Organophosphorus insecticide and growth regulator namely Ethephon (2-chloroethylphosphonic acid) are widely used as a ripening process accelerator and a cultivation duration inhibitor. Pomegranate extract (PPE) has recently been taken into consideration due to its pharmacological effects especially those associated with renal diseases. Thus, this study aims to investigate the possible protective effect of PPE against ethephon-induced nephrotoxicity in rats. In this study four groups of adult male rats were divided into control group, PPE 400 mg/kg group, Ethephon 250 mg/kg group, and finally, PPE + Ethephon group (treated with the same dose of PPE group and Ethephon group). In the current study, kidney function parameters (KIM-1, creatinine, and urea) along with oxidative stress markers, heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and nuclear factor erythroid 2–related factor 2 (Nrf2), glutathione (GSH) and its correlated enzymes, nitric oxide (NO), superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA) and catalase (CAT) were estimated. Additionally, mediators of renal inflammation: interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) were measured. Apoptotic biomarkers (Bax, caspase 3, and Bcl2) in addition to renal histopathological data were also investigated. Results revealed that Ethephon elicited a significant increase in oxidation markers and reduced antioxidant levels, accompanied by oxidative renal tissue injury. Consequently, administration of Ethephon was reported to provoke secretion of the pro-inflammatory mediators. Moreover, histopathological results showed that deformities in the renal tissues were noticed which is attributed to Ethephon exposure. Interestingly, co-administration of PPE and Ethephon resulted in significantly ameliorated the biochemical and histopathological alterations produced by Ethephon. Current results propose the potential effect of PPE in the protection of renal tissue from Ethephon induced nephrotoxicity in rats.
The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of variation of influent raw water turbidity, bed composition, and filtration rate on the performance of mono (sand) and dual media (sand and anthracite) rapid gravity filters in response to the effluent filtered water turbidity and headloss development. In order to evaluate each filter pe1formance, sieve analysis was made to characterize both media and to determine the effective size and uniformity coefficient. Effluent filtered water turbidity and the headloss development was recorded with time during each experiment.
ZnO thin films have been prepared by pulse laser deposition technique at room temperatures (RT). These films were deposited on GaAs substrate to form the ZnO/GaAs heterojunction solar cell. The effect of annealing temperatures at ( RT,100, 200)K on structural and optical properties of ZnO thin films has been investigated. The X-ray diffraction analysis indicated that all films have hexagonal polycrystalline structure. AFM shows that the grains uniformly distributed with homogeneous structure. The optical absorption spectra showed that all films have direct energy gap. The band gap energy of these films decreased with increasing annealing temperatures. From the electrical properties, the carriers have n-type conductivity. From
... Show MoreThe main objective of this study is to determine the suitable excitation wavelengths for
urine components reaching to select the suitable lasers to execute the auto fluorescence due to their
high intensities. The auto fluorescence was measured at 305, 325 and 350 nm excitation wavelengths
for eleven urine samples which were also analyzed by conventional methods (chemical and
microscopic examination). Data manipulation using Matlab package programming language showed
that urine sample with normal chemical and biological components have emission peaks which are
different from the infected urine samples. Despite the complexity of the composition of urine,
fluorescence maxima can be observed. Most likely, the peaks obser
Recycling process presents a sustainable pavement by using the old materials that could be milled, mixed with virgin materials and recycling agents to produce recycled mixtures. The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of water on recycled asphalt concrete mixtures, and the effect of the inclusion of old materials into recycled mixtures on the resistance of water damage. A total of 54 Marshall Specimens and 54 compressive strength specimens of (virgin, recycled, and aged asphalt concrete mixtures) had been prepared, and subjected to Tensile Strength Ratio test, and Index of Retained Strength test. Four types of recycling agents (used oil, oil + crumb rubber, soft grade asphalt cement, and asphalt cement + Su
... Show MoreIn this work 5-methylene-yl - (2-methy –oxazole-4-one) (1H) imidazole (1) were synthesized from the reaction of L-Histidine with acetic anhydride and which converted to the of 5-methylene-yl-(2-methyl 3-amino imidazole-4-one)-1H-imidazole (2) by reaction with hydrazine hydrate. Schiff bases (3-6) were synthesized from the reaction of compound (2) with different aromatic aldehyde. Reaction of compounds (3-6) with chloroacetyl chloride gives azetidinone one derivatives (7-10). These compounds were characterized by FT-IR and some of them with 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR spectroscopy.
A computerized investigation has been carried out to design an immersion lens
with low aberration operating under zero magnification condition using inverse problem.
The aberration is highly dependent on the shape of electrodes, for a preassigned electron
beam trajectory the paraxial-ray-equation is solved to determine the electrostatic potential
and field distribution.
From the knowledge of the potential and its first and second derivative the
electron optical properties were computed, the electrode geometry was determined from
the solution of Laplace equation.
The current work is concerned with preparing cobalt manganese ferrite (Co1-xMnxFe2O4) with different concentrations of cobalt and manganese (x=0.2, 0.4, and 0.6) and decorating it with polyaniline (PAni) for use in supercapacitive applications. The results of the X-ray diffraction (XRD) manifested a broad peak of PAni and a cubic structure of cobalt manganese ferrite having crystal size between 60 nm and 138 nm, which decreases with increasing concentration of Mn. The field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) images evidenced that the PAni has nanofiber (NF) structures, according to the method of preparation, where the hydrothermal method was used. The magnetic properties of the prepared ferrite, as well as the prepared PAni/Co1-x
... Show MoreHealth and environmental factors as well as operational difficulties are major challenges facing the development of an anaerobic digestion process. Some of these problems relate to the use of sludge collected from primary and secondary clarifier units in wastewater treatment plants for laboratory purposes.
The present study addresses the preparation of sludge for laboratory purposes by using a mixture that consists of the digested sludge, which is less pathogenic, compared to the collected sludge from the primary or secondary clarifier, and food wastes. The sludge has been tested experimentally for 19 and 32 days under mesophilic conditions. The results show a steady methane production rate from the anaerobic dig
... Show MoreThis study investigated the feasibility of anaerobic co-digestion of giant reed (GR) inoculated with waste manure as a co-substrate for biogas production. The performance of co-digestion was evaluated in 4 anaerobic digesters operated in batch mode at different conditions. The effects of alkali pretreatment with NaOH (4% w/v) solution, inoculum type, and thermal condition were studied. The results demonstrated that the alkali-pretreatment of GR enhanced the biogas generation by about 15% at mesophilic conditions. Thermophilic conditions enhanced the biogas recovery from both alkali-free and alkali pretreated GR by 15% and 127%, respectively. The kinetic study of the co-digestion process of GR for biogas recovery suggeste
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