Green Synthesis and Characterization of Silver Nanoparticles Using Elaeagnus angustifolia Bark Extract and Study of Its Antibacterial Effect

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - Nowadays, many chemical methods have been proposed for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles, but green synthesis has received more attention due to its...     

The association between environmental cadmium exposure,blood pressure,and hypertension: a systematic review and meta-analysis

We performed a systematic and meta-analysis study to find the association between cadmium (Cd) exposure and blood pressure (BP)/hypertension (HTN) in exposed general populations. We searched main databases for literature published between year 2000 and April 15, 2021. Quality assessment was performed with the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical appraisal tools. Heterogeneity between studies was determined by I-squared (I²) statistic. The random effects model was used to determine the association between blood and urine Cd levels with hypertension. The overall standard differences in mean for Cd level in hypertensive and control groups were 3.34, 1.79, and 8.09 based on samples from blood, urine, and hair, respectively. The overall standard differences in mean for Cd level in the low and high exposure groups were???0.795 and???1.036 based on blood and urinary samples, respectively. Our findings indicate a positive relationship between blood and hair Cd levels and hypertension. We also found that hair is the optimal biological sample to find the relationship between Cd exposure and hypertension for both genders. However, more studies are needed to confirm these findings.

     

Assessment of human health risks and pollution index for heavy metals in farmlands irrigated by effluents of stabilization ponds

Areas contaminated with heavy metals can pose major risks to human health and ecological environments. The aims of this study are to assess human health risk and pollution index for heavy metals in agricultural soils irrigated by effluents of stabilization ponds in Birjand, Iran. The results revealed that the levels of Cr, Mn, Zn, Fe, Cu, Cd, and Pb were in range of 70.3–149.65, 355–570, 31.15–98.45, 23,925–29,140, 22.75–25.95, 0.17–6.51, and 8.5–23.5 mg/kg in topsoils, respectively. Total hazard index values from heavy metals through three exposure routes for adults and children were 9.13E−01 and 1.10, respectively, indicating that there was non-carcinogenic risk for children. The total risk of carcinogenic metals (Cr, Cd, and Pb) through the three exposure routes for adults and children was 1.06E−04 and 9.76E−04, respectively, which indicates that the metals in the soil will not induce carcinogenic risks to these age groups. Pollution levels of heavy metals in soil samples including enrichment factor (EF), contamination factor (CF), pollution load index (PLI), and geo-accumulation index (Igeo) showed heavy metal contamination of agricultural soils. The results of the present study provide basic information about heavy metal contamination control and human health risk assessment management in the study area.