We describe the synthesis of a layered zinc hydroxide-dodecyl sulfate organic-inorganic hybrid nanocomposite as a new solid-phase microextraction fiber. The fiber coating can be prepared easily in a short time and the reaction is at room temperature; it is mechanically stable and exhibits relatively high thermal stability. The synthesized layered zinc hydroxide-dodecyl sulfate nanocomposite was successfully prepared and immobilized on a stainless steel wire and evaluated for the extraction of aromatic compounds from aqueous sample solutions in combination with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. The method yields good results for some validation parameters. Under optimum conditions (extraction time: 15 min, extraction temperature: 50°C, desorption time: 1 min, desorption temperature: 250°C, salt concentration: 0.5 g/mL), the limit of detection and dynamic linear range were 0.69-3.2 ng/L and 10-500 ng/L, respectively. The method was applied to the analyses of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and o-, p-, and m-xylenes in two real water samples collected from the Aji river and Mehran river, Tabriz, Iran. Under optimum conditions, the repeatability and reproducibility for one fiber (n = 3), expressed as the relative standard deviation, was 3.2-7.3% and 4.2-11.2% respectively. The fibers are thermally stable and yield better recoveries than conventional methods of analysis.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are environmental carcinogens that enter the environment through various routes. Therefore, the detection and remediation of carcinogens is one of the priorities of environmental research projects. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons show very specific ultraviolet absorbance spectra. The majority of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons have an absorption in the ultraviolet or visible region; hence, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy has an important role in the detection of these compounds. Moreover, ultraviolet-detectors with high-performance liquid chromatography is a conventional method for identification, characterization and determining of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in complex environmental samples. In this review, attempts have been made to critically and objectively review the related literature and present the theoretical and practical background of the previous research on reproducible and successful ultraviolet-based methods especially in high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet, high-performance liquid chromatography ultraviolet-diode array detector and ultraviolet-fluorescent detector, were used in scientific studies to measure polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons concentration.The review provides useful and comprehensive information about valuable methods for future researches on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons remediation. K E Y W O R D S Environmental carcinogens, Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, Ultraviolet-based methods 112 Compound Chemical formula/ring number Vapour pressure(Pa at 25 • C)/ Solubility in water at 25 • C (μg/liter) Genotoxicity Carcinogenicity Ref. How to cite this article: Mansouri E, Yousefi V, Ebrahimi V, et al. Overview of ultraviolet-based methods used in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons analysis and measurement. Sep Sci plus. 2020;3:112-120.

Background Epidemiological studies are necessary to develop diagnostic standards for mental disorders. Therefore, this study investigated the prevalence of anxiety disorders, and its correlation with different substances used by patients diagnosed with substance use disorder referred to the Iran Psychiatric Hospital located in Tehran, Iran. Two hundred ninety-two male patients aged 18–65 (Meanage = 36.11, SD = 10.55) were recruited according to the available participant pool. Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-V Axis I Disorders was used to investigate their simultaneous anxiety disorders, and then the correlations with the different substances used during the past year before our study were considered. Based on clinical evaluation and structured psychiatric interviews, we investigated panic disorder, agoraphobia, social anxiety disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. Results Results revealed that generalized anxiety disorder was the most common type of anxiety disorder among subjects of the current study. Further investigations revealed that panic disorder was significantly correlated with the abuse of cannabis (r = 0.116, p value = 0.047), tramadol (r = 0.205, p value < 0.001), and LSD (r = 0.197, p value = 0.001). Moreover, social anxiety disorder was correlated with cannabis (r = 0.124, p value = 0.035), opium (r = 0.186, p value = 0.001), methadone (r = 0.152, p value = 0.010), tramadol (r = 0.258, p value < 0.001), alcohol (r = 0.133, p value = 0.023), LSD (r = 0.123, p value = 0.036), and benzodiazepines (r = 0.168, p value = 0.004). The results indicated that none of the substances was correlated with generalized anxiety disorder as well as agoraphobia. However, agoraphobia had correlations with the intravenous injection as the main route of administration (r = 0.174, p value = 0.004). Conclusions Here this study supports the notion that co-occurrence of psychiatric disorders is relatively common and must be taken into consideration when assessing a patient and following up the treatment.

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Due to the significance of drug delivery, the design of novel progressive nanomaterials for targeting drug delivery is a significant role in pharmacotherapy, as this method is supposed to reach a more exact target. One of the most distinguished materials by researchers is the poly ionic liquid (PIL), which have been used as anticancer drugs carriers and notably improve the antitumor effect and half-life. In this work, an efficient and stable nanocarrier containing silver nanoparticle, which were well distributed throughout the ionic liquid-based copolymer network (PILP-Ag), was reported for the drug delivery with antimicrobial effect. PILP was synthesized by radical silver nanoparticles was anchored into PIL voids by in-situ reduction, which enrich the adsorption capability of drug and antimicrobial effect of the nanocarrier. The synthesized nanomaterials were characterized by various techniques such as BET, TGA, SEM, TEM, AAS and FT-IR spectroscopy. The antibacterial activities of the silver-containing PIL against both S. aureus and E. coli were studied by determination of the minimum inhibitory concentration and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration.

Background: Nowadays, the attention to the combination of Substance Use Disorders (SUD) and anxiety disorders in women is increasing; therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of anxiety disorders in women substance users and epidemiological features of this population. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 48 female outpatients with SUD referred to the Iran psychiatric hospital substance use clinic with a range of 18 to 65 years, were involved in the study. All participants referred to the substance use clinic of Iran psychiatric center to follow up on the comorbidities and psychiatric disorders, were involved in the study. The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 (SCID) was used to anxiety disorders and SUD diagnoses. The SCID is a semi-structured interview guide for making the major DSM-5 diagnoses. It is administered by a clinician who is familiar with the DSM-5 classification and diagnostic criteria. Finally, gathered data were analyzed by SPSS-22. Results: Totally, 48 patients enrolled to this study. The mean age of patients was 34.2±9.4. Crystal (60.4%) and alcohol (50%) were the most commonly used substances. Of the 48 substance users, 47.9% had at least one type of anxiety disorders. The most common anxiety disorders in substance users were generalized anxiety disorder (37.5%), social anxiety disorder (18.8%), and agoraphobia and panic disorder (12.5%). A statistically significant correlation was found between agoraphobia and opium (p=0.04), generalized anxiety disorders and benzodiazepines (p=0.02). Conclusion: In the present study, it was shown that anxiety disorders co-occur with SUD at a high rate. Generalized anxiety disorders and social anxiety disorder were the two most prevalent conditions among substance users. Analysis showed a statistically significant correlation between agoraphobia and opium, general anxiety disorders and benzodiazepines.