Vegetable oils are characterized by their bioactive phytochemicals including fatty acids, tocols, and phenolic compounds. In the current study, turnip (Brassica rapa) oil was evaluated for its fatty acid profiles, tocol composition, and total phenolic content. The radical scavenging properties of oil against DPPH· and galvinoxyl radicals were also evaluated. Turnip oil efficiency in treating osteoporosis was tested in rats. Fifty adult female Sprague-Dawley albino rats were divided to five groups (n = 10/group). An osteoporotic rat model was prepared by two separate 5-day (5 days on/9 days off) courses of methotrexate subcutaneous injection. Osteoporotic rats were orally gavaged with turnip oil (200 and 400 mg/kg/day) for 28 days. Turnip oil efficiency in treating osteoporosis was studied by evaluation of Osterix, Cath K, and TNF-α transcript expression levels that involved in bone remodeling in femoral bones. Minerals and vitamin D were estimated in blood serum. Femoral bone histological and morphometric analyses were investigated in osteoporotic and turnip oil-treated rats. In vitro assays revealed strong antiradical potential of turnip oil. Treatment with turnip oil regulated the levels of Osterix, Cath K, and TNF-α mRNA that was accompanied with elevating the levels of calcium, phosphorous, bone alkaline phosphatase (BALP), and vitamin D in osteoporotic rats. The histological and morphometric inspection revealed that turnip oil displayed progress in the osteoporotic rat bone formation that was clear in the enhancement of thickness of femur shaft cortical bone and femur head trabecular bone. Above-mentioned findings indicated that turnip oil has the potential to share in the treatment of osteoporosis.

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is widely used as food additive and flavor enhancer; however, consumption of high dose of MSG provokes oxidative stress in many organs and its safety and side effects on the body are still controversial. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate the long-lasting effects of MSG on cardiac muscle functions and structure. Forty male Wister albino rats were assigned into 3 groups. Control group was injected intraperitoneally with physiological saline for 7 days. Second group was injected intraperitoneally with MSG at a dose of 4 mg/g b.w/day for 7 consecutive days and then kept without any treatment till 45th day of the experiment. Third group was injected intraperitoneally with MSG at a dose of 6 mg/g b.w/day for 7 consecutive days and then kept without any treatment till 45th day of the experiment. Monosodium glutamate significantly reduced body weight, force of cardiac muscle contractility, serum level of high-density lipoprotein, and superoxide dismutase activity in cardiac muscle, while it significantly elevated heart rate, serum levels of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, triacylglycerides, atherogenic index and troponin T, activities of serum lactate dehydrogenase and creatine kinase-MB, malondialdehyde concentration, and P53 protein expression in cardiac muscle. In addition, it induced myocardial degeneration, cellular infiltration, deposition of collagen in cardiac muscle, and periodic acid–Schiff staining reaction. This study indicated that MSG exerted long-lasting functional and structural alterations in the heart of male albino rats through induction of oxidative stress, atherogenesis, and apoptosis.

Catalytic wet peroxide oxidation (CWPO) is a novel, alternative technology to conventional disinfection methods that are widely used to control microbial parameters in drinking water. To assess its effectiveness, new studies revealing the kinetics of MS2 coliphage inactivation by CWPO technology are required. This investigation therefore aimed to perform mathematical modelling of MS2 inactivation through CWPO technology activated by an Al/Fe-pillared clay catalyst (Al/Fe-PILC) in the presence of a synthetic surrogate of dissolved natural organic matter. The inactivation constant was obtained from two different statistical approaches, and the experimental data were better fitted to the pseudo-first-order Chick-Watson model in which the inactivation rate is constant. For this model, the maximum inactivation rate was k = 0.1648 min⁻¹, which was achieved in the MS2-3 catalytic test using an initial mass ratio of peroxide to active iron (Feₐcₜ) of 1.2 mg H₂O₂/mg Feₐcₜ. To estimate the inactivation rate due to reactive oxygen species (ROS), we supposed that the inactivation constant depends on both ROS and Feₐcₜ. In this case, the maximum inactivation rate due to ROS was kᵣ = 2.4 × 10⁻⁹ min⁻¹ (using 1.17 mg H₂O₂/mg Feₐcₜ), which was achieved in the MS2-10 trial; both cases led to the conclusion that the optimal initial ratio of peroxide to active Fe in the catalyst in CWPO activated by Al/Fe-PILC was close to 1.2 mg H₂O₂/mg Feₐcₜ. These kinetic studies showed that rapid inactivation takes place very early in the reaction, followed by slow inactivation during the remaining period of the recorded reaction time. This research revealed the strong potential of CWPO technology to improve microbiological parameters in drinking water due to the high catalytic performance in the heterogeneous Fenton reaction displayed by Fe sites incorporated in the Al/Fe-PILCs.

