Journal of Chemical Health Risks
Volume:13 Issue: 1, Winter 2023

Today, urban management seems necessary to remediate soils contaminated with heavy metals, especially in industrial regions. Thus, this research was done to evaluate the effect of zeolite and seed pre-treatment with salicylic acid on reducing the Cd sorption by ornamental sunflower under drought stress. Treatments (48 treatments) consisted of applying zeolite (0 and 5 % (W/W)) in the Cd (0 and 15 mg Cd (kg soil)-1) polluted soil under cultivation of ornamental sunflower that was inoculated with P.indica in normal and intensive drought stress condition. The plants seeds were pretreated with salicylic acid (0, 0.5 and 1 mM). After 90 days, plants were harvested and atomic absorption spectroscopy (Perkin-Elmer 3030) was used for determining the Pb and Zn concentration. Application of zeolite in the soil significantly decreased and increased the plant Cd and Zn concentration by 11.3 and 14.2%, respectively. Seed priming with salicylic acid at the rate of 1 mM significantly increased the plant Zn and Cd concentration by 12.7 and 14.2%, respectively. In addition, plant inoculation with P.indica significantly decreased the catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) enzyme activity which indicate the plant resistance to abiotic stress. However, drought stress had adverse effect on the Cd sorption by plants. Moreover, the CAT and APX enzymes activities were increased. The results of this study showed that applying zeolite and seed priming with salicylic acid had additive effects on decreasing the Cd sorption by ornamental sunflower that was inoculated with P.indica fungus under drought stress.

In this study, the effects of four substitutions in two different positions of Methylphenidate (MPH, Ritalin) structure on chemical reactivity indices and aromaticity current of benzene ring were investigated at the density functional theory (DFT) level. The results were interpreted using natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis. The findings indicated that by increasing the participation of the studied substitutions in intramolecular interactions, their effect on the chemical reactivity indices and aromaticity current increased. Therefore, the substituents NO2 and Cl on the benzene ring, with the highest participation in intramolecular interactions, caused the highest increase in the resonance interactions of the benzene ring. As a result, they increased the values of the Nuclear Independent Chemical Shift (NICS) in the geometric center of the ring. Also, the above substitutions decreased the energy gap between HOMO (highest occupied molecular orbitals) orbitals and LUMO (lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals) and increased chemical reactivity indices. On the other hand, The NBO results represented that electron-withdrawing substituents at positions R7 and R9 reduced the accumulation of negative charge on adjacent atoms and the benzene ring.

Studies have shown that burn wounds are one of the most severe forms of trauma which may cause disability, morbidity and mortality, stupendous hospital costs, and emotional disturbance. In spite of the therapeutic effects of synthetic drugs, due to their unwanted side effects, the tendency of people to use these drugs has been decreasing, contrary to the use of natural origin drugs. Medicinal plants that can be formulated to treat and repair the wound should be identified. Therefore, in this article a number of native Iranian medicinal plants that have been studied and their healing effects on burn wounds have been reported are discussed. In this review article, the keywords medicinal plants, burn, burn wound repair, burn wound and Iran were used to search for relevant articles indexed in databases such as IranMedex, Scientific Information Database, Google Scholar, Scopus, Institute for Scientific Information,  Web of Science and PubMed. Based on the results, the medicinal plants Aloe vera (L.) Burm.f., Matricaria chamomilla L, Quercus brantii Lindl., Cydonia oblonga Mill., Scrophularia striata, Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze, Portulaca oleracea L, Cinnamomum zeylanicum Blume, Achillea talagonica Boiss., Olea europaea L., Hypericum perforatum L., Cucurbita pepo L., Teucrium polium L., Myrtus communis, Brassica oleracea L., Plantago major L., Malva sylvestris L., Arnebia euchroma (Royle) I.M.Johnst., Cucurbita moschata Duchesne, Achillea millefolium L., Lythrum salicaria L., Crocus sativus L. and Allium sativum L.  are some of the most important herbal remedies to repair burn wounds. According to the various researches on the medicinal plants, the anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and antimicrobial effects of these plants have been scientifically demonstrated, which has led to information that can be used to produce antimicrobial drugs for infectious and burn wounds.

