Cannabinoids in oral fluid by on-site immunoassay and by GC-MS using two different oral fluid collection devices

Oral fluid (OF) enables non-invasive sample collection for on-site drug testing, but performance of on-site tests with occasional and frequent smokers’ OF to identify cannabinoid intake requires further evaluation. Furthermore, as far as we are aware, no studies have evaluated differences between cannabinoid disposition among OF collection devices with authentic OF samples after controlled cannabis administration. Fourteen frequent (≥4 times per week) and 10 occasional (less than twice a week) adult cannabis smokers smoked one 6.8 % ?⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) cigarette ad libitum over 10 min. OF was collected with the StatSure Saliva Sampler, Oral-Eze, and Draeger DrugTest 5000 test cassette before and up to 30 h after cannabis smoking. Test cassettes were analyzed within 15 min and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry cannabinoid results were obtained within 24 h. Cannabinoid concentrations with the StatSure and Oral-Eze devices were compared and times of last cannabinoid detection (t _last) and DrugTest 5000 test performance were assessed for different cannabinoid cutoffs. 11-nor-9-Carboxy-THC (THCCOOH) and cannabinol concentrations were significantly higher in Oral-Eze samples than in Stat-Sure samples. DrugTest 5000 t _last for a positive cannabinoid test were median (range) 12 h (4–24 h) and 21 h (1–?≥?30 h) for occasional and frequent smokers, respectively. Detection windows in screening and confirmatory tests were usually shorter for occasional than for frequent smokers, especially when including THCCOOH ≥20 ng L^?1 in confirmation criteria. No differences in t _last were observed between collection devices, except for THC ≥2 μg L^?1. We thus report significantly different THCCOOH and cannabinol, but not THC, concentrations between OF collection devices, which may affect OF data interpretation. The DrugTest 5000 on-site device had high diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, and efficiency for cannabinoids.     

Dual Sulfide–Disulfide Crosslinked Networks with Rapid and Room Temperature Self‐Healability

Polymer‐based crosslinked networks with intrinsic self‐repairing ability have emerged due to their built‐in ability to repair physical damages. Here, novel dual sulfide–disulfide crosslinked networks (s‐ssPxNs) are reported exhibiting rapid and room temperature self‐healability within seconds to minutes, with no extra healing agents and no change under any environmental conditions. The method to synthesize these self‐healable networks utilizes a combination of well‐known crosslinking chemistry: photoinduced thiol‐ene click‐type radical addition, generating lightly sulfide‐crosslinked polysulfide‐based networks with excess thiols, and their oxidation, creating dynamic disulfide crosslinkages to yield the dual s‐ssPxNs. The resulting s‐ssPxN networks show rapid self‐healing within 30 s to 30 min at room temperature, as well as self‐healing elasticity with reversible viscoelastic properties. These results, combined with tunable self‐healing kinetics, demonstrate the versatility of the method as a new means to synthesize smart multifunctional polymeric materials.

     

Spatially‐resolved and polarized Raman scattering from a single Si nanowire

We report spatially‐resolved and polarized Raman scattering results from a single Si nanowire (NW). Transmission electron microscope images show that the surface morphology of the Si NW varies from smooth to rough along the long axis. As the NW grows, the smooth surface becomes rough because of Au diffusion to the surface, resulting in the formation of facets and stacking faults. Spatially‐resolved Raman spectra along the NW long axis reveal variations in tensile strain related to the morphological changes in NW surface. The tensile strain in the top segment of the NW with a smooth surface is greater than that in the bottom segment with a rough surface. Despite the formation of facets and stacking faults, polarized Raman scattering results both from the top and bottom segments of the NW are consistent with the Raman polarization selection rules expected for a cubic crystal. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Phase‐preserved macroscopic visible‐light carpet cloaking beyond two dimensions

