Search Results (1,168)

Background/Objectives: Colonoscopy withdrawal time is an established quality indicator, but ongoing debate exists regarding whether its relationship with adenoma detection follows a fixed threshold or a continuous dose–response pattern. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 31,780 colonoscopies from a multicenter endoscopy database to evaluate the relationship between withdrawal duration and lesion detection. Withdrawal time was assessed as both a continuous and categorical variable, and adenoma detection rate (ADR) and polyp detection rate (PDR) were examined across quartiles and clinically relevant intervals. Results: ADR increased progressively from 7.72% in the shortest withdrawal-time quartile to 36.47% in the longest quartile, while PDR increased from 21.22% to 67.86% (both p for trend <0.001). In the multivariable analysis adjusted for age, sex, and bowel-preparation quality, each additional minute of withdrawal time was independently associated with higher odds of adenoma detection (adjusted OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.13–1.15; p < 0.001). Although the confidence interval was narrow, reflecting the large sample size, the effect was clinically appreciable: model-predicted adenoma detection increased from 13.6% at six minutes to 21.0% at eight minutes and 28.2% at ten minutes, corresponding to approximately seven and fifteen additional adenoma-positive examinations per hundred procedures, respectively. The association remained consistent across age and sex strata. Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed moderate discrimination (area under the curve 0.701), with a Youden-optimal region of approximately 7 to 8 min. Because recorded withdrawal time incorporates interventional time, the principal analysis of inspection effort was conducted at the level of the endoscopist, using withdrawal time measured exclusively in the 14,611 examinations in which no polyp was detected and no tissue was sampled. Among 107 endoscopists contributing 26,793 procedures, inspection time was associated with adenoma detection (Spearman ρ = 0.46; p < 0.001), corresponding to an absolute increase of approximately 1.5 percentage points per additional minute, with attenuation of the gradient beyond approximately seven minutes. Conclusions: The procedure-level findings above describe the association with recorded withdrawal duration as captured in routine practice and are reported as supportive rather than as estimates of inspection effort. Together these analyses indicate that inspection time is associated with adenoma detection in a graded manner extending beyond the historical 6 min benchmark. Full article

Microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) accumulate in human hepatic and gastrointestinal (GI) tissues. However, differences in sampling strategies, tissue preparation, analytical techniques, and quality assurance procedures have resulted in substantial methodological heterogeneity, limiting the comparability and reproducibility of published findings. Therefore, this review aims to critically evaluate current analytical methodologies for the detection and characterization of MPs and NPs in hepatic and GI tissues, highlight methodological strengths, limitations, and emerging technologies, and identify priorities for methodological standardization. Studies demonstrate that no single analytical technique can simultaneously provide comprehensive information on particle size, morphology, polymer composition, spatial localization, and concentration. While Raman spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, pyrolysis gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS), and emerging multimodal imaging techniques each offer distinct advantages, reflecting their different underlying detection principles, methodological variability remains a major barrier to cross-study comparison. Human tissue studies are further constrained by limited sample availability, contamination risks, and inconsistent quality assurance procedures. Future progress will depend on harmonized, organ-specific analytical workflows integrating optimized tissue digestion, rigorous contamination control, complementary spectroscopic approaches, and standardized reporting metrics. Establishing unified methodological guidelines is essential to improve reproducibility, facilitate quantitative evidence synthesis, and advance both environmental exposure assessment and clinical research on MPs and NPs in hepatic and gastrointestinal tissues. Full article

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from osteoblasts are emerging as key regulators of bone formation, yet functional differences between vesicles from distinct extracellular compartments remain unclear. In this study, we compared media-derived extracellular vesicles (MEs) and matrix-bound extracellular vesicle-enriched fractions (MBEs) isolated from mineralized osteoblasts (MOBs) and evaluated their effects on human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (hBMSCs). Both preparations, characterized by nanoparticle tracking analysis and transmission electron microscopy, displayed similar size distributions (30–200 nm) and concentrations. Moreover, both preparations showed enrichment of the EV-associated marker CD63, with no detectable GAPDH and only minimal Grp94 signals in a subset of samples. mRNA profiling revealed that MBE-enriched fractions were selectively enriched in RUNX2, whereas other osteogenesis-related transcripts were comparable between them. Functional analyses demonstrated that both EV populations promoted osteogenic differentiation of hBMSCs, although with distinct biological profiles. MBE-enriched fractions were associated with higher alkaline phosphatase activity under control conditions, whereas MEs induced greater osteocalcin expression and showed a numerical tendency toward increased matrix mineralization, particularly under osteogenic conditions. These findings suggest that extracellular vesicles associated with different extracellular compartments exhibit distinct osteogenic activities rather than a uniform biological effect. Although the matrix-bound preparation likely contains extracellular matrix-associated components co-isolated during the extraction procedure, the present study highlights the importance of extracellular compartmentalization in shaping EV-associated bioactivity and provides a foundation for future studies aimed at optimizing EV-based strategies for bone regeneration. Full article

