Background: In spite of many usefulness and progressive application of methanol in today life and industry, the accidental or unawareness drinking of it in alcoholic drinks caused some problems in public health. Therefore, it seems, qualitative detection of methanol in concentrations more than permissible dose in such products is necessary.In this study, a new qualitative method with easy application based on chromotropic acid method has been suggested for detection of toxic dose of methanol in alcoholic drinks.Methods: After adding potassium permanganate (contaning orthophosphoric acid) to sample into a fixed 50 mL volumetricflask in a cold bath and waiting for specified period, enough sodium hydrogen sulfite is added to it for decolorizing of mixture. Then, chromotropic acid with concentrated sulfuric is added to theflask and it is fixed in a 60oC bath for 15 minutes. After this time, theflask is cooled and its volume is arisen to 50 mL and then, optical density of the solution is determined in 575 nm.Findings: The obtained results were shown; application of micro amounts of sample and reactants would have good results such as decreasing of application limits of classic chromotropic acid method. Furthermore, using of a competitive reactant (propanol) is lead to detection of methanol in concentrations more than toxic amount in alcoholic drinks.Conclusion: For detection of methanol in concentrations more than permissible dose or toxic amount in alcoholic drinks that based on European countries standard is about 0.4% v/v, the chromotropic acid method can be used as an accurate, sensitive, simple, cheap and rapid method in general laboratories with no especial equipment.

Background and aim: Phytolacca americana is a native plant in several states of USA and mostly its boiled leaves are used as a popular salad (called grandmother salad) in American diet. It grows widely in the coastal areas and forests in northern parts of Iran but is rarely used. In spite of having several medicinal properties, its side effect is digestive toxicity (especially hepatotoxicity). To date, the hepathotoxicity of this plant from northern of Iran has not been studied. Therefore, this study was aimed to investigate the hepatotoxicity of P. Americana using Isolated Rat Liver Perfusion (IRLP) system. Methods: The albino rats weighted 180-220 g were desighdted into 6 groups. Subsequently, the male rat's anesthetized using ether, were used for experiments. The inferior vena cava was cannnulated with PE-10 tubing. The portal vein was immediately cannulated with a 23 g catheter. Then the liver was perused in site by Krebs-Henseleit buffer at 37°C with a rate of 20ml/min 1hr 3hr. After 30-45 min of perfusion, various doses (10, 20, 40, 50, 100 mg/kg) of aqueous and methanol extracts and CHCl3, ETOAC & MEOH fraction (10, 20, 40mg/kg) were added to the buffer and perfused for 2 hr. Samples of perfused fluid were collected every 30min and analyzed for any liver injury by measuring the serum enzymes (ALT, AST). Sections of liver tissue were also examined for pathological changes.Results: The results showed that the activity of aminotransferase enzymes increased significantly and dose-dependently (p<0.01). Also, methanol extract fractionates were increased compared with the control group (p<0.05). The histopathological changes in the liver tissue were dose-dependent and confirmed the previous data. The enzymatic differences between the test groups and the control group showed the most difference at 60 min. Conclusion: The finding showed that the hepatotoxic effect of P. Americana is dose dependent. Therefore, decreasing the administrated dose may be effective in prevention of its hepatic side effects.

Monitoring and evaluation of transformers are essential to prevent their insulation failure. In this paper, the use of 2-furan-carboxaldehyde (2-FAL) and methanol (MeOH) concentrations as the main products of paper insulation degradation, and insulation condition markers, has been studied. In order to study the degradation process and production of degradation products, the thermal aging process of the transformer insulation system was implemented in laboratory conditions. The results of laboratory studies show that in the early stages of degradation the amount of MeOH is significant compared to 2-FAL. Also, the estimation of the degree of polymerization (DP) in the early stages of degradation (DP>800) through MeOH concentration and with decreasing DP (DP <800) through 2-FAL concentration is closer to the real value. The results of studies performed on 35 distribution transformers confirm the production of significant amounts of MeOH in the early stages of degradation. Also, the estimated DP values for the studied transformers were obtained through 2-FAL and MeOH concentration. The results show that estimating the amount of DP through MeOH concentration is associated with a probability of error of about 9% compared to estimating DP through 2-FAL concentration.

Injection soil improvement is one of the methods of modifying the properties of the site of construction projects or existing structures. Several stabilization techniques are available to improve such conditions, including compaction, consolidation, mechanical stabilization, and cement injection into the soil. The injection is often done by filling cavities and fractures with grout or cement mortar. Despite almost the same principles, injection methods have different equipment and procedures. These methods have their characteristics and advantages due to insufficient bearing capacity, shrinkage swelling, settling, and durability. This study intended to review the studies and methods of improving alluvial soils using the cement injection method. After reviewing the results of this study, we can get three main factors: percentage of cement, setting time (sample age), and percentage of coarse soils have a very effective and controlling role in the strength of soil-cement samples, but the effect of these three factors is not the same in increasing strength. The results of such experiments can be used as a basis for quality control of cement injections in porous media, especially in coarse-grained alluvial sediments and jointed and crushed rocks. The resistance of coarse-grained alluvial sediments with the potential for spillage can be increased, during or after tunnel excavation, by adding a minimum percentage of injected cement to the desired strength or design strength, which is essential from the technical and economic justification of injection projects.

