The aim of the present study was designed to determine the influence of welding fumes on oxidative stress in humans and the role of metals. A questionnaire was designed to collect information regarding personal characteristics including age, weight, height, and medical history, life style such as smoking status and exercise habits and occupational history such as working history, working environment, employment duration, and use of protective equipment. Body mass index (BMI) in kg/m 2 was then calculated for each participant. Blood samples were also drawn to determine malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and various metals in plasma. Significantly higher plasma MDA (4.08 µg/L) was observed compared to controls (1.61 µg/L). Blood metal analysis also showed elevated level of metals in welders for cadmium, chromium, lead and nickel. Data indicated that workers occupationally exposed to welding fumes for prolong periods possessed higher metal levels associated with increased oxidative stress as evidenced by elevated MDA levels.
The role of rhizospheric microbes of giant reed (Arundo donax L.) in Cr uptake from hydroponic culture was investigated. The control group was exposed to Cr in range of 25-100 mg L -1 containing a control itself (with no metal addition). The experimental group received same Cr treatments, but in addition was exposed to antibiotic treatment in order to inhibit rhizospheric bacteria. The range of Cr accumulated in the roots was 3-7.65 mg L -1 ; in stem it ranged 2.15-42.4 mg kg -1 ; while in leaves, the range of Cr content was 13.7-15 mg kg -1 . Overall, Cr uptake in A. donax (without rhizobacterial inhibition) was root \ leaf \ stem. However, the amount of Cr uptake in plants with rhizobacterial inhibition was significantly less (*4.6-folds in 100 mg L -1 Cr treatment) than those without such inhibition clearly highlighting that rhizobacterial inhibition decreased the Cr uptake. The experimental results clearly demonstrated that the inhibition of the rhizobacterial populations had great influence on the Cr uptake. However, Cr uptake could not be completely inhibited as some metal uptake was observed after the rhizobacterial inhibition although it was significantly less than the Cr uptake of plants without such inhibition.
The present study aimed at screening of phytochemicals qualitatively and quantitatively in six selected medicinal plants native to Shujabad, Multan, Pakistan. Screening of various phytochemicals (phenols, tannins, flavonoids, saponins, glycosides, steroids, terpenoids, anthocayanins, phlobatannins, coumarins, triterpenoids, cardiac glycosides, sterols and alkaloids)was done by preparing plant leaf extracts in different solvents i.e., ethanol, methanol and water. Optical density of total phenolic and alkaloid compounds was measured via UV-Visible spectrophotometer at 640 nm and 470 nm respectively. Phenols and anthocayanins were found in all the six selected medicinal plants. Alkaloids were absent in O. corniculata. Flavonoids were absent in R. communis. Tannins were absent in O. corniculata and E. prostrata. Phlobatannins, coumarins and triterpenoids were absent in O. corniculata and R. communis. Terpenoids were absent in R. communis. Steroids were only present in O. corniculata, C. album and C. citratus. Sterols were absent in R. communis and saponins were only absent in O. corniculata. Glycosides were absent in C. album, M. pipperita and in C. citratus. Cardiac glycosides were only present in C. citratus. Phenolic content was found highest in R. communis while the highest alkaloid content in E. prostrate was found. It is evident from the study that C. citratusis of highest therapeutic efficacy possessing a majority of phytochemicals classes of compounds and R. communisis of lowest therapeutic potential due to the absence of the majority of phytoconstituents. Plants having these phytochemicals are considered important both medicinally and economically. There is a need to do further research on phytoconstituents of these plants and their role in mitigating the disease.
During the last decade, hydrogen has attracted lots of interest due to its potential as an energy carrier. Ethanol is one of the renewable resources that can be considered as a sustainable candidate for hydrogen generation. In this regard, producing hydrogen from ethanol steam reforming (ESR) would be an environmentally friendly process. Commonly, ESR is performed in packed bed reactors; however, this process needs several stages for hydrogen separation with desired purity. Recently, the concept of a membrane reactor, an attractive device integrating catalytic reactions and separation processes in a single unit, has allowed obtaining a smaller reactor volume, higher conversion degrees, and higher hydrogen yield in comparison to conventional reactors. This paper deals with recent advances in ESR in terms of catalyst utilization and the fundamental of membranes. The main part of this paper discusses the performance of different membrane reactor configurations, mainly packed bed membrane reactors, fluidized bed membrane reactors, and micro-membrane reactors. In addition, a short overview is given about the impact of ESR via different catalysts such as noble metal, non-noble metal, and bi-metallic catalysts. Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content. Please, subscribe or login to access all content.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.