Contrast-enhanced mammography-guided biopsy (CEM-guided biopsy) is an emerging minimally invasive technique for the diagnosis of enhancing breast lesions visible only after contrast administration. Traditionally, these lesions required magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided biopsy, which may be limited by high costs, reduced accessibility, prolonged procedure times, and patient-related contraindications. This review aims to provide a practical and updated overview of CEM-guided biopsy, focusing on procedural workflow, technical execution, patient preparation, and complication management in daily clinical practice. A narrative review of the current literature on CEM-guided biopsy was performed, focusing on technical feasibility, procedural protocols, patient management, diagnostic performance, and reported complications. This review integrates evidence from recent clinical studies and practical considerations derived from interventional breast imaging practice. Early clinical experiences demonstrate high technical success rates for CEM-guided biopsy, with procedure times generally shorter than those reported for MRI-guided biopsy. However, formal measures of diagnostic accuracy have not been consistently reported across the available studies. Key procedural aspects include pre-procedural imaging evaluation, contrast administration timing, lesion targeting on recombined images, patient positioning, vacuum-assisted biopsy techniques, and post-procedural care. Reported complication rates are low and comparable to those of conventional stereotactic biopsy procedures. CEM-guided biopsy represents a promising alternative to MRI-guided breast biopsy, offering a faster, more accessible, and well-tolerated approach for sampling enhancing-only breast lesions. Although current evidence remains limited and heterogeneous, this technique may facilitate wider implementation of contrast-enhanced image-guided breast interventions. Standardized protocols and larger multicenter studies are still needed to validate its broader clinical role. Full article

Cannabis fructus (CF) has been used as a functional food raw material. The rapid identification of its processing degree is vital for ensuring consistency of product quality, achieving standardized processing, and maintaining market authenticity. This study established an intelligent identification method for the processing degree of stir-fried CF based on multi-source information fusion and machine learning. Color (L, a, b) and odor signals of the samples were collected through machine vision and electronic nose systems. The total contents of fatty oil and trigonelline were determined. Among the evaluated models, XGBoost demonstrated superior performance, achieving near-perfect training accuracy (93.62%) and test accuracy (91.67%). Shapley Additive Explanations analysis revealed that color and signals from specific odor sensors were key distinguishing features. The color exhibited a gradual transition to light yellow, and total fat and oil content showed a likely positive correlation with a and b values. The content of senna alkaloids tended to reduce as frying proceeded to greater intensity. This work preliminarily uncovered the correlations among color, gas characteristics, and quality, and could provide new insights for intelligent monitoring of the preparation procedure. Full article

Thin sections are fundamental tools in mineralogy, petrography, archaeometry, paleontology, and heritage science, allowing for the microscopic study of mineral assemblages, rock textures, ceramic fabrics, and fossil microstructures. Although thin-section preparation is often presented as a standardized technical procedure, the quality and interpretative reliability of the final section depend strongly on material behavior, laboratory equipment, bonding and thinning procedures, thickness-control criteria, and operator decisions made during preparation. This paper examines thin-section preparation as a process of methodological calibration, understood as the material-specific adjustment of preparation decisions in order to preserve the microstructural features required for subsequent interpretation. The study combines an overview of current preparation practice with documented hands-on workflows from academic and heritage-oriented thin-section laboratories. Two case studies are used to develop the calibration framework. The first concerns silicified fossil wood and marly carbonate samples prepared at the Department of Geology, University of Patras, Greece, using water-cooled cutting, epoxy bonding under heat and pressure, machine-assisted and manual thinning, micrometer-based thickness monitoring, and optical assessment adapted to carbonate-rich samples. The second concerns archaeological ceramics, fossiliferous limestone, oolitic limestone, and coherent lithic/sedimentary samples prepared at the INSTAP Study Center for East Crete, Greece, where preparation decisions included mounting-face selection, cleaning, vacuum impregnation where required, controlled lapping, and transmitted/polarized-light quality assessment. Together, the case studies show that equivalent preparation stages require different operational decisions according to hardness, brittleness, porosity, cohesion, fossil content, ceramic fabric, and intended analytical purpose. Preparation-induced features such as microcracks, smearing, surface relief, detachment, or loss of weak fabrics may be misread as primary geological, technological, taphonomic, or conservation-related features if preparation choices are not properly considered. Framed in this way, thin-section preparation is positioned as a foundational first step in heritage material characterization, on which the reliability of subsequent optical, electron-optical, and microanalytical methods directly depends. Full article