Metals are widely used in modern society harming the environment; their toxicity cause environmental adverse effects to many organisms including zooplankton. This contribution employed: (a) acute and chronic toxicity tests, (b) epifluorescence image analysis, and (c) atomic absorption techniques, to analyze toxicity of four trace (copper, iron, nickel, and zinc), and one non-trace metals (mercury) on the freshwater rotifer Euchlanis dilatata. This work integrated results of Bioconcentration Factors (BCF’s), sites of entry and accumulation and to determine mechanisms of uptake and toxicity of these five metals of the freshwater rotifer Euchlanis dilatata. This integral analysis enhanced our understanding of knowledge on: (a) the toxicity mechanisms, (b) sites of metal entry and concentration inside the rotifer, (c) bioconcentration and body burdens. As expected, Hg the non-trace metal used here, was the most toxic. Our results suggest that the toxicity is ameliorated in the rotifer by selecting feeding avoiding the most toxic particles and reducing adverse effects on reproduction, until mortality per se reduces reproduction. The chronic effect on ingestion rate was quite sensitive for all metals whereas reproduction was slightly affected. The combination of acute and chronic tests and determination of BCF’s for each metal allowed calculation of the acute and chronic body burdens. Body burdens again confirmed that mercury was the most toxic metal of the five employed here.

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is the most serious manifestation of thromboembolic conditions. Its incidence varies considerably between countries, suggesting its interaction with the external environment. To analyze the influence of climate and air pollution on the occurrence of idiopathic PE in the region of Sousse (Tunisia). A total of 142 patients with idiopathic PE at two academic hospitals in Sousse (Tunisia) were enrolled in the study over a 7-year period. An analysis of two time series (environmental data and PE cases) was performed. Climatic data were collected from the National Institute of Meteorology. Air pollution data were obtained from the modeling platform of the National Agency for Protection of the Environment. The year 2015 was marked by the occurrence of the highest number of cases (24.6%). A statistically significant decrease in PE risk of 41.9% was observed during the summer with an OR of 0.59 (95% CI [0.36–0.94] and p = 0.026), compared with other seasons. Poisson GLM regression showed a significant increased risk of PE of 3.3% for each 1 °C temperature drop. After multiple binary logistic regression, the elevation of PM₁₀ concentration was independently associated with an increased risk of PE (p < 10⁻³, OR 79.55, 95% CI [42.28–149.6]). Some environmental parameters may predispose to the onset of idiopathic PE. Understanding their accurate influence may have preventive and curative implications.

To understand the potential environmental influence of animal manure under freeze-thaw cycles, pig manure was used to conduct a simulation experiment to explore the effects of freeze-thaw cycles on heavy metal distribution and form transformation. Thirty cycles of freezing and thawing were performed alternately by freezing at − 18 ± 2 °C for 24 h and thawing at 20 ± 2 °C for 24 h. By a serial wet sieving procedure, manure samples were separated into different sizes of 1000, 250, 75, 38, and < 38 μm. Solid samples were collected from the dry matter at each stage of sieve; then the washing waters were collected as liquid samples accordingly. The concentrations of heavy metals in solid/liquid samples and their five forms were analyzed. It showed that the concentrations of heavy metals in the solid and liquid samples gradually increased because of organic matter degradation during freezing and thawing cycles. The distribution of heavy metals on particles of different sizes was also affected by the degradation and breakup of pig manure; the metals showed a tendency to aggregate in small particles (< 38 μm). Among them, the percentage of Cu and Zn on < 38 μm particles increased by 162.3% and 554.1%, respectively. After several freeze-thaw cycles, the concentrations of EXCH-X (metals of exchangeable form) increased significantly, those of CARB-X (carbonate-bound form) and Fe/Mn-X (Fe/Mn oxide-bound form) decreased accordingly. These form transformations may be largely influenced by the enhancement of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and the reduction of pH value. Therefore, frequent freeze-thaw cycles may promote the mobility and bioavailability of heavy metals in pig manure. The results are significant for understanding the pollution risk of pig manure in the freeze-thaw regions.

