No abstract

Exposure to carbon tetrachloride induces acute and chronic hepatic injuries as well as renal injuries in rats. Therefore, the current study aimed to evaluate the protective role of prebiotic (digestion resistant maltodextrin) and silymarin against carbon tetrachloride -induced heptorenal toxicity in albino rats. Six groups with ten rats each were used for this purpose; these groups included the control vehicle group that received saline daily for 30 days, prebiotic group (1g/kg, orally) daily for 30 days; silymarin group (200 mg/kg orally) daily for 30 days; carbon tetrachloride group (2.5ml/kg intraperitoneally twice per week for three week; the prebiotic – carbon tetrachloride group; the silymarin – carbon tetrachloride group. The results revealed that carbon tetrachloride significantly increased serum levels of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, total bilirubin cholesterol, triglyceride, urea and creatinine. In addition, there were substantial increase in lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde) and level of glucose with significant decreases in albumin, total protein, creatinine kinase, hemoglobin and red blood cells. Carbon tetrachloride also caused histological changes in liver and kidney tissues. However, administration of prebiotic and silymarin alone ameliorated the carbon tetrachloride induced liver and kidney damage with improved hematological, lipid profile and glucose level.  

In the present study, ceramic wastes collected from the premises of industrial zone in Peshawar, KP Pakistan were investigated. An effort has been made to recycle and use the ceramic wastes as fillers in polymeric composites. The negative cost ceramic wastes were purified and activated thermally. The elemental composition and pellets of the wastes were investigated through SEM/EDX analysis. Waste/Polyaniline (PANI) composite was synthesized via in-situ free radical polymerization technique. SEM of the composites showed the uniform distribution of fillers particles in the PANI matrix. XRD studies confirmed that the prepared composite material had a face- centered cubic geometry with distinct preferential orientations. Dielectric analysis showed that the materials exhibit active performance at high frequency regions (3MHz to 3GHz) at room temperature. The results show decrease in dielectric losses and capacitance (1.6 pF) at high frequency regions. AC conductivity of the composite has been increased up to 37.95 Scm-1. This revealed the effect of PANI on the ceramic wastes while increasing its conductance performance. This suggests that the composite material can be investigated for use in photovoltaic detectors, electro-responsive capacitors and power applications.

In this work we collected a large number of vehicular emission data of carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons (HC) from custom paid and non-custom paid vehicles in the Swat district, which are responsible for changing the climate and global warming. Swat valley is facing severe threats and impacts of the climate change as there is a record high increase in the temperature with flash floods and droughts becoming increasingly common. The main cause of the increasing warm weather is vehicle emissions along with the cutting of forest on a large scale in the valley. Hospital records for 2768 children aged 0 to 18 years (697 of whom had two encounters) were obtained for a main city area of two hospitals in Saidu Sharif, Swat. Residential addresses were geocoded. A line source dispersion model was used to estimate individual seasonal exposures to local traffic-generated pollutants (nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and hydroxide).