Vulnerability of tourism to climate change on the Mediterranean coastal area of El Hammam–EL Alamein,Egypt

Environment, Development and Sustainability - The north-western Mediterranean coast of Egypt, including the study area from El Hammam to EL Alamein, is a hub for economic and coastal tourism...     

Post-irradiation physicochemical features of polymer composite for the removal of Co(II) and Nd(III) from aqueous solutions

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The scientific impact of this work is the protection of the environment from hazardous pollutants. Gamma irradiation was employed for the preparation...     

Radiological hazards of TENORM in the wasted petroleum pipes

Disposal petroleum pipes containing sludge and scale as a technically enhanced natural occurring radioactive material (TENORM) leads to internal and external radiation hazards and then a significant radiation dose to the workers. In order to contribute to a future waste management policy related to the presence of TENORM in the disposal sites of wasted petroleum pipes, scale and sludge as TENORM wastes are collected form these disposal pipes for radiometric analysis. These pipes are imported from onshore oilfields at south Sinai governorate, Egypt. The highest mean ²²⁶Ra and ²²⁸Ra concentrations of 519 and 50 kBq/kg respectively, were measured in scale samples. Sludge lies within the normal range of radium concentration. The average absorbed dose caused by the exposure to the wasted pipes equal to 4.09 μGy h⁻¹ from sludge and 262 μGy h⁻¹ from scale. This is much higher than the acceptable level of 0.059 μGy h⁻¹. Due to radon inhalation, important radon related parameters are calculated which advantage in internal dose calculation. Fairly good correlation between real radium content and radon exhalation rate for sludge samples is obtained. The hazards from sludge come from its high emanation power for radon which equal to 3.83%. The obtained results demonstrate the need of screening oil residues for their radionuclide content in order to decide about their final disposal.     

Potential hepatoprotective effects of vitamin E and Nigella sativa oil on hepatotoxicity induced by chronic exposure to malathion in human and male albino rats

Malathion is an organophosphorus (OP) insecticide and has a wide range of use in agriculture, veterinary medicine, and public health. Malathion and other OP insecticides produce hepatotoxic effects. The objective of the present study was to investigate the protective effects of Nigella sativa oil and α-tocopherol (vitamin E) on the hepatotoxicity induced by malathion on workers involved in the formulation of pesticides, chronically exposed to malathion, and in male albino rats orally administrated malathion. This study was conducted on both human and experimental animals, the human study was conducted on 30 control subjects working as administrators and 45 subjects working in formulation of pesticides and exposed to malathion (≥3 years), all were males with age ranges from 30 to 60 years. The 45 males working in pesticides formulation were classified into three groups; (1) 15 workers exposed to pesticides (2) 15 workers exposed to pesticides and received vitamin (E), in a dose of 10 mg kg?1 day^?1 orally for 60 days, and (3) 15 workers exposed to pesticides and received 100 mg kg^?1 day^?1 of N. sativa oil for 60 days. The animal experiment was conducted on 40 adult male albino rats weighing 150–200 g. They were divided into four groups (10 rats in each group). First group served as the control group, the second group received malathion in a dose of 50 mg kg^?1 orally per day for 60 days, the third group received malathion (in the same dose and route of administration) and vitamin E in a dose of 10 mg kg^?1 day^?1 orally for 60 days, and the fourth group received malathion (in the same dose and route of administration) and N. sativa oil in a dose of 100 mg kg^?1 day^?1 orally for 60 days. Liver function tests (alanine aminotransferase [ALT], aspartate aminotransferase [AST], serum alkaline phosphatase [ALP], albumin, globulin, albumin/globulin ratio, and total proteins), antioxidant enzymes (catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and total glutathione peroxidase (GPx)), and lipid peroxidation [MDA] were analyzed in both human and animal experiments. The results of both human and animal study revealed that, exposure to malathion produced significant increases in AST, ALT, and lipid peroxidation. There were significant decrease in albumin, albumin/globulin ratio, total protein, and antioxidant enzymes. There was no significant change in ALP. In addition exposed workers showed significant decreases in serum globulin. Nigella sativa oil or vitamin E administration showed significant improvement of liver function tests, lipid peroxidation, and antioxidant enzymes impairment induced by malathion. Thus, dietary supplement, N. sativa oil, or vitamin E may represent a potential therapeutic agent in reducing malathion-induced hepatotoxicity.