The carbon recovery from organic space waste by supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) was studied to support resource recovery in a regenerative life support system. Resource recovery is of utmost importance in such systems which only have a limited total amount of mass. However, the practical waste treatment strategies for solid space wastes employed today are only storing and disposal without further recovery. This work assesses the performance of SCWO at recovering organic wastes as CO₂ and water, to discuss the superiority of SCWO over most present strategies, and to evaluate the different SCWO reactor systems for space application. Experiments were carried out with a batch and a continuous reactor at different reaction conditions. The liquid and gas products distribution were analyzed to understand the conversion of organics in SCWO. Up to 97% and 93% of the feed carbon were recovered as CO₂ in the continuous and the batch reactor, respectively. Residual carbon was mostly found as soluble organics in the effluent. Compared with the batch reactor, the continuous reactor system demonstrated a ten times higher capacity within the same reactor volume, while the batch reactor system was capable of handling feeds that contained particulate matter though suffering from poor heat integration (hence low-energy efficiency) and inter-batch variability. It was concluded that SCWO could be a promising technology to treat solid wastes for space applications. A continuous reactor would be more suitable for a regenerative life support system.

Cadmium (Cd), one of the harmful heavy metals, and its accumulation or pollution might cause itai-itai disease. In this study, we investigated the dietary exposure of Cd among residents in Northeast China (including Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning provinces) and also compared the health risks in adult males in terms of dietary intake. Cd contents in 12 categories of foods were derived from original data from the 5th China Total Diet Study (TDS). The following results were obtained in this study: (i) dietary exposure levels of Cd at the margin of safety (MOS) were 4.55, 1.82, and 2.85 in Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning provinces, respectively; (ii) the primary dietary sources of Cd included cereals, legumes, potatoes, meat, aquatic products, and vegetables; (iii) Cd contents in the same food category from different regions were not significantly different from the limit of China’s National Standards (LCNSs); (iv) dietary exposure of Cd would not have a detrimental effect on the health of residents in Northeast China; (v) we recommend the government to take precedence of the supervision and spot-checking of cereals, legume-nuts, potatoes, meat, aquatic products, vegetables, and alcoholic beverages because of the higher dietary consumption than others; (vi) 99.99% of the Cd content in cereals, legumes, vegetables, meat, and aquatic products sold in Northeast China was less than the LCNSs at the present situation; and (vii) the harmful effects of Cd to human beings are associated with the Cd content in foods and the consumption of such foods.

Starch was transformed to hydrophobic starch phthalate (contact angle 109°) in order to achieve a good dispersion in LDPE matrix. Nanosilica derived from rice husk after aminopropyltrimethoxysilane functionalization was also incorporated into the blend as property-enhancing filler. The produced crystalline starch phthalate had a lower particle size of 9.87 μm and a higher surface area of 2.87 m²/g compared to starch (40.28 μm, 1.91 m²/g). The potential quality modification of starch phthalate as a substitute for starch towards the production of a perfect biodegradable blend was quantified in terms of mechanical (tensile, tear, stiffness), optical (haze, transmittance), and biodegradation assessments. Interfacial adhesion between LDPE and starch phthalate was well justified by the morphology and enhancement in mechanical properties like tensile and tear strength from 8.87 to 12.67 MPa and 96.57 to 187.10 N/mm for 30% of starch or starch phthalate in LDPE matrix, respectively. Starch phthalate compared to starch blended films showed a higher biodegradation rate of 14.8 and 13.5% in garden soil and vegetable waste respectively in 1 year (at 30% biofiller), with a good first-order kinetics fit of the weight loss data having a higher degradation rate constant at higher content of biofiller in the blend.

Melanin is a ubiquitous natural polyphenolic pigment with versatile applications including physiological functions. This polymeric material is found in a diversity of living organisms from bacteria to mammals. The biocompatibility and thermal stability of melanin nanoparticles make them good candidates to work as free radical scavengers and photothermal anticancer substrates. Research studies have identified melanin as an antioxidative therapeutic agent and/or reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger that includes neutralization of peroxynitrite. In addition, melanin nanoparticles have emerged as an anticancer photothermal platform that has the capability to kill cancer cells. Recently, melanin nanoparticles have been successfully used as chelating agents to purify water from heavy metals, such as hexavalent chromium. This review article highlights some selected aspects of cutting-edge melanin applications. Herein, we will refer to the recent literature that addresses melanin nanoparticles and its useful physicochemical properties as a hot topic in biomaterial science. It is expected that the techniques of Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and time-resolved Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) will have a strong impact on the full characterization of melanin nanoparticles and the subsequent exploration of their physiological and chemical mechanisms.