seizures related to pregnancy complications and are often prescribed anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) to manage their symptoms. However, less is known ...about the comparative safety of AED exposure in utero. We aimed to compare the risk of congenital malformations (CMs) and prenatal outcomes of AEDs in infants/children who were exposed to AEDs in utero through a systematic review and Bayesian random-effects network meta-analysis.
MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane CENTRAL were searched from inception to December 15, 2015. Two reviewers independently screened titles/abstracts and full-text papers for experimental and observational studies comparing mono- or poly-therapy AEDs versus control (no AED exposure) or other AEDs, then abstracted data and appraised the risk of bias. The primary outcome was incidence of major CMs, overall and by specific type (cardiac malformations, hypospadias, cleft lip and/or palate, club foot, inguinal hernia, and undescended testes).
After screening 5305 titles and abstracts, 642 potentially relevant full-text articles, and 17 studies from scanning reference lists, 96 studies were eligible (n = 58,461 patients). Across all major CMs, many AEDs were associated with higher risk compared to control. For major CMs, ethosuximide (OR, 3.04; 95% CrI, 1.23-7.07), valproate (OR, 2.93; 95% CrI, 2.36-3.69), topiramate (OR, 1.90; 95% CrI, 1.17-2.97), phenobarbital (OR, 1.83; 95% CrI, 1.35-2.47), phenytoin (OR, 1.67; 95% CrI, 1.30-2.17), carbamazepine (OR, 1.37; 95% CrI, 1.10-1.71), and 11 polytherapies were significantly more harmful than control, but lamotrigine (OR, 0.96; 95% CrI, 0.72-1.25) and levetiracetam (OR, 0.72; 95% CrI, 0.43-1.16) were not.
The newer generation AEDs, lamotrigine and levetiracetam, were not associated with significant increased risks of CMs compared to control, and were significantly less likely to be associated with children experiencing cardiac malformations than control. However, this does not mean that these agents are not harmful to infants/children exposed in utero. Counselling is advised concerning teratogenic risks when the prescription is written for a woman of childbearing age and before women continue with these agents when considering pregnancy, such as switching from polytherapy to monotherapy with evidence of lower risk and avoiding AEDs, such as valproate, that are consistently associated with CMs. These decisions must be balanced against the need for seizure control.
PROSPERO CRD42014008925.
A current assessment of case reports of possible drug-induced pancreatitis is needed. We systematically reviewed the case report literature to identify drugs with potential associations with acute ...pancreatitis and the burden of evidence supporting these associations.
A protocol was developed a priori (PROSPERO CRD42017060473). We searched MEDLINE, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and additional sources to identify cases of drug-induced pancreatitis that met accepted diagnostic criteria of acute pancreatitis. Cases caused by multiple drugs or combination therapy were excluded. Established systematic review methods were used for screening and data extraction. A classification system for associated drugs was developed a priori based upon the number of cases, re-challenge, exclusion of non-drug causes of acute pancreatitis, and consistency of latency.
Seven-hundred and thirteen cases of potential drug-induced pancreatitis were identified, implicating 213 unique drugs. The evidence base was poor: exclusion of non-drug causes of acute pancreatitis was incomplete or poorly reported in all cases, 47% had at least one underlying condition predisposing to acute pancreatitis, and causality assessment was not conducted in 81%. Forty-five drugs (21%) were classified as having the highest level of evidence regarding their association with acute pancreatitis; causality was deemed to be probable or definite for 19 of these drugs (42%). Fifty-seven drugs (27%) had the lowest level of evidence regarding an association with acute pancreatitis, being implicated in single case reports, without exclusion of other causes of acute pancreatitis.
Much of the case report evidence upon which drug-induced pancreatitis associations are based is tenuous. A greater emphasis on exclusion of all non-drug causes of acute pancreatitis and on quality reporting would improve the evidence base. It should be recognized that reviews of case reports, are valuable scoping tools but have limited strength to establish drug-induced pancreatitis associations.
CRD42017060473.
Background
Increasing availability of competing biosimilar alternatives makes it challenging to make treatment decisions. The purpose of this review is to evaluate the comparative efficacy and safety ...of ultra-long-/long-/intermediate-acting insulin products and biosimilar insulin compared to human/animal insulin in adults with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM).