There are always concerns about the environmental and human consequences of the widespread use of pesticides. This study aimed to determine the role of pesticides in the development of autism spectrum disorders in children through meta-analysis. All studies (11 articles) that had the potential to be used in our study were exported in EndNote X8 software and reviewed by authors. We extracted the required data, and we used Stata software (version 12) to analyze the pooled effect. Random and fixed-effect models were used to determine the combined estimation using the “metan” command.The results showed exposure to organochlorine pesticides could increase the risk of autism by 32% (OR=1.32; 95% CI: 1.14-1.53). The first trimester of pregnancy had the highest risk for autism (OR=1.23; 95% CI: 1.15-1.31). The cumulative meta-analysis showed a decreasing trend for crude and adjusted odds ratio over time.This study showed that exposure to pesticides can increase the risk of autism, and the time of exposure to pesticides is associated with the risk of autism. These results came as the cumulative meta-analysis results for crude and adjusted odds ratios showed a decreasing trend over time.

Nowadays, due to the increased consumption of meat products, investigation of their additives such as nitrite seems necessary. Nitrate in combination with salt has a synergistic characteristic against pathogenic microorganisms. Nitrite combines with protein, fats, and volatile and non-volatile compounds in meat and plays an important role in flavoring meat products. Excessive use of this substance leads to a more dangerous compound called nitrosamine. The present study aimed to investigate the nitrate content of meat products with different levels of meat. Health risk assessment toward nitrite was also calculated. A total of 108 samples of meat products in various commercial brands were collected and analyzed from retail markets of Tehran to detect the amount of nitrite in them. Meat products in terms of their meat percentage were divided into three categories under 50%, 50% to 70%, and more than 70%. Estimated daily intake (EDI), based on per capita consumption rate and hazard quotient (HQ) for adults and children were also estimated. The mean concentration of nitrite in meat products with >70% meat, 50-70%, and <50% were 28.04, 30.07, and 27.02 mg kg-1, respectively that did not resemble any significant difference (p>0.05). The results indicated that the levels of nitrite were lower than permissible levels. The calculated HQ was less than 1 for meat products. However, this value was more for children. So is necessary to take precautions any over-consumption of this type of product in children.

Because of the potential for reversible effects on living organisms and bacterial elaboration resistance, removing drugs from aqueous solutions is critical. Deals with the amoxicillin AMX removal trial using hydrogel. (F-TIR), (F.E-SEM), and UV-visible spectroscopy were used to describe the hydrogel of sodium alginate-g-poly (Acrylic acid-fumaric acid). The purpose of the adsorption investigation was to determine the impact of (10-100 mg L-1) conc. of AMX Optimization appear to have the best percentage percent removal at 97.40 percent at concentration 100 mg L-1, and contact duration 2hr. Take a look at two isotherm models. The second order model (R2= 0.9041) outperforms the Freundlich, Langmuir (R2= 0.9772), and three types of kinetic models (first order, second order, and Elchovich).

In our previous work, some trifluoromethylated ketenimines and 1-aza butadienes derivatives from N-H heterocyclic compounds were synthesized, and their characteristics were confirmed by their spectroscopic data as introduced. In this research, the antifungal and antibacterial effects of newly synthesized compounds were evaluated. The antibacterial activity of compounds was studied against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC25923, Escherichia coli ATCC25922, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC9027. Furthermore, their antifungal activity was monitored against Candida albicans ATCC10231. Disk Diffusion Agar test and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) methods were used as per the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) recommendations. The results showed that the ketenimines derivatives from 2-pyridinone and 4- quinazolinone have considerable antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli standard strains. Trifluoromethylated ketenimines and 1-aza butadiene derivatives have no antibacterial effect on P. aeruginosa strain. Moreover, the trimethylated ketenimines and 1-aza butadienes derivated from 4-quinazolinone showed acceptable antifungal activity against Candida albicans.

Cancer disease in children is very rare and includes less than one percent of all cancers. However, it is one of the main causes of death among children. The aim of this study is to investigate the epidemiology of various cancers in children in Erbil city, Iraq. In this epidemiological study, in which the cancer registry data of Erbil city was used, the frequency distribution of cancer between 2014 and 2021 (for 8 years) in children under 18 years of age was investigated and the incidence rate per one million people was calculated. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 23 software and MS Excel 2016 software. The registered cancer cases related to the residents of Erbil city during these years were 1766 cases, among which blood cancers had the highest frequency. 59.7% of the cases have been observed in men, and the age group of 15-18 years (34.6%) had the highest frequency in comparison with other age groups. The average age at the time of diagnosis was estimated at 11.2 years. The minimum and maximum age-standardized incidence in this 8-year period is estimated to be 73 cases (year 2014) and 241 cases (year 2019) per million people, respectively. Based on the results of this study and contrary to our expectations, it was found that the incidence of cancer among children under 18 years old in Erbil city is not much different from developed countries.