Background: Niosomes are spherical, non-ionic surfactant-based vesicular carriers structured as lipid bilayers that are widely utilised in pharmaceutical and cosmetic research for integration into topical formulations like gels and creams. Objective: This study presents a novel contribution concerning the preparation of niosomes using a mixture of distinct Span and Tween non-ionic surfactants and diverse biomolecules. Methods: In this context, novel formulations of niosomes have been prepared by including into their composition a mixture of Span 80 and Tween 20 (in order that HLB = 8.42) non-ionic surfactants with cholesterol (Chol) in a Span 80:Tween 20:Chol = 2:1:1 molar ratio, which is meant to optimise their rigidity and stability, respectively. Their preparation was achieved through three methods: probe sonication, bath sonication and thin-film hydration (TFH). Additionally, the samples were analysed by means of Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectrometry (FT-IR). On the other hand, the antioxidant capacity profile of the formulas of interest was assessed by the DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical reduction method. The investigated bioactive molecules were ascorbic acid (AA) and a yellow dye of fungal origin, previously extracted from an Epicoccum nigrum strain. Results: The average particle size of the niosomes ranged from 2.771 ± 0.808 to 3.397 ± 0.917 μm. Furthermore, high entrapment efficiency was observed for both AA (92.71 ± 0.01%) and the fungal dye (83.54 ± 0.08%), particularly in the formulations prepared through an optimised procedure. The gathered results illustrated that the highest DPPH radical scavenging percentage (48.71 ± 0.05%) occurred when the bath sonication technique was applied. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that the entrapment of active biomolecules depends on the preparation methods utilised. Furthermore, employing fungal dyes represents a promising strategy to simultaneously enhance both the antioxidant and dyeing capacities exhibited by the formulated niosomal colloidal systems. Full article

Background/Objectives: Human biomonitoring of mycotoxins is important for assessing exposure and its associated health risks. Modern analytical chemistry aims to enhance sustainability, practicality, and modernization of analytical methods. Therefore, developing sensitive, selective, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly methods is highly desirable. This study aimed at evaluating liquid chromatographic methods reported for the determination of mycotoxins in human urine, identifying their strengths, limitations, and future development needs and providing guidance for selecting the most appropriate methods. Methods: Twelve liquid chromatographic methods for mycotoxin determination in urine were selected. The methods were evaluated in terms of environmental sustainability, practical applicability, and innovation. Five complementary metrics, namely the Analytical GREEnness Metric, Modified Green Analytical Procedure Index, Click Analytical Chemistry Index, Blue Applicability Grade Index, and Innovative Method Orange Gradient Index, were utilized. Results: Most of the evaluated methods exhibited acceptable levels of eco-friendliness and moderate to good practical applicability, but limited innovation. Within the scope of the selected multi-criteria assessment framework, method 5 achieved the highest overall score owing to its multianalyte capability, efficient sample preparation, reduced sample and solvent consumption, and favorable sustainability, practicality, and innovation characteristics. Conclusions: The findings highlight the need for more practical and technologically advanced analytical methods that align with the principles of green and modern analytical chemistry principles, thereby supporting more sustainable and efficient biomonitoring of mycotoxins. Full article

Hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) is a semi-synthetic cannabinoid that has recently emerged in the European market, raising concerns regarding its detection in forensic toxicology. Reliable analytical approaches are required for the determination of HHC metabolites together with conventional cannabis biomarkers in biological samples. This study aimed to develop and validate a sample preparation method based on air-assisted liquid–liquid microextraction (AALLME) coupled to liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) for the determination of 11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC-COOH) and HHC metabolites in urine. Urine samples underwent alkaline hydrolysis followed by AALLME using a cyclohexane/ethyl acetate mixture (9:1) prior to LC–MS/MS analysis. Experimental conditions affecting extraction performance were optimized. Method validation was performed according to international guidelines. The method achieved a limit of detection of 2.5 ng/mL and a lower limit of quantification of 5 ng/mL. Precision and accuracy fulfilled the established acceptance criteria across all concentration levels. The applicability of the method was evaluated using eleven authentic THC-COOH-positive routine casework urine samples. THC-COOH was successfully quantified, whereas no HHC metabolites were detected because no urine samples from confirmed HHC users were available. The proposed workflow provides a reduced-solvent sample preparation approach compared with conventional procedures and demonstrated adequate analytical performance for the simultaneous determination of THC-COOH and HHC metabolites in urine. Full article

