Co-occurrence of mycotoxins in commercial formula milk and cereal-based baby food on the Qatar market

The present study was conducted to explore the occurrence of mycotoxins in commercial baby foods in Doha-Qatar. LCMS/MS- and HPLC-based analysis of baby food (n = 67) for 12 mycotoxins confirmed the presence of aflatoxin M1 (AFM1, 33%), ochratoxin A (OTA, 31%), deoxynivalenol (DON, 27%), aflatoxin B1 (AFB1, 22%), fumonisin B2 (FB2, 10%), zearalenone (ZEN, 4%) and T-2 toxin (2%). Noodles exhibited the maximum contamination percentage, with 33% of the samples being contaminated above the EU maximum limits, for at least one mycotoxin. Among the multi-grain flake samples, up to 28% and for the milk and milk-based-cereal samples, 14% contained at least one mycotoxin above the EU maximum limits. From all cereal-based food samples, 22%, 5%, 2% and 2% were concurrently contaminated with 2, 3, 4 and 5 mycotoxins, respectively. The occurrence of toxicological important mycotoxins in Qatari market warrants the implementation of strict regulatory limits to protect human health.     

Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis: Oxidation of a Fraction of Cobalt Crystallites in Research Catalysts at the Onset of FT at Partial Pressures Mimicking 50 % CO Conversion

Freshly H₂-reduced catalyst samples and FTS catalyst samples (i.e., freshly reduced and immediately exposed to the onset of FTS conditions corresponding to 50 % CO conversion) were prepared. Each sample was coated in situ using molten polywax and solidified so that an air-protected sample was obtained, which was stored in inert gas. XAS was utilized to investigate the oxidation state of cobalt. A fraction of cobalt crystallites in the freshly reduced research catalysts having lower-than-commercial loading and smaller crystallites undergoes a degree of oxidation to CoO at the onset of FTS conditions simulating 50 % CO conversion (i.e., the H₂O partial pressure is high enough to induce some oxidation). Therefore, by decreasing Co content with the aim of improving the dispersion of cobalt and Co efficiency, very small Co crystallites are obtained. Their reoxidation at the onset of FTS is an unintended consequence. Thus, catalysts should be designed to have an optimum narrow cluster size range—small enough to increase Co surface site densities, but large enough to avoid reoxidation, and the stability problems that arise from having unreduced Co in the working catalyst (e.g., a complex coalescence and reduction mechanism).     

Impact of mainstream classroom setting on attention of children with autism spectrum disorder: an eye-tracking study

It has long been reported that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit attention difficulties while learning. They tend to focus on irrelevant information and can easily be distracted. As a result, they are often confined to a one-to-one teaching environment, with fewer distractions and social interactions than would be present in a mainstream educational setting. In recent years, inclusive mainstream schools have been growing in popularity due to government policies on equality rights. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate attentional patterns of children with ASD in mainstream schools. This study aims to explore the attentional behaviors of children with ASD in a virtual reality simulated classroom. We analyzed four eye-gaze behaviors and performance scores of 45 children: children with ASD (ASD n = 20) and typically developing children (TD n = 25) when performing attention tasks. The gaze behaviors included time to first fixate (TTFF), first fixation duration (FFD), average fixation duration (AFD) and the sum of fixation count (SFC) on fourteen areas of interest (AOIs) in the classroom. Our results showed that children with ASD exhibit similar gaze behaviors to TD children, but with significantly lower performance scores and SFC on the target AOI. These findings showed that classroom settings can influence attentional patterns and the academic performance of children with ASD. Further studies are needed on different modalities for supporting the attention of children with ASD in a mainstream setting.