Adulteration of honey is a major problem in the world, due to its high nutritional value and the expensive cost of honey. Thus, the quality of honey produced in different regions must be assessed to protect the rights of consumers. The study aims to investigate the physicochemical (hydroxymethylfurfural: HMF, moisture, ash, electrical conductivity, pH, total acidity, diastase activity, and reduction sugar), and microbiological (clostridium perfringens, molds, and osmotolerant yeasts) parameters of 43 honey samples. All the honey samples were collected from Qazvin province, Iran. Our results demonstrate that pH and acidity values in all of the honey samples were in the accepted limit and other physicochemical parameters include HMF (44.18%), reduction sugar (9.30%), moisture (2.32%), sucrose (53.48%), diastase activity (58.13%), fructose/glucose ratio (25.58%), electrical conductivity (9.30%) and ash (4.65%) were below the acceptable quality level. All the honey samples were in the acceptable range in terms of microbial quality (yeast, fungi and, Clostridia). All the honey samples are within expected microbial levels but in non-standard physicochemical conditions. Our results indicate that you can use fast, inexpensive and safe tests for identifying the adulteration in a variety of honeys (commercial and non-commercial). These measurements should be widely practiced by governmental organizations determine a fair and reasonable price for each product.

The intake of heavy metals from food in high doses will have adverse effects on human health. In Iran, traditional foods constitute a major portion of peoples’ daily diet. Hence, the present study has attempted to evaluate the levels of heavy metals and their carcinogenicity and non-carcinogenicity in traditional foods served in the restaurants of Isfahan, Iran. In this cross-sectional study, 20 different types of food were selected from 19 restaurants. Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES) was used to measure the levels of heavy metals such as chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), and iron (Fe) in the prepared samples. Moreover, the risk non-carcinogenicity of heavy metals in traditional foods was determined for children and adults by applying the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) method. Among the heavy metals studied, only Ni and Cu had lower levels than permissible limits. Also, the Pb levels in the examined foods range from 0.05 to 0.79 m m-1; which are higher than the safe limits proposed by FAO/WHO. On the other hand, the mean concentration of Fe was higher than the maximum permissible limit (48 m m-1) in 4 food samples only. The target hazard quotient (THQ) values range from 0.005–53.65 and 0.01–156.50, for adults and children, respectively.  Hence THQ for adults and children was found to be above 1 in 64% and 75% of food samples, respectively. This study recommends that food consumers in Iran should be careful about the overconsumption of traditional foods.

The current study aimed to synthesize, characterize and determine the antibacterial activity of iron oxide (Fe3O4 NPs) and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) green-synthesized using Fusarium solani. Fungal mass was applied to produce NPs, followed by analyzing NPs using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Theantimicrobial test was performed by the agar well diffusion method and the microdilution protocol (determining the minimum inhibitory concentration or MIC and the minimum bactericidal concentration or MBC) against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli. The highest optical densities for produced AgNPs and Fe3O4 NPs were detected at 420 and 215 nm, with a spherical shape and size of 27.5-58.3 nm and a cubic-spherical shape and size of 55.3-84.2 nm, respectively. Ag NPs had more antibacterial activity than Fe3O4 NPs, but they were not significantly different in most cases. The most sensitive and resistant bacteria were S. aureus and P. aeruginosa for both NPs, with the MIC of 10 and 40 μg ml-1 as well as the MBC of 20 and 80 μg ml-1 for Ag NPs against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa, respectively. The results were weaker for Fe3O4 NPs than for Ag NPs, with the MIC of 20 μg ml-1 for B. cereus and S. aureus, and 40 μg ml-1 for P. aeruginosa and E. coli, with the MBC of 40 and 80 μg ml-1, respectively. The antibacterial properties of the produced NPs indicated that these antimicrobial agents were highly reactive and prevented the growth of unwanted microorganisms.