This study investigates the effects of water-methanol mixture injection on the performance and emissions of the EF7 TC engine. Using GT Power software, the engine was first simulated and validated with gasoline fuel. Subsequently, a nozzle was used to introduce the water-methanol mixture, simulated in three different ratios: 50% water-50% methanol, 25% water-75% methanol, and 75% water-25% methanol. The novelty of this research lies in the simulation of this injection process to enhance combustion quality. Results indicate significant temperature reductions at various points, alongside notable changes in knock characteristics and emissions, including nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO₂), and nitrogen monoxide (NO).

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is one of the most successful techniques of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) and is mostly in use for the treatment of infertility with male factors. In this method, before injecting sperm into the intracytoplasmic of the oocyte, cumulus cells around the oocyte must be stripped to facilitate the injection process. To achieve this, both enzymatic and mechanical methods are used in embryological laboratories for denudation, which has major deficiencies, including the possibility of damaging the oocyte prior to the injection process. In this research, a microfluidic-based device is introduced for the separation of cumulus cells around the oocyte with minimum manual operations. The results prove high efficiency, and non-destructive denudation of the oocyte with the reduced amount of culture medium leads to the low-cost preparation process of oocytes. The process can also be integrated with ICSI chips under development and will be reported shortly.

Background: Nowadays transdermal drug delivery systems (TDDS), as an appropriate replacement for oral and parenteral dosage forms, are developing. These systems which designed to transport drugs through skin layers into the systemic circulation, have several benefits such as avoiding first-pass metabolism, sustained and controlled drug release, reducing side effects, and ease of use. The aim of this study was to formulate alprazolam transdermal gel, as a short-acting anxiolytic of benzodiazepines class, based on the nanoliposomes. Materials and methods: At the first, different amounts of phospholipid, and cholesterol were used to produce alprazolam-loaded nanoliposomes through solvent injection method. Vesicle size and encapsulation efficiency tests were performed on the samples and statistical models based on response surface methodology (RSM) were developed to find the optimal formulation. Optimal liposomal structure after morphological characterization was used to produce alprazolam 0. 5 mg/g transdermal gel. Three formulated gels with different content of carbomer were examined for viscosity, stability and in vitro skin permeation. Results: The optimal formulation of the liposomal structure included 10 mg/mL of phospholipid and 10% w/w cholesterol, resulted in the production of nanoliposomes with a size of 115 nm and an encapsulation efficiency of 91%. As the carbomer content in the gel increased, the rate of drug permeation into the skin was decreased. Conclusion: Alprazolam transdermal gel was successfully formulated in this research with acceptable skin permeation, good stability and appropriate physicochemical characteristics.

Introduction: Methanol (CH3OH) exposure can be highly toxic to humans, resulting in severe clinical manifestations and even deaths if left untreated. Therefore, it is vital to estimate the amounts of methanol quickly and accurately to avoid its adverse health impacts. The main goal of the current study was to develop a simple, fast, reliable, and cost-effective colorimetric method for determining methanol amounts in some alcoholic and non-alcoholic samples. Materials and Methods: A sodium nitroprusside-based colorimetric method was established to detect methanol in hand sanitizers, alcoholic beverages, and herbal distillations. A gas chromatography-mass spectrometry apparatus was applied to evaluate the efficacy of the Kit. Results: The naked eye saw the color change in the presence of methanol. The established method revealed a good sensitivity (0.077%) and accuracy for methanol determination in different samples. Besides, this colorimetric method was precise, with intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variations less than 10%. Notably, the recovery percentages were 96.5% to 108%, indicating the acceptable accuracy of the studied method. The quantitative detection of methanol was finally validated by comparing it with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry results. Conclusions: This colorimetric method has great potential for methanol detection due to advantages such as good sensitivity, acceptable accuracy, and fast response time.

Introduction: In different studies worldwide, gender ratios derived from ICSI (Assisted reproductive techniques) have been reported differently. Objective: Evaluation of neonatal gender in ICSI women referred to Mehr Infertility Research Center of Rasht. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, the cases of infertile women referred to Mehr Infertility Research Center in Rasht for ICSI were examined to determine the sex ratio of the neonates. Data were analyzed using SPSS 21 and descriptive and an alytical (Chi-square and independent t) tests. Results: The results showed that 52% of single-born neonates, 60% of multiple pregnancies (single sex) and 52. 5% of multiple pregnancy (two sexes) were male. Conclusion: The ratio of male in single and multiple pregnancies in ICSI was higher than female.