Methods
MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, and grey literature were searched from inception to March 27, 2019. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs), quasi-experimental studies, and cohort studies of adults with T1DM receiving ultra-long-/long-/intermediate-acting insulin, compared to each other, as well as biosimilar insulin compared to human/animal insulin were eligible for inclusion. Two reviewers independently screened studies, abstracted data, and appraised risk-of-bias. Pairwise meta-analyses and network meta-analyses (NMA) were conducted. Summary effect measures were mean differences (MD) and odds ratios (OR).
Results
We included 65 unique studies examining 14,200 patients with T1DM. Both ultra-long-acting and long-acting insulin were superior to intermediate-acting insulin in reducing A1c, FPG, weight gain, and the incidence of major, serious, or nocturnal hypoglycemia. For fasting blood glucose, long-acting once a day (od) was superior to long-acting twice a day (bid) (MD - 0.44, 95% CI: - 0.81 to - 0.06) and ultra-long-acting od was superior to long-acting bid (MD - 0.73, 95% CI - 1.36 to - 0.11). For weight change, long-acting od was inferior to long-acting bid (MD 0.58, 95% CI: 0.05 to 1.10) and long-acting bid was superior to long-action biosimilar od (MD - 0.90, 95% CI: - 1.67 to - 0.12).
Conclusions
Our results can be used to tailor insulin treatment according to the desired results of patients and clinicians and inform strategies to establish a competitive clinical market, address systemic barriers, expand the pool of potential suppliers, and favor insulin price reduction.
PROSPERO Registration
CRD42017077051
•Visible-light driven photocatalysts were fabricated using hydrothermal method.•TiO2 nanosheets (TNs) and cobalt atoms were deposited on single-layer graphene.•The synthesized samples applied to ...treat tetracycline (TC) wastewater.•The percentage degradation of TC was obtained 72% under visible light irradiation.•The degradation process was modeled using two strong intelligence tools.
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In this work, two-dimensional (2D) based photocatalysts containing TiO2 nanosheets (TNs) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO(x)) were fabricated using a hydrothermal method. Various quantities of cobalt atoms were deposited on TNs/rGO(x) by the photocatalytic deposition method (Co(y)/TNs/rGO(x)). The results of XRD and Raman spectroscopy analyses showed that the TNs have a pure anatase phase and graphene oxide was adequately reduced during the hydrothermal condition. Based on the DRS analysis, it was observed that the band gap energy of the synthesized samples was decreased compared to the one for pure TNs. The highest photocatalytic activity was obtained by the Co(76)/TNs/rGO(5) sample with 71.5% degradation of tetracycline (TC) (30 mg/L) under the visible light after 180 min. The active species scavenging tests also showed that OH• and h+ were the main species involved in the degradation of TC. The Co(76)/TNs /rGO(5) sample recovery and reusage experiments did not show a significant reduction in the photocatalytic performance after five consecutive cycles. Finally, the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) models were developed to predict the photocatalytic degradation performance of the fabricated photocatalysts. Both the experimental and modeling results confirmed that the 2D-based photocatalysts developed in this study can be considered as promising candidates for wastewater treatment applications.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a disease that causes personal distress or social dysfunction, especially in childhood. The present study aimed to provide the prevalence, comorbidity, and ...predictors of OCD among children and adolescents.
This was a cross-sectional national project conducted on 29,858 children and adolescents using the multi-stage cluster random sampling in Iran. There were both genders in each cluster and three age groups (6–9, 10–14, and 15–18 years) within each cluster. The tools used in this research included a demographic questionnaire and K-SADS-PL. To analyze the data, logistic regression and cross-tab tests were used.
According to the results, the prevalence of OCD in children and adolescents was 3.1 in boys and 3.8 in girls. Also, gender, age, place of residence, and history of psychiatric hospitalization of parents could predict OCD. OCD had comorbidity with behavioral disorders (OR = 0.60, 95%CI: 0.39–0.92), elimination disorders (OR = 0.50, 95%CI: 0.30–0.83), mood disorders (OR = 2.92, 95%CI: 1.43–5.94), and smoking and alcohol disorders (OR = 4.33, 95%CI: 1.28-14.63).
In the development of the obsessive-compulsive disorder, other disorders and symptoms also environmental factors can play a role and are important. Based on our findings, given the prevalence rate of OCD was higher in the age groups of 10–14 and 15–18 years, are one of the most important stages of development for the prevention and treatment of mental disorders, especially OCD, clinical specialists can design appropriate clinical trials or modify existing interventions based on the results of such research.
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