Operational data from thermal power plants are interpreted through expert judgment, following procedures that are often only partly documented and hard to reproduce. The literature offers many algorithmic techniques, yet workflow-level methodologies binding validation, detection, event creation and expert review into an auditable whole remain scarce. This article proposes EVENT (Expert eValuation of ENumerated Typed events), a semi-automated methodology for offline analysis of operational time-series data. It is organized as five steps—data validation, data preparation, anomaly detection, event creation and report generation—linked by machine-readable data contracts covering schematic, semantic, physical and temporal checks. Two design choices set it apart. The reporting unit is the event, not the isolated sample, and the analyst’s procedural role is kept distinct from the domain expert’s interpretive role. As a proof of concept, the method ran on a one-year anonymized dataset identified with the KKS coding standard. The contract checks caught all seventy constructed faults injected across eleven categories, and the pipeline ran end to end on the annual record. The workflow was additionally replicated on public wind-turbine data by three separately implemented instances. These results verify the workflow but are not a statistical validation of detection performance. Full article

Purpose: This study describes the manufacturing procedure for complete dentures using a milling cutting method with an individual correction of the prosthetic plane. Methods: Complete dentures were fabricated digitally using a hybrid protocol with individual assessment of the prosthetic plane. Results: Subjective and objective studies of evaluation of dentures were used. The sampling of functional impressions with the use of silicone masses of decreasing tension on dentures was used by a patient after the functional formation of their edges with Function type masses. The recording of occlusion on the pre-prepared prosthetic impressions using a silicone recorder was performed. Scanning of dentures and their occlusive relations by means of a laboratory scanner was performed in order to obtain virtual working models. A 3D face photograph of the dentures was taken using the Face Hunter device. Face Hunter offered an individualised adjustment of the prosthetic plane and a unique incorporation of the restoration in a given subject. New restorations in a computer programme were designed. A milling cutting of try-in test dentures was performed in order to make a control in the oral cavity. Control of the test dentures took place at the dentist’s office. The performance of new prosthetic restorations using a milling cutting method in the PMMA target material was evaluated in this study. Conclusions: The Face Hunter device offers an individualised incorporation of dentures in patients’ faces, which considerably improves the aesthetic aspect of the complete dentures. Full article

Chili products are vulnerable to the addition of unauthorized substances, including Sudan dyes, Rhodamine B, Basic Orange 2, poppy-derived materials and improperly used processing chemicals. Their analysis is complicated by the high contents of lipids, carotenoids, capsaicinoids and other co-extracted matrix components in chili powder, chili oil, chili sauce and composite seasonings. This review critically evaluates conventional and emerging sample-preparation strategies, including solid-phase extraction; the quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe (QuEChERS) procedure; deep eutectic solvent (DES)-assisted extraction; enhanced matrix removal for lipids (EMR-Lipid); and molecularly imprinted sorbents. Laboratory methods based on high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) are compared with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), electrochemical sensors, miniature mass spectrometry and artificial intelligence-assisted hyperspectral imaging (AI–HSI). The comparison considers representative limits of detection and quantification, recovery, precision, sample-preparation burden, cost, portability, validation status and regulatory role. LC–MS/MS remains the preferred confirmatory platform for targeted multi-residue analysis, whereas rapid and portable methods are more appropriate for screening and sample triage. A three-tier workflow linking rapid screening, laboratory confirmation, and emerging-risk identification and traceability is proposed. Future priorities include standardized chili reference materials, open AI training and validation datasets, greener DES-based extraction and interlaboratory validation of field-deployable methods. Full article

