Publications by authors named "Munib Ahmed Shafique"

Rice, a primary food source in many countries of the world accumulate potentially harmful elements which pose a significant health hazard to consumers. The current study aimed to evaluate potentially toxic and mineral elements in both paddy soils and rice grains associated with allied health risks in Malakand, Pakistan. Rice plants with intact root soil were randomly collected from paddy fields and analyzed for mineral and potentially toxic elements (PTEs) through inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP‒OES).

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Article Synopsis
  • High-priced Basmati rice is often mislabelled to boost profits, risking consumer trust and brand reputation.
  • Researchers collected 36 Basmati rice samples from two areas in Punjab, Pakistan, to differentiate between high-quality and inferior products using advanced testing methods.
  • Multivariate data analysis techniques successfully clustered samples by their growing regions, and partial least squares-discriminant analysis proved effective in grouping and identifying unknown samples, highlighting the need for improved methods to trace rice origins.
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Water is a vital, finite resource whose quantity and quality are deteriorating as the world population increases. The current study aims to investigate the concentration of heavy metals (HM) in surface water for irrigation purposes with associated human health risks and pollution sources near the marble industry in Malakand, Pakistan. Twenty-seven water samples were randomly collected and analyzed for HM concentration by inductively coupled plasma‒optical emission spectrometry (ICP‒OES).

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Antimony (Sb-V), a carcinogenic metalloid, is becoming prevalent in water and soil due to anthropogenic activities. Biochar could be an effective remedy for Sb(V)-contaminated water and soil. In this study, we used pristine and engineered pinecone-derived biochar as an innovative approach for treating Sb(V)-contaminated water and shooting range soil.

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  • Drinking fluoride-contaminated water (>1.5 mg/L) in central Pakistan is leading to serious dental and skeletal issues, particularly in teenagers, due to levels around 20 times higher than the World Health Organization's acceptable limit.
  • Researchers tested biochar made from pinecones, modified with iron and aluminum salts, to remove fluoride effectively from contaminated water.
  • The modified biochar achieved an impressive 87.13% fluoride removal even amidst competing ions, suggesting it could be a low-cost solution for defluoridating drinking water.
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The demand for skin-whitening creams (SWCs) has increased rapidly worldwide due to sharp rise in product advertisements in the media and the growing awareness. Metals are present either as impurities or added intentionally in creams and may have toxic effects on users. The present study was carried out to determine the content of metals such as mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and iron (Fe) in fifteen skin-whitening creams marketed at local shops in Islamabad, Pakistan.

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