The heavy metal cadmium is extremely harmful to both humans and animals. Zinc supplementation protects the biological system and reduces cadmium-induced toxicity. This study aimed to determine whether zinc chloride (ZnCl2) could protect male mice with the damaged liver induced by cadmium chloride (CdCl2). The protective role of zinc chloride and expression of the metallothionein (MT), Ki-67, and Bcl-2 apoptotic proteins in hepatocytes were studied after subchronic exposure of mice to cadmium chloride for 21 days. Thirty male mice were randomly categorized into 6 groups (5 mice/group) as follows: a control group that did not receive any treatment, a group given ZnCl2 at 10 mg/kg alone, and two groups received ZnCl2 (10 mg/kg) in combination with CdCl2 at two concentrations (1.5 and 3 mg/kg), while the last two groups received CdCl2 alone at 1.5 and 3 mg/kg, respectively. Immunohistochemical examination revealed a decrease in Ki-67 expression in Kupffer and endothelial cells, which reflected cell proliferation downregulation accompanied by MT increased expression. However, the Bcl-2 was ameliorated and reduced to demonstrate an enhanced rate of necrosis rather than apoptosis. Furthermore, histopathological results showed significant alteration such as hepatocytes with a pyknotic nucleus, infiltration of inflammatory cells around the central vein, and the presence of many binucleated hepatocytes. Zinc chloride treatment resulted in histological and morphological improvements that were average in the expression of apoptosis proteins modifications induced by cadmium. Our findings revealed that the positive effects of zinc might be linked to the high metallothionein expression and enhanced cell proliferation. Furthermore, at low-dose exposure, cadmium-induced damage to cells could be more closely related to necrosis rather than apoptosis.
Rare-earth metal oxides (REMOs) exhibit distinctive properties, among which cerium oxide (CeO2) displays numerous industrial, technological, and medical applications. However, the inclusion of hafnium (Hf) at the cerium (Ce) site to form the (Ce1-ₓHfₓO2) lattice system at a concentration of x = 0.25 would have an impact on enhancing the physical properties of the simulated configuration. Density functional theory (DFT) was used to perform the calculations, supported by the Hubbard correction factor (U). The generalized gradient approximation (GGA-PBE) was employed to analyze the electronic, structural, optical, and mechanical properties at hydrostatic pressures (P = 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 GPa). The ground state geometry of the pristine
... Show MoreCdSe quantum dots possess a tuning energy gap which can control gap values according to the size of the quantum dots, this is made the material able to absorb the wavelengths within visible light. A simple model is provided for the absorption coefficient, optical properties, and optical constants for CdSe quantum dots from the size 10nm to 1nm with the range of visible region between (300-730) nm at room temperature. It turns out that there is an absorption threshold for each wavelength, CdSe quantum dots begin to absorb the visible spectrum of 1.4 nm at room temperature for a wavelength of 300 nm. It has been noted that; when the wavelength is increased, the absorption threshold also increases. This applies to the optical propertie
... Show MorePAN/PMMA) with different blend ratios (80/20, 75/25,70/30,65/35, and 60/40) wt% undoped and doped with various lithium (Li) salts (LiCO3, Li2SO4H2O, and LiCl) at 20 wt %. Different techniques were employed to investigate the composition and optical properties of the prepared blend samples undoped and doped with Lithium salts like FT-IR and UV-Visible spectroscopies. The optical properties analysis declared that the energy gap increased from (4.0 eV to 4.20 eV) by increasing of PMMA ratio from 20 to 40 wt %. In contrast, the energy gap reduced and shifted toward the low energy side by adding lithium salts; the minimum energy gap value was 2 eV obtained from 65 % PAN and 35 % PMMA doped with Li2CO3. The optical constants were determ
... Show MoreThe existing study aimed to assess four soil moisture sensors’ capacitive (WH51 and SKU: S EN0193) and resistive (Yl69 and IC Station) abilities, which are affordable and medium-priced for their accuracy in six common soil types in the central region of Iraq. The readings’ calibration for the soil moisture sensor devices continued through two gravimetric methods. The first depended on the protocols’ database, while the second was the traditional calibration method. The second method recorded the lowest analysis error compared with the first. The moderate-cost sensor WH51 showed the lowest standard error (SE), MAD , and RMSE and the highest R² in both methods. The performance accuracy of WH51 was close to readings shown by the manufac
... Show MoreThe current research is a spectroscopic study of Coumarin 334 dissolved in methanol. The range of concentrations of the prepared stock solution was (3.39x10-9 to 2.03x10-8) M. Some optical characteristics of this dye were investigated such as absorbance and transmission spectra, absorption coefficient, refractive and extinction coefficients, oscillation and dispersion energies, and energy band gap. The absorbance spectra were recorded at 452 nm using Broad Band Cavity Enhanced Absorption Spectroscopy (BBCEAS) which depends on increasing the path length of the traveling light from the source to the detector. The minimum absorbance amount was 0.07 with a low concentration of 3.39x10-9 M. As a result, the ot
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