Cadmium is a widespread toxic pollutant of occupational and environmental concern because of its diverse toxic effects: extremely protracted biological half-life (approximately 20-30 years in humans), low rate of excretion from the body and storage predominantly in soft tissues (primarily, liver and kidneys). It is an extremely toxic element of continuing concern because environmental levels have risen steadily due to continued worldwide anthropogenic mobilization. Cadmium is absorbed in significant quantities from cigarette smoke, food, water and air contamination and is known to have numerous undesirable effects in both humans and animals. Cadmium has a diversity of toxic effects including nephrotoxicity, carcinogenicity, teratogenicity and endocrine and reproductive toxicities. At the cellular level, cadmium affects cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis and other cellular activities. Current evidence suggests that exposure to cadmium induces genomic instability through complex and multifactorial mechanisms. Most important seems to be cadmium interaction with DNA repair mechanism, generation of reactive oxygen species and induction of apoptosis. In this article, we have reviewed recent developments and findings on cadmium toxicology.

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This research effort aims to evaluate the hazardous potential of the redox state (OH–) of zero-valent iron nanoparticles (nZVI) and its histopathological and oxidative stress toward Mozambique tilapia, Oreochromis mossambicus. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) validated the nZVI nanoparticles’ chemical composition, while transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that their physical form is round and oval. The exposure to 10 g/mL of nZVI induced the activation of the cellular superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. Dose-dependent testing of O. mossambicus had a reduction in SOD and an increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, suggesting that nZVI caused oxidative damage. At a concentration of 100 g/mL, the catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD) activities of diverse tissues exhibited a gradual decrease after 2 days of exposure and a fast increase until day 6. The scavenging of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the epidermis, liver, and gills of O. mossambicus deteriorated and accumulated gradually. MDA levels in the skin, gill, and liver tissues were substantially higher after 8 days of exposure to 100 and 200 g/mL nZVI compared to those of the control group and those exposed to 10 and 50 g/mL nZVI for 2 days. Extreme histological and morphological abnormalities were seen in the skin, gill, and liver tissues of experimental animals, demonstrating that the damage resulted from direct contact with nZVI in water. A one-way ANOVA followed by Dunnett’s post-test was performed to investigate significant differences.

Congo red is an azo dye widely used as a colouring agent in textile industries. It is a serious threat due to its carcinogenic effects. Its degradation has been challenging due to its complex yet stable structure. The present study was aimed to investigate the effective degradation of Congo red by bioremediating bacteria isolated from different environments. To investigate predominant microorganisms that degrade Congo red and its functions in microbial fuel cells (MFCs), strains isolated from cow dung (Enterococcus faecalis SUCR1) and soil (Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA1_NCHU) were used as a co-culture inocula. The remarkable results establish that E. faecalis as an excellent microbial source for the biological degradation of dye-contaminated wastewater treatment alongside bioactive treating wastewater with varied concentrations of congo red dye. The highest efficiency percentage of dye degradation was 98% after 3 days of incubation at pH 7 and 37 °C, whereas findings have shown that the decolorization at pH 5 and 6 was lower at 66% and 83.3%, respectively, under the same incubation conditions. Furthermore, the co-culture of E. faecalis SUCR1 and P. aeruginosa at a 1:1 ratio demonstrated improved power generation in MFCs. The maximum power density of 7.4 W/m3 was recorded at a 150 mg L−1 concentration of Congo red, indicating that the symbiotic relation between these bacterium resulted in improved MFCs performance simultaneous to dye degradation.