Xenobiotics and products of their transformation in wastewater (literature review)

Many different chemical pollutants get into the hydrosphere with wastewater. An essential source of xenobiotic transfer into the aquatic environment is wastewater treatments plants. The widespread use of drugs, personal care products, cosmetic products, household chemicals, disinfectants and insecticides is directly reflected in their presence in the aquatic environment. It is the reason for the appearance of these chemical components and products of their transformation in surface waters, groundwater, and drinking water. Besides, various industries lead to the formation of a large amount of wastewater contaminated with textile dyes, oil products, silicones, phenols and their derivatives, phthalate ethers, bisphenol A and other substances capable of causing harm to water bodies, harming aquatic biota or even inflicting damage to ecosystems. Substances that have entered wastewater can be transformed into many other compounds during water purification and afterwards under environmental factors. The transformation products can be more toxic than the parent compounds, and some can convert back to the parent compounds under various factors. The search of sources describing researches dedicated to pollutants and their transformation in aqueous systems was carried out in the English-speaking text databases: PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, Web of Science, Research Gate, Springer Link and scientific electronic library - eLIBRARY.ru.

Role of N-acetyltransferase 2 gene polymorphism in the human pathology

Nowadays multiple heterogeneous chemicals affect the human body. They include drugs, household chemicals, dyes, food supplements and others. The human organism can modify, inactivate, and eliminate the chemicals by biotransformation enzymes. But it is well known that biotransformation can lead to toxification phenomenon. Individuals differ from each other by the rate of chemical modification that promotes accumulation of toxins and carcinogens in some patients. An N-acetyltransferase 2 enzyme participates in the aromatic amines second phase metabolism. This work reviews the acetyltransferase gene polymorphism possible role in diseases development including drug-induced organs damage.Gene of acetyltransferase has polymorphisms associated with two haplotypes of fast and slow substrate acetylation. Gene alleles combine in three genotypes: fast, intermediate, and slow acetylators. Acetylation rate plays a significant role in side effects development during tuberculosis treatment and cancer pathogenesis. Recently, new data described the role of enzyme in development of non-infectious diseases in the human. Scientists consider that slow acetylation genotype in combination with high xenobiotic load result in accumulation of toxic substances able to damage cells.Therefore, acetyltransferase genotyping helps to reveal risk groups of cancer and non-infectious disease development and to prescribe more effective and safe doses of drugs.

Modification to a Formulation for Optimal Performance

The chemical composition of household chemicals used was identified in table 1. The bubbling power of the tablets in water was found to be due to the reaction between vitamin C and cream tartar with baking soda. The molar amounts of reactants were calculated for optimal performance, producing the greatest amount of bubbling per tablet.

Towards standard methods for the classification of aquatic toxicity for biologically active household chemicals (BAHC) present in plastics, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetic products

A standard method to test the aquatic toxicity of biologically active household chemicals (BAHC), including those with very low water solubility, is proposed. The method uses the common marine models Paracentrotus lividus embryos and Acartia clausi larvae, in order to advance towards derivation of water quality criteria for these emerging pollutants that currently lack environmental standards. Depending on the water solubility and octanol–water partition coefficient (Kow) of the substance, the protocol consists of testing the toxicity of the substances by serial dilutions of water stocks, dimethyl-sulfoxide stocks, or 100 mg/L lixiviates in seawater. When this method is applied to eleven model BAHC, the pharmaceutical fluoxetine, the antioxidant butylated hydroxytoluene, and the UV filters broadly present in cosmetics octocrylene and 4-methylbenzylidene camphor, are classified as very toxic to aquatic life, since their EC50 values are < 1 mg/L. In general, both biological models, P. lividus and A. clausi, yield the same classification of the substances tested, but variations in the classification of aquatic toxicity depending on methodological aspects are discussed. The use of A. clausi nauplii provides more protecting value to the toxicity parameters obtained by using this protocol. Graphic abstract

Chemical burns of the esophagus in children of Kyrgyzstan:10-year analysis of prevalence and cause

Introduction and Aim:In Kyrgyzstan, there are still no studies on the prevalence of chemical burns of the esophagus in children, and there are also few studies aimed at studying the causative agents. The present study aimed to assess the prevalence of burns of the esophagus due to the accidental use of various chemicals by children and the chemical composition of cauterizing substances over a 10-year period of admission of children to the clinic. Materials and Methods:An analysis of 1081 cases of chemical burns of the esophagus in children who received inpatient treatment for the period 2011–2020 is presented. Results:In our study, caustic substances were used more often by boys (56.9%) than girls (43.1%), most of the children were under the age of 3 years. There is a tendency for an annual increase in chemical burns of the esophagus. Among the causal factors, there is an increase in the use of alkalis, which are part of the cleaning agents for dishes and plumbing pipes - Krot; recently, the cleaning agent for cauldrons - Aurora is gaