Cardio-metabolic health risks in indigenous populations of Southeast Asia and the influence of urbanization.

Background: South East Asia (SEA) is home to over 30 tribes of indigenous population groups who are currently facing rapid socio-economic change. Epidemiological transition and increased prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCD) has occured. In Peninsular Malaysia, the Orang Asli (OA) indigenous people comprise 0 · 6% (150,000) of the population and live in various settlements.

Probable local anesthetic systemic toxicity in a postpartum patient with acute Fatty liver of pregnancy after a transversus abdominis plane block.

We present the case of a 25-year-old woman with acute fatty liver of pregnancy, a rare mitochondrial disorder that manifests during pregnancy and has a significant mortality rate. Postoperative pain management is challenging for myriad reasons. With the increasing application of transversus abdominis plane blocks for postcesarean delivery analgesia, we describe the real and potential complications of this method of regional analgesia in patients with this disease.

Attempting to prevent persistent postamputation phantom limb and stump pain.

Persistent postsurgical pain after amputation is common and has a number of proposed risk factors. We describe the management of a patient with persistent pain after a below-the-knee amputation. We used a combination of general, peripheral, and neuraxial anesthesia techniques to control postoperative phantom limb and stump pain in a patient at high risk for developing chronic pain.

Nicotiana benthamiana: Its History and Future as a Model for Plant-Pathogen Interactions.

Nicotiana benthamiana is the most widely used experimental host in plant virology, due mainly to the large number of diverse plant viruses that can successfully infect it. Addi- tionally, N. benthamiana is susceptible to a wide variety of other plant-pathogenic agents (such as bacteria, oomycetes, fungi, and so on), making this species a cornerstone of host-pathogen research, particularly in the context of innate immunity and defense signaling.

Fenton-like oxidation of 2,4-DCP in aqueous solution using iron-based nanoparticles as the heterogeneous catalyst.

In this report, various iron-based nanoparticles (nZVI, n-Ni/Fe, n-Pd/Fe) were used for both heterogeneous Fenton oxidation of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) and reductive dechlorination of 2,4-DCP in order to understand their roles in the Fenton oxidation and the reductive degradation of 2,4-DCP. The dechlorination efficiency of 2,4-DCP using nZVI, n-Ni/Fe, n-Fe/Pd and Fe(2)(+) was 6.48%, 6.

Identification of the source of PFOS and PFOA contamination at a military air base site.

Although the use of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS)/perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)-based aqueous fire-fighting foams (AFFF) has been banned due to their persistence, bioaccumulation and toxicity to biota, PFOS and PFOA are still present at significant levels in the environment due to their past usage. This study investigated the reasons for detection of PFOS and PFOA in an evaporation pond used to collect the wastewater arising from fire-fighting exercises at a military air base despite the replacement of PFOS/PFOA-based foam with no PFOS/PFOA-foam about 6 years ago. Concentrations in the wastewater stored in this pond ranged from 3.

Chronic PFOS exposure alters the expression of neuronal development-related human homologues in Eisenia fetida.

PFOS is a toxic, persistent environmental pollutant which is widespread worldwide. PFOS contamination has entered the food chain and is interfering with normal development in man and is neurotoxic, hepatotoxic and tumorigenic. The earthworm, Eisenia fetida is one of the organisms which can help to diagnose soil health and contamination at lower levels in the food chain.

Hidden values in bauxite residue (red mud): recovery of metals.

Bauxite residue (red mud) is a hazardous waste generated from alumina refining industries. Unless managed properly, red mud poses significant risks to the local environment due to its extreme alkalinity and its potential impacts on surface and ground water quality. The ever-increasing generation of red mud poses significant challenges to the aluminium industries from management perspectives given the low proportion that are currently being utilized beneficially.

Influence of ageing on lead bioavailability in soils: a swine study.

Aging is a time-dependent process that causes metal bioavailability to decrease with time. The current study investigated the bioavailability change of Pb in four contrasting soils over a time period until the Pb relative bioavailability (RB) levels achieved a steady state to assess the extent of the following: firstly, bioavailability change in each soil and secondly, correlation of these changes with the soil properties. Relative bioavailability of soils spiked with 1500 mg Pb/kg were measured in swine that were fed these soils, throughout an aging period (56 days) to investigate relationships between soil properties and in vivo bioavailability of Pb.

Green synthesized conditions impacting on the reactivity of Fe NPs for the degradation of malachite green.

This study investigates green tea extract synthesized conditions impacting on the reactivity of iron nanoparticles (Fe NPs) used for the degradation of malachite green (MG), including the volume ratio of Fe(2+) and tea extract, the solution pH and temperature. Results indicated that the reactivity of Fe NPs increased with higher temperature, but fell with increasing pH and the volume ratio of Fe(2+) and tea extract. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy-dispersive spectrometer (EDS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscope (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicated that Fe NPs were spherical in shape, their diameter was 70-80 nm and they were mainly composed of iron oxide nanoparticles.

Grapevine Leafroll: A Complex Viral Disease Affecting a High-Value Fruit Crop.

Grapevine (Vitis spp.) is one of the most widely grown fruit crops in the world. It is a deciduous woody perennial vine for which the cultivation of domesticated species began approximately 6,000 to 8,000 years ago in the Near East.

Toxicity and oxidative stress induced by used and unused motor oil on freshwater microalga, Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata.