The measurement and analysis of pollutants is undoubtedly the first step in controlling them because, without complete knowledge of the quality and quantity of pollutants, it will not be possible to compare them with the permitted limits and ultimately control them. This descriptive-analytical study focused on the oil refineries and chemical industries. Approximately 279 air samples from 18 complexes in an industrial area were collected for this study in the winter of 2020 and 334 samples in the summer of 2021. In this study, 14 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were examined, measured, and sampled using procedures recommended by the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH). Finally, GC/FID and GC/MS devices were used to analyze the samples. SPSS version 22.0 was used to analyze the results. In this study, it was determined that the mean of the majority of the compounds in all of the complexes was higher in the summer than in the winter (p<0.05). Additionally, according to the findings, in both the winter and summer seasons, the average ratio of benzene to BTX, BTEX, and all VOCs showed the highest percentage (67.2%) and the average ratio of xylene concentration to these three variables showed the lowest percentage (3.15-7.35%). The findings of this study indicate that the multiplicity of pollution sources and the accumulation of numerous complexes in this area have increased the amount of pollution spread throughout the region's air. As a result, it is advised to use engineering solutions to reduce the amount of pollution.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers in world. Patient survival is less than 5%. However, early diagnosis of this cancer is very essential. In this article, we studied molecular pathology, epigenetic change in pancreatic cancer, and discussed the effect of methylation in inception and development of pancreatic cancer. By studying and identifying the genes methylated in this cancer, we can utilize them as biomarkers to be used to diagnose this cancer in a timely manner. Pancreatic cancer is realized as a multistage process characterized by the accumulation of genetic alterations companioned by typical histological conversion in pancreatic ductal cells. DNA methylation is one of the key changes in epigenetics in DNA structure. DNA methylation pattern as biomarker has explicit applications in diagnosis of cancers. Extensive disturbances of DNA methylation have been observed in cancer, causing changes in regulation of gene expression, developing oncogenesis. Understanding both epigenetic changes and DNA mutations promises for improving the characterization of malignancy to predict prognosis and treatment response. By recognition and understanding of molecular pathways and gene changes in this cancer, numerous drugs have been tested for targeted treatment that will allow identifying whole methylation patterns to recognize biomarkers for prognosis and early diagnosis of this cancer in future. By identifying pathways and aberrant methylation, screening and diagnosis are more and more necessary at early stages.

Chemotherapy is among the most crucial therapeutic options for advanced hepatocellular cancer (HCC). There are side effects associated with chemotherapy drug use in cancer patients. It has been shown in animal models that the consumption of omega-3 fatty acids can be effective in reducing the side effects. The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of fish oil supplementation on the adverse effects of chemotherapy in HCC patients. The present research was conducted as a double-blind clinical trial in Erbil City, Kurdistan region, Iraq between May 12, 2020, and December 16, 2021. After an interview, 28 HCC patients who volunteered and were receiving chemotherapy were randomly assigned to the experimental group and another 28 to the control group. The control group was given a placebo for six weeks whereas the experimental group received 3 g of omega-3 fatty acids. Following the initial collection of information for both groups, data on the side effects of chemotherapy were gathered at the start, the fourth, and the sixth weeks following the intervention. The data were examined using the independent sample t-tests, descriptive statistics, chi-square, and Cochran's Q-test. According to the study's findings, the patients in the experimental group had less nausea with passing time, and this difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). It is possible to draw the conclusion that taking fish oil supplements while receiving chemotherapy for HCC may be advantageous because it may lessen some of the negative effects of the treatment.

Fish smoking is the oldest known traditional method of fish processing and preservation. Fish provide the protein needed for bodybuilding and repairs of tissues, and form part of a healthy balanced and nutritious diet. Heavy metal contamination on ingested food substances is an issue of a serious health concern due to their high level of toxicological effects on humans. Fish products may become contaminated during processing or as a result of the intake of heavy metals from a polluted aquatic environment. The study was aimed at assessing the level some Heavy Metal (Pd, Cr, Cd, Hg, and As) contamination of smoked fish sold at Maiduguri fish markets. Fish samples (Smoked and unsmoked) were obtained from 8 major fish markets in Borno State. The samples were oven-dried and grounded. The grounded samples were digested using concentrated nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide (2:1) v/v and analyzed for heavy metals using AAS both at the Chemistry Department, Yobe State University, Damaturu. The results obtained, reveals that Cr, As, and Hg concentrations were below the set national permissible limits as set by NAFDAC in all sampling stations in the study area while Pd concentration exceed the set permissible limit in sample station E and F (2.768 ± 0.251 and 2.602 ± 0.241 mg kg-1 respectively). Furthermore, Hazard index (HI) values of the heavy metals (Pd, Cd, Cr, As, and Hg) were all greater than 1, revealing an unacceptable level of non-carcinogenic adverse health effects. The study recommends a continuous assessment of the level of heavy metals in smoked fish from the study area.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of zinc oxide nanoparticle shape on the optical characteristics of tapioca starch films and the microbial growth kinetics of Escherichia coli. For this purpose, nanorods, nano-spheres, and nanoparticles of ZnO at 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0% levels were incorporated into the tapioca starch film solution by solvent casting method. The results showed that tapioca starch-based films were colorless, and by adding different morphology of ZnO nanoparticles and increasing nanoparticles concentrations, the lightness and transparency of the films decreased, and a*, b* and ΔE increased significantly (p<0.05). The bionanocomposite films containing nano-ZnO represented antibacterial activity against E. coli. Their action was directly related to their concentration. With increasing the nano-ZnO concentration, the antibacterial activity increased, and the microbial growth kinetics tended downward. The morphology of nano-ZnO had a remarkable effect on their antibacterial activity, so the highest activity was related to ZnO nano-spheres.

