Comparative immuno-modulatory effects of basil and sesame seed oils against diazinon-induced toxicity in rats; a focus on TNF-α immunolocalization

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Diazinon (DZN), a common organophosphorus insecticide (OPI), has hazardous effect to human and animals with its ubiquitous use. Considering the...     

Integrated geospatial analysis linking metal contamination among three different compartments of Lake Edku ecosystem in Egypt to human health effects

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This study is the first in forming an integrated up-to-date spatial analysis linking heavy metal contamination among three different compartments of...     

Characterisation and identification of carbofuran-utilising bacteria isolated from agricultural soil

A total of 96 bacterial cultures were isolated from soil. Seventeen bacterial isolates were selected following their cultivation on solid media containing 100 mg · L^?1 carbofuran as the sole source of carbon and nitrogen. Of the 17 isolates, 10F, 11M, 17N, 23B and 26M were specifically chosen because of their relatively higher growth efficiency and genetic diversity based on Box-polymerase chain reaction analysis. These bacterial cultures had 16S rRNA gene sequences that were most similar to Acinetobacter baumannii (10F), Agrobacterium tumefaciens (11M), Ochrobactrum anthropi (17N), Escherichia coli (23B) and Agrobacterium tumefaciens (26M) with 97, 95, 93, 95 and 94% similarity in their 16S rDNA gene sequence, respectively. Degradation rates of carbofuran in soil inoculated with these isolates were 1.9, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7 and 1.6 times, respectively, faster in comparison with uninoculated soil after 10 days of incubation. The maximum degradation rates of carbofuran (45 and 91%) were detected in soil inoculated with A. baumannii (10F) after 10 and 20 days’ incubation, respectively. These data indicate that these isolates may have the potential for use in bioremediation of pesticide contaminated soil.     

Hesperidin protects against aluminum-induced renal injury in rats via modulating MMP-9 and apoptosis: biochemical,histological, and ultrastructural study

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Aluminum, one of the most abundant metallic elements, is known to be toxic to multiple organs including the kidneys. This study aimed to investigate...     

Propolis extract protects against radiation-induced intestinal mucositis through anti-apoptotic mechanisms

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Intestinal mucositis is a common side effect during radiotherapy that could be largely prevented by compounds possessing anti-inflammatory or...     

Metal accumulation by three Tilapia spp. from some Egyptian inland waters

Five trace metals (Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn and Cd) were determined in different tissues and organs (muscle, liver, brain, gills, gonads and intestines) of some Tilapia spp. (Oreochromis spp. and Sarotherodon galilaues) collected from two Egyptian Lakes (Edku and Mariut, exposed to different types of pollutants), El-Umum Drain, and from the fishing farm El-Nozha Hydrodrome. Our results indicate that metal accumulation in different organs vary considerably between the same and among different Tilapia spp. There is a preferential accumulation of metals by different organs. Liver is a target organ for Cu accumulation, whereas the brain and flesh tissues clearly accumulate more levels of Zn than the other studied elements. Amongst the studied elements, Cd concentrations in the different organs are the lowest. It was found that edible parts of Tilapia spp. collected from Lake Mariut accumulate the highest levels of the studied elements (Fe, Zn, Mn and Cu for S. galilaues and Cd for Oreochromis niloticus), compared with those in the other studied areas. In general, the levels of Cd (0.0-0.11 ppm), Cu (0.25-1.85 ppm) and Zn (3.58-8.46 ppm) in the edible parts of studied fish cannot be considered as hazardous levels.     

Assessment of some heavy metals in surface sediments of the Aqaba Gulf, Egypt

Aqaba Gulf is an economically important marine environment in Egypt. Its coastal area was subjected to anthropogenic impact of urbanization and economic development during the last decades. The study was oriented to investigate the distribution as well as assess the heavy metal pollution status (Fe, Mn, Zn, Ni, Co, Cr, Cu, and Cd) in its surface sediment. Large heavy metals fluctuations were detected along the studied area. The results pointed out to the highly significant correlations among Fe, Cu, Ni, and Co heavy metals and their similar lithogenic origin beside their input sources. The sediment quality was performed by using the geo-accumulation index (I (geo)) and different sediment criteria guidelines; China State Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision (CSBTS), and Canadian guidelines. Among the studied heavy metals, Cd was the only metal that showed moderate pollution for I (geo) as well as it exceeded the primary and the secondary criteria of CSBTS and the threshold effect level of the Canadian guidelines (TEL). On the other hand, the other heavy metals were within the natural background levels.     

Metal accumulation by three Tilapia spp. from some Egyptian inland waters

Five trace metals (Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn and Cd) were determined in different tissues and organs (muscle, liver, brain, gills, gonads and intestines) of some Tilapia spp. (Oreochromis spp. and Sarotherodon galilaues) collected from two Egyptian Lakes (Edku and Mariut, exposed to different types of pollutants), El-Umum Drain, and from the fishing farm El-Nozha Hydrodrome. Our results indicate that metal accumulation in different organs vary considerably between the same and among different Tilapia spp. There is a preferential accumulation of metals by different organs. Liver is a target organ for Cu accumulation, whereas the brain and flesh tissues clearly accumulate more levels of Zn than the other studied elements. Amongst the studied elements, Cd concentrations in the different organs are the lowest. It was found that edible parts of Tilapia spp. collected from Lake Mariut accumulate the highest levels of the studied elements (Fe, Zn, Mn and Cu for S. galilaues and Cd for Oreochromis niloticus), compared with those in the other studied areas. In general, the levels of Cd (0.0–0.11?ppm), Cu (0.25–1.85?ppm) and Zn (3.58–8.46?ppm) in the edible parts of studied fish cannot be considered as hazardous levels.     

Optimization of thermal performance of the parabolic trough solar collector systems based on GA-BP neural network model

The aim of this paper is to optimize the thermal performance (system output energy, thermal efficiency, and heat loss of cavity absorber) of parabolic trough solar collector (PTC) systems in order to improve its thermal performance, based on the genetic algorithm-back propagation (GA-BP) neural network model. There are a number of undefined problems, fuzzy or incomplete information and a complex thermal performance of the PTC systems. Therefore, the thermal performance prediction of the PTC systems based on GA-BP neural network model was developed. Subsequently, the metrics performances have been adopted to comprehensively understand the algorithm and evaluate the prediction accuracy. Results revealed that the GA-BP neural network model can be successfully used to predict the complex nonlinear relationship between the input variables and thermal performance of the PTC systems. The cosine effect has a great influence on the thermal performance; thereby the geometrical structure of the PTC systems was optimized. It was found that the optimized geometrical structure was beneficial to improve the thermal performance of the PTC system. In conclusion, the GA-BP neural network model has higher prediction accuracy than the other algorithm and it can be feasible and reliable.     

Pharmacological implications of ipriflavone against environmental metal–induced neurodegeneration and dementia in rats

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Long-term exposure to environmental neurotoxic metals is implicated in the induction of dementia and cognitive decline. The present study aims to...