In the leather industry, Cr (III) is used as a basic tanning agent. The wastewater discharged from the tannery industry contains a high concentration of chromium. Recent studies indicate the genotoxic effects especially DNA damage and oxidative stress of Cr (III) in tannery workers. Cr (III) interacts with DNA to form DNA cross-links and DNA strand breaks. It also modifies the oxidative DNA base through the Haber–Weiss reaction. The present study is based on an overview of scientific literature and previous observations regarding the effects of tannery chromium effluents on exposed workers and the population in the vicinity. This study strongly suggests for use of a non-toxic substitute of chromium to be used for the tanning process and placement of tannery industries on the outskirts of the city. In South Asian developing countries like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh where the economy is strongly dependent on leather manufacturing industries, there is a need to spread proper information regarding the harmful effects of chromium toxicity to the workforce employed in the tannery and also to the people living in the surrounding area. Workers should be provided with the required safety protections like gloves, aprons, foot/shoe covers, masks, etc. Last but most important on an immediate basis is the installation of the proper efficient waste treatment plant, so that, waste should be treated before moving out of the industry.

Chromium (Cr) sulfate is used in the tannery industry as a basic tanning agent. Workers are directly exposed to the Cr due to unawareness and no safety protocols. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the oxidative stress of Cr in tannery workers of District Kanpur in North India. Two groups of the population were for the study, Group I included 50 directly exposed people employed in tannery industries, whereas Group II included 50 healthy people with no previous exposure to Cr. The concentration of total Cr in blood samples was measured by Inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS). Oxidative status was measured by antioxidant enzyme assays such as Catalase (CAT), Glutathione Peroxidase (GPx) and Glutathione Reductase (GR). Statistical analysis observed a significant (p<0.001) increase of Cr concentration in Cr-exposed Group compared to controls which were not exposed to Cr. The level of CAT (9.73 ± 1.68 u/mg) was significantly (p<0.001) higher in Cr-exposed group as compared to control (6.00 ± 0.86 u/mg) while GPx (40.02 ± 5.43 u/mg) and GR (5.29 ± 1.59 u/gHg) concentration is significantly (p?0.001) lower in Cr-exposed group compared to control (59.71 ± 5.09 u/mg and 10.77 ± 2.32 u/g Hg, respectively. In Pearson correlation analysis, blood Cr level showed a significant correlation (p<0.05) with oxidative status. In Pearson correlation analysis, blood Cr level showed a significant correlation (p<0.05) with the oxidative status of the exposed population. The outcome of this study may help the early detection of hazardous impact of Cr on tannery workers, which will be crucial for reducing health risk and exposure.

Background: Sleep is important for maintaining overall physical and mental health. Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) at growing age need more sleep because it acts as the fuel for rapidly growing brain and bodies. Many physicians encounter young people having health issue developed due to improper sleep. Understanding the connection between sleep and health in AYAs is important as the sleep problem is coming up as a global pandemic that can seriously harm the health, safety, productivity of our nation’s young generation, thus, is a major public health concern. Aim: The current study investigates the sleep behavior (such as sleep onset, sleep offset, sleep latency, sleep inertia, actual sleep) of adolescents in comparison to young adults. Methods: Present study is based on self-reported sleep-log entries made by subjects. The collection of data is done on a random basis from school and university set up. Sleep log sheet is an instrument that elicits sleep-related data (sleep onset/offset, latency/inertia, etc.) on a day-to-day basis. Statistical analysis was done using the Mann-Whitney U test at a significance level of p < 0.005. Results: To conduct this study, individuals of two different age groups were selected; adolescent group (age = 14±01 year; n = 564) and young adult (age = 23±01 year; n = 43). The study shows a significant difference between adolescents and young adult’s timings for various sleep variables such as time to bed (p<0.0001), sleep onset (p<0.0001), sleep offset (p<0.0001), sleep inertia (p= 0.0156). Although, no significant difference was reported in actual sleep duration and sleep latency between the groups. Conclusion: Outcomes of the study are indicative of sleep deprivation in adolescent students. This information can help us to further understand the sleep-related differences in the behavior of adolescent and young adults. This can aid in devise a better work schedule to optimize their performance.

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