Sequel to the high rate at which waterleaf (Talinum triangulare) is consumed in Southern Nigeria and the excellent phytoextraction and bioaccumulation potentials of the plant, an assessment of the safety status and potential human health risk of Lead (Pb), Calcium (Cd), Chromium (Cd) and Nickel (Ni) through consumption of waterleaf sold in major markets in Calabar, Nigeria was carried out between February and April, 2021. A total of 36 composite samples obtained from 180 waterleaf vendors was used for the study. Heavy metals concentrations were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (Shimadzu, Model AA-6800, Japan) after wet digestion. The concentration (Mg Kg-1) ranged from 0.26-0.59 for lead, 0.04-0.42 for cadmium, 0.35-1.02) and 1.35-4.32 for nickel.  The mean metals content of edible tissues (leaves and tender stem) of waterleaf were found to be above FAO/WHO permissible limits and the EU maximum Levels for the metals in leafy vegetable except for chromium. The Estimated Daily Intake of the metals were above their respective Recommended Daily Intake and Upper Tolerable Daily Intake except for nickel. The average Target Hazard Quotients were greater than 1.00 except for chromium. The Hazard Index for the respective markets were greater than unity. The study concludes that Talinum triangulare purchased from the markets under study is not safe for human consumption as it poses significant toxicological risk with respect to lead, cadmium, and nickel and chromium intoxication.

This research focuses on the correlation among underweight Babies at Birth (BBLR) with giving Fe pills, parity, Ante Natal Care (ANC), and the age women of giving birth. Though the cause of stunting is multi-factorial, BBLR is one of the causes of stunting. So it is important to investigate deeply BBLR itself. Based on any references, BBLR is caused by many factors as well.  Anemia acute happened to pregnant women, long stress the pregnant women which make them lost appetite and age of women relatively takes effect of BBLR. This research uses Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) 2018 as secondary data. Based on it, there were 340 respondents and 355 births. The total population who suffered stunting is 5,4% of 355 births. From 5,4% of BBLR occurred at under 20 old women, birth order (parity). The result of the research, there is no correlation between the Fe pill, parity, ANC, and age of women at first-time birth to the BBLR even though in many references four variables are closely related. As a follow-up, this secondary data research should be verified by primary data.

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) play many function roles during the preparation food; one of those roles is to remove or reduce mycotoxins from contaminated food. Therefore, this study aimed to study the impact of five strains from LAB (Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus plantarum, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus reuteri) to reduce aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) during manufacturing Fino bread. Also, this study has been extended to evaluate the qualities and characteristics of the Fino bread manufactured by treated wheat flour by LAB cells. The data reflected that the percentages of reduction of AFB1 after mixing ingredients were 9.7, 8.5, 7.04, 7.4 and 5.5% with addition L. rhamnosus, L. plantarum, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Str. Thermophilus and L. reuteri, respectively. Moreover, the results indicated that the addition of L. rhamnosus and L. plantarum cells given the highest percentage of removal AFB1 after fermentation stage were 60.5 and 54.25%, respectively, while the lowest reduction of AFB1 recorded with the addition of L. reuteri cells was 42.25%. AFB1 reduction has reached 100% in blends treated with L. rhamnosus and L.plantarum cells in the final bread. The results indicated that the increase in water absorption and the dough development time as well as dough weakening. Finally, the addition of LAB cells didn't show any significant differences in taste, color, odor, and texture for the final bread.

A provisional study was conducted to analyze the correlation of xylene exposure in the air at the workplace with levels of xylene in blood and neurological symptoms among informal car painting in Surabaya. This research was designed as an observational study and conducted by the cross-sectional technique involving 51 informal car painters. Neurologic symptoms were meant by the German version of the Q18 form while resolving xylene levels within the blood have measured with ELISA. This study has also observed the characteristics of workers and working activity factors. Significant correlations have been shown based on Pearson correlation analysis, which was the age, working period, and duration of work. Meanwhile, Spearman correlation analysis showed that the habit of using a PPE mask, smoking habits, and xylene levels in the blood were strongly considered to have a significant association with neurological symptoms in workers. Simple linear regression s used to analyze the correlation coefficient (R-square), which was 0.718. In conclusion, blood levels of xylene are related to neurological symptoms in informal car painters. The monitoring of xylene levels in the blood and the regular use of PPE masks demonstrated the relationship between xylene exposure and neurological symptoms.