AimThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of 50 and 100 mg doses of green cumin essential oil on glycemic and inflammatory indices in patients with diabetes type II.MethodIn this randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial, subjects were divided into three groups after selecting them randomly according to the inclusion criteria: 1 – Cuminum cyminum capsule (100 mg/day,n = 33), 2 – C. cyminum capsule (50 mg/day, n = 33), and 3 – placebo (n = 33). Before and after 8 weeks of intervention, a blood sample was taken.FindingsThe findings demonstrated that the mean of the FBS, glycosylated hemoglobin (HgA1c) and the serum levels of insulin were significantly decreased and insulin sensitivity (HOMA-IR) was significantly increased in the groups receiving the 100 mg supplement (P < 0.001) and 50 mg supplement, but these indices were increased in the placebo group. The mean serum levels of TNF-α and hsCRP were significantly decreased, and serum levels of adiponectin was significantly increased at the end of the study in the groups receiving 100 mg (P < 0.001) and 50 mg (P = 0.008) supplement as well as in the group who received the placebo. There were no significant change in HOMA-B and QUICKI as insulin resistance parameters.Discussion and conclusionAdministering C. cyminum supplement in patients with diabetes type II may decrease the serum levels of insulin, FBS, and glycosylated hemoglobin and also the inflammatory indices of TNF-α and hsCRP and increased the serum levels of adiponectin. In addition it may control the complications of diabetes type II in these patients.

The heavy metal (Pb, Cd, Cr, and Ni) content of a fish species consumed by the Sistan population and its associated health risk factors were investigated. The mean concentrations of Pb, Cd, and Cr were slightly higher than the standard levels. The Ni content of fish was below the maximum guideline proposed by the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). The average estimated weekly intake was significantly below the provisional tolerable intake based on the FAO and WHO standards for all studied metals. The target hazard quotients (THQ) of all metals were below 1, showing an absence of health hazard for the population of Sistan. The combined target hazard quotient for the considered metals was 26.94 × 10. The cancer risk factor for Pb (1.57 × 10) was below the acceptable lifetime carcinogenic risk (10). The results of this study reveal an almost safe level of Pb, Cd, Cr, and Ni contents in the fish consumed by the Sistan population. Graphical abstract ᅟ.

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This study aims to evaluate the degradation and mineralization of Malachite Green (MG) in an electro-Fenton process (EFP). We studied the influence of several important parameters including solution pH (2-11), current density (0-20 mA/cm 2), H 2 O 2 concentration (0-200 mg/L) and MG concentrations (200, 600, 1000, 1500, 2000, 3000 mg/L) at different reaction time (2.5-30 min). The intermediates produced during the degradation were determined by GC-MS. The optimum pH, current density and H 2 O 2 concentration were found to be approximately 3, 10 mA/cm 2 and 50 mg/L, respectively. It was concluded that acidic pH was required to increase the efficiency of the EFP. At optimum conditions and a reaction time of 15 min, MG was completely removed without any significant variation in the corresponding maximum wavelengths or new absorption bands. Due to formation of intermediates, almost all the organic compounds were completely mineralized (95.3%) to CO 2 and water at reaction time of 30 min. Results indicated the effect of hydroxyl radical (• OH) on MG degradation is greater than that of superoxide radical scavenger (O ⋅− 2). The results showed that the degradation process of MG followed pseudo-firstorder kinetic model and the treatment time required in EFP was 4.6 times lower than ECP. Furthermore, the results showed that EFP was an extremely efficient process for degradation and mineralization of a high concentration of MG (1000 mg/L) at a short reaction time (30 min).

This study investigated the performance of UVC/H 2 O 2 and UVC processes for the degradation and mineralization of ceftriaxone as an antibiotic. The highest ceftriaxone degradation was obtained at a solution pH of 5 and H 2 O 2 concentration of 10 mg/L. The apparent rate constant of ceftriaxone degradation was found to be 0.0302, 0.0165, and 0.0065 min −1 in the UVC/H 2 O 2 process for the initial ceftriaxone concentrations of 5, 10, and 20 mg/L, respectively. Degradation and mineralization efficiencies of ceftriaxone was obtained to be 100% and 58%, respectively, in UVC/H 2 O 2 process at reaction time of 120 min, whereas only 61% and 2.5% of ceftriaxone could be degraded and mineralized by UVC. The synergistic effect of UVC/H 2 O 2 was found to be 35%. The presence of anionic species improved the photolysis efficiency which degraded ceftriaxone from 61 to 83%, while, in the UVC/H 2 O 2 process, ability degradation declined from 100 to 70%. The efficiency of UVC/H 2 O 2 and UVC process was not greatly affected in real tap water. Besides, the reduction patterns in the UVC/H 2 O 2 and UVC processes were better described by pseudo-first-and second-order kinetics model with a reaction rate constant of 0.0165 and 0.0012 min −1 , respectively. The rate constant of ceftriaxone degradation in the UVC/H 2 O 2 process and at the presence of radical scavenger was found to be around 3.3 times lower than the one in its absence.