Transformation optics, a recent geometrical design strategy of light manipulation with both ray trajectories and optical phase controlled simultaneously, promises an invisibility cloaking device that can render a macroscopic object invisible even to a scientific instrument measuring optical phase. Recent “carpet” cloaks have extended their cloaking capability to broadband frequency ranges and macroscopic scales, but they only demonstrated the recovery of ray trajectories after passing through the cloaks, while whether the optical phase would reveal their existence still remains unverified. In this paper, a phase‐preserved macroscopic visible‐light carpet cloak is demonstrated in a geometrical construction beyond two dimensions. As an extension of previous two‐dimensional (2D) macroscopic carpet cloaks, this almost‐three‐dimensional carpet cloak exhibits three‐dimensional (3D) invisibility for illumination near its center (i.e. with a limited field of view), and its ideal wide‐angle invisibility performance is preserved in multiple 2D planes intersecting in the 3D space. Optical path length is measured with a broadband pulsed‐laser interferometer, which provides unique experimental evidence on the geometrical nature of transformation optics.

     

On the force field optimisation of $$\beta$$ β -lactam cores using the force field Toolkit

Journal of Computer-Aided Molecular Design - When employing molecular dynamics (MD) simulations for computer-aided drug design, the quality of the used force fields is highly important. Here we...     

Investigation of Rotating Arc-Catalytic Reactor for CF4 Removal with High Energy Efficiency

Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing - CF4 is commonly used in semiconductor industries, and its removal requires a large amount of energy because it is a highly stable perfluorinated compound....     

Coating Cellulosic Material with Ag Nanowires to Fabricate Wearable IR-Reflective Device for Personal Thermal Management: The Role of Coating Method and Loading Level

Textiles coated with silver nanowires (AgNWs) are effective at suppressing radiative heat loss without sacrificing breathability. Many reports present the applicability of AgNWs as IR-reflective wearable textiles, where such studies partially evaluate the parameters for practical usage for large-scale production. In this study, the effect of the two industrial coating methods and the loading value of AgNWs on the performance of AgNWs-coated fabric (AgNWs-CF) is reported. The AgNWs were synthesized by the polyol process and applied onto the surface of cotton fabric using either dip- or spray-coating methods with variable loading levels of AgNWs. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), infrared (IR) reflectance, water vapor permeability (WVP), and electrical resistance properties were characterized. The results report the successful synthesis of AgNWs with a 30 μm length. The results also show that the spray coating method has a better performance for reflecting the IR radiation to the body, which increases with a greater loading level of the AgNWs. The antibacterial results show a good inhibition zone for cotton fabric coated by both methods, where the spray-coated fabric has a better performance overall. The results also show the coated fabric with AgNWs maintains the level of fabric breathability similar to control samples. AgNWs-CFs have potential utility for cold weather protective clothing in which heat dissipation is attenuated, along with applications such as wound dressing materials that provide antibacterial protection.     

The Protection of Lactic Acid Bacteria Fermented-Mango Peel against Neuronal Damage Induced by Amyloid-Beta

Mango peels are usually discarded as waste; however, they contain phytochemicals and could provide functional properties to food and promote human health. This study aimed to determine the optimal lactic acid bacteria for fermentation of mango peel and evaluate the effect of mango peel on neuronal protection in Neuron-2A cells against amyloid beta (Aβ) treatment (50 μM). Mango peel can be fermented by different lactic acid bacteria species. Lactobacillus acidophilus (BCRC14079)-fermented mango peel produced the highest concentration of lactic acid bacteria (exceeding 10⁸ CFU/mL). Mango peel and fermented mango peel extracts upregulated brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression for 1.74-fold in Neuron-2A cells. Furthermore, mango peel fermented products attenuated oxidative stress in Aβ-treated neural cells by 27%. Extracts of L. acidophilus (BCRC14079)-fermented mango peel treatment decreased Aβ accumulation and attenuated the increase of subG1 caused by Aβ induction in Neuron-2A cells. In conclusion, L. acidophilus (BCRC14079)-fermented mango peel acts as a novel neuronal protective product by inhibiting oxidative stress and increasing BDNF expression in neural cells.