K.N.Toosi University of Technology

Herein, a solid-phase microextraction method was developed based on an agarose-loaded mesoporous silica nanocomposite embedded in a polyether sulfone thin film, followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis. The microextraction was performed using a multi-channel microfluidic device incorporating the prepared nanocomposite thin film to extract morphine (MOR), heroin (HER), codeine (COD), and methamphetamine (MET) from eye tear samples. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were employed to characterize the nanocomposite. The influence of various parameters on the extraction efficiency-including sample pH, sample flow rate, nanoparticle and polyether sulfone amounts, eluent type and volume, and eluent flow rate-was systematically studied. Under optimized conditions, the limits of detection (LOD) were 0.07 and 0.06 ng mL^-1 for COD and HER, respectively, and 0.1 ng mL^-1 for MET and MOR. The matrix effect, ranging from 8.85 % to 45.64 %, was evaluated using box-whisker plots. Intra-day and inter-day RSDs% were below 4.5 % and 4.0 %, respectively. Calibration curves showed linearity over 0.5-80.0 ng mL^-1 for MET, 0.2-80.0 ng mL^-1 for COD, and 0.4-80.0 ng mL^-1 for MOR and HER. Relative recovery (RR%) values assessing accuracy in tear samples ranged from 90.0 % to 112.0 %. Greenness and Blueness scores of 0.72 and 57.5, respectively, demonstrate that the suggested approach is both sustainable and applicable. These findings indicate that this method is a suitable alternative for measuring trace amounts of narcotic drugs in tear samples.

In the contemporary era, the oil industry has become a major source of marine pollution, highlighting the critical need for informed decision-making in coastal regions to prevent and mitigate the impacts of oil spills. Traditionally, the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) has been used to assess shoreline susceptibility. However, to achieve a more advanced evaluation of shoreline oil spill impacts, it should be assessed not only based on the ESI but also by including oil spill exposure and the adaptive capacity of the shoreline. This comprehensive assessment requires the integration of multiple components within a structured framework. In this study, the framework, including detailed criteria and sub-criteria, was developed using the Delphi method, based on established guidelines and relevant studies, to construct an appropriate Vulnerability Index (VI). In this regard, we examined the biological, socio-economic, and physical characteristics (as a sensitivity component), in conjunction with the likelihood of oil spills (as the exposure component) and the distance to accessible ports (as the adaptive capacity component) along the Bushehr shoreline in Iran. The analysis employed two different methodologies, the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Analytical Network Process (ANP), to organize these components within a layered framework. Vulnerability maps were then generated by weighing sensitivity, exposure, and adaptive capacity components using both the AHP and ANP models. The results showed that both models effectively addressed the assessment of shoreline vulnerability to oil spills and demonstrated a fair level of agreement in their classification outcomes. Shorelines classified as having high and extreme vulnerability accounted for 35.7 % and 36.8 % of the total shoreline under the AHP and ANP models, respectively. These findings offer valuable guidance for the development of targeted oil spill contingency plans.

Nano-molybdenum disulfide particles (NMDSP) have been able to improve the mode I fracture features of flexible pavements.However, the fracture performance of asphalt pavement under modes II and III is a research gap in this field.To cover the study gap in this field, the fracture behavior of flexible pavement strengthened with NMDSP containing oblique cracks (under mode III) and edge cracks (under mode II) was investigated using semi-circular bend (SCB) and edge-notched disk bend (ENDB) geometries.To achieve this goal, warm mix asphalt (WMA) was selected as the main structure, and the NMDSP additive was added to the WMA at two doses of 0.3% and 0.6%.Two types of operation including a short-term operation (without any condition) and a long-term operation (by applying freeze-thaw (F-T) cycles and aging operation (AO) conditions) were applied to WMA mixes to evaluate the features of low-temperature top-down crack (LTTDC) and intermediate temperature top-down crack (ITTDC).The findings demonstrated that NMDSP, along with improving LTTDC and ITTDC resistance, improved fracture flexibility and fracture stiffness under shear forces and tear forces (under both functions).This finding warrants using NMDSP in asphalt pavements made with WMA that have experienced freezing and aging conditions.Comparing the effects of two types of long-term conditioning on SCB and ENDB samples, it was revealed that F-T cycles led to a decrease in fracture resistance and fracture stiffness; however, the flexibility of the mixtures decreased under AO.This finding revealed the importance of the influence of both types of conditions on asphalt samples so that the fracture behavior of WMA pavement can be measured with critical indicators.The final findings of this research showed that NMDSP as an available additive can be used to improve the short-term and long-term properties of LTTDC and ITTDC in pavements made with WMA mixture