Background and Objectives: Perioperative transfusion remains a burden after reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA). Yet no RSA-specific tool with internally validated discrimination guides preoperative blood preparation. This single-center preliminary study pursued three aims: to derive and internally validate the discrimination of preoperative hemoglobin for transfusion in a protocol-uniform RSA cohort, to characterize its net benefit by decision-curve analysis, and to translate that discrimination into a candidate blood-preparation threshold. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study analyzed 214 consecutive elective degenerative primary RSA procedures by a single surgeon. Each was managed with maximal intravenous iron and without routine tranexamic acid. The primary outcome was perioperative transfusion. The analysis fitted Firth penalized models to 213 procedures that included 17 transfusion events. The area under the curve (AUC) quantified preoperative-hemoglobin discrimination, corrected for optimism by bootstrapping, and decision-curve analysis quantified net benefit. Results: Transfusion occurred in 7.9% of procedures. Lower preoperative hemoglobin was the prespecified primary predictor, with an adjusted odds ratio of 0.37 per +1 g/dL. As a univariable continuous predictor, it discriminated transfusion with an AUC of 0.867. Internal bootstrap validation showed negligible optimism. Decision-curve analysis showed in-sample net benefit, though only a narrow margin over crossmatch-for-all at the lowest thresholds. At the in-sample Youden cutoff, a hemoglobin above 11.4 g/dL identified about two-thirds of patients. Among them, 1.4% were transfused, for a negative predictive value of 0.99. Conclusions: Preoperative hemoglobin showed internally validated discrimination for transfusion. The 11.4 g/dL threshold and its net benefit are apparent (in-sample) and remain fragile given 17 events. Together they define a candidate RSA blood-preparation triage. Because the protocol withheld tranexamic acid, the threshold does not generalize to tranexamic-acid-based practice. These are preliminary, single-center findings. External multicenter validation in larger cohorts is required before adoption. Full article

A green variant of the mini-QuEChERS procedure was developed for the extraction of boscalid and pyraclostrobin from strawberries, these pesticides being commonly used for spraying strawberry plants. To enhance the greenness and overall environmental sustainability of the extraction method, the selection of green extraction solvent, testing of custom-made clean-up sorbents and miniaturization of the extraction procedure were studied. N-amyl acetate as a green reagent was selected as the extraction solvent. Carbonaceous sorbents made from furniture manufacture waste were prepared by pyrolyzation and proposed as a green alternative to traditionally used graphitized carbon black in the dispersive solid phase extraction clean-up step of the mini-QuEChERS procedure. The green mini-QuEChERS procedure was combined with GC-MS analysis and the method was validated. The limit of detection and quantification were 0.58 μg/kg and 1.75 μg/kg for boscalid and 4.60 μg/kg and 13.8 μg/kg for pyraclostrobin, respectively. The extraction recoveries ranged from 75% to 92%. Repeatability, expressed as the relative standard deviation was 13% and 6% for boscalid and pyraclostrobin at 25 μg/kg, 6% and 4% for boscalid and pyraclostrobin at 125 μg/kg, and 9% and 11% for boscalid and pyraclostrobin at 250 μg/kg. Within-laboratory reproducibility ranged from 4% to 12% at the three concentration levels. The analytical greenness of the method was evaluated by AGREE (0.56), Analytical EcoScale Assessment (87 points, excellent green analysis) and Complex MoGAPI (80 points). The developed and validated method was used for determination of boscalid and pyraclostrobin residues in local strawberries samples. Full article

Background/Objectives: Non-invasive prenatal testing for monogenic disorders (NIPT-MD) provides a safe alternative to invasive procedures. However, its clinical utility is often limited by challenges such as low fetal fractions (FF), technical artifacts, and the difficulty in resolving maternally inherited pathogenic variants from the overwhelming background of maternal cell-free DNA (cfDNA). This study aimed to develop and validate a robust NIPT-MD platform for monogenic disorders, applicable across major common Mendelian inheritance patterns, by enhancing the accuracy of fetal variant detection in cfDNA. Methods: We developed a novel NIPT-MD platform validated using both simulated samples and a retrospective clinical cohort. The workflow involves a single-strand capture library preparation incorporating unique molecular identifiers (UMIs) to mitigate amplification artifacts. FF was precisely quantified using a fixed panel of high-minor-allele-frequency single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Fetal genotypes were then inferred by resolving parental haplotypes through a statistical model that integrates weighting of variant allele frequency (VAF) and haplotype-informative SNP counts. Results: The single-strand capture protocol incorporating UMIs significantly reduced amplification biases. Validation of the fetal DNA fraction estimation algorithm revealed strong concordance with a Y-chromosome-derived method and expected spike-in samples. Optimization of the FF estimation panel conferred greater experimental stability. The platform reliably detected both paternally and maternally inherited pathogenic variants. In a retrospective cohort of 35 clinical cases, the NIPT-MD platform achieved high concordance with genotypes determined by invasive testing. Conclusions: These findings present an accurate and robust NIPT-MD platform for monogenic disorders, with high concordance to invasive testing validated in a retrospective cohort of 35 clinical cases. This method holds promise for clinical application in managing families at high risk of monogenic diseases. Full article