Although used motor oil from automobiles is one of the major pollutants through storm water in urban environments leading to contamination of water bodies, very little information is available on its toxicity towards growth of microalgae. Also, to our knowledge, there are no data on the used motor oil-induced oxidative stress in microalgae. We therefore investigated the toxicity of used and fresh motor oil on growth and antioxidant enzymes of a microalga, Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata.

Field investigation of the quality of fresh and aged leachates from selected landfills receiving e-waste in an arid climate.

The management of electronic waste (e-waste) is a serious problem worldwide and much of it is landfilled. A survey of four selected landfills in an arid region of South Australia was conducted to determine the proportion of e-waste in municipal waste and the properties of each landfill site. Leachate and groundwater samples were collected upgradient and downgradient of the landfills for analysis of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and 14 metals and metalloids, including Al, As, Ba, Be, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, Sb, V and Zn.

Potential of fluorescence imaging techniques to monitor mutagenic PAH uptake by microalga.

Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), is one of the major environmental pollutants that causes mutagenesis and cancer. BaP has been shown to accumulate in phytoplankton and zooplankton. We have studied the localization and aggregation of BaP in Chlorella sp.

Effects of ageing and soil properties on the oral bioavailability of benzo[a]pyrene using a swine model.

Oral bioavailability of benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) was studied in a swine model using eight spiked soil samples after incubation for 50 and/or 90 days. Silica sand was used as a reference material and the relative bioavailability (RB) of B[a]P in soils was calculated as the quotient of the area under the plasma B[a]P curve (AUC) for soil and AUC for the silica sand. Significantly reduced RB was observed in all study soils after 90 days ageing, ranging from 22.

Functional kaolinite supported Fe/Ni nanoparticles for simultaneous catalytic remediation of mixed contaminants (lead and nitrate) from wastewater.

Kaolinite supported bimetallic Fe/Ni nanoparticles (K-Fe/Ni) demonstrated capacity for simultaneous removal of both cationic and anionic contaminants such as Pb (II) and NO3(-). The dispersion of Fe/Ni nanoparticles was improved when kaolinite was used as a stabilizer, and also enhanced the reactivity of K-Fe/Ni. The adsorption of Pb (II) onto the kaolinite and the consequent simultaneous catalytic reduction of Pb (II) and NO3(-) kaolinite were confirmed by SEM, BET, EDS, XRD and batch adsorption-reduction test.

Arsenic speciation in Australian-grown and imported rice on sale in Australia: implications for human health risk.

Rice is an important route of arsenic (As) exposure to humans, especially populations with rice-based diets. Human health risk of As varies greatly with rice variety and country of origin. The purpose of the present study was to determine total and speciated As in Australian-grown and imported rice on sale in Australia to assess their health risk to consumers.

Pathways of reductive degradation of crystal violet in wastewater using free-strain Burkholderia vietnamiensis C09V.

A new strain isolated from activated sludge and identified as Burkholderia vietnamiensis C09V was used to biodegrade crystal violet (CV) from aqueous solution. To understand the degradation pathways of CV, batch experiments showed that the degradation using B. vietnamiensis C09V significantly depended on conditions such as pH, initial dye concentration and media components, carbon and nitrogen sources.

Effect of industrial waste products on phosphorus mobilisation and biomass production in abattoir wastewater irrigated soil.

This study evaluated the effect of alkaline industrial by-products such as flyash (FA) and redmud (RM) on phosphorus (P) mobilisation in abattoir wastewater irrigated soils, using incubation, leaching and plant growth (Napier grass [Pennisetum purpureum]) experiments. The soil outside the wastewater irrigated area was also collected and treated with inorganic (KH2PO4 [PP]) and organic (poultry manure [PM]) P treatments, to study the effect of FA and RM on P mobilisation using plant growth experiment. Among the amendments, FA showed the highest increase in Olsen P, oxalic acid content and phosphatase activity.

Comparison of pharmacokinetics of two fenofibrate tablet formulations in healthy human subjects.

Background: Fenofibrate is a serum lipid-lowering agent used as an adjunct to diet in patients with hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia. The new fenofibrate tablet formulation was developed as a pharmaceutical equivalent to the marketed tablet formulation containing 145 mg.

Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the pharmacokinetics and safety of 2 tablet formulations containing 145 mg of fenofibrate (CAS number 49562-28-9) in healthy human subjects.

Adsorption and desorption characteristics of methamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, and pseudoephedrine in soils.

This work presents, for the first time, information on the adsorption-desorption characteristics of illicit drugs and precursors in soils and an estimation of their potential bioavailability. The experiment was conducted using a batch equilibrium technique for the parent drugs methamphetamine and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and the precursor pseudoephedrine in three South Australian soils varying in physiochemical properties. The individual compounds exhibited different adsorption mechanisms in the test soils, and the results fitted better with the Freundlich isotherm model (r (2) ≥ 0.

Toxicity of arsenic species to three freshwater organisms and biotransformation of inorganic arsenic by freshwater phytoplankton (Chlorella sp. CE-35).

In the environment, arsenic (As) exists in a number of chemical species, and arsenite (As(III)) and arsenate (As(V)) dominate in freshwater systems. Toxicity of As species to aquatic organisms is complicated by their interaction with chemicals in water such as phosphate that can influence the bioavailability and uptake of As(V). In the present study, the toxicities of As(III), As(V) and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) to three freshwater organisms representing three phylogenetic groups: a phytoplankton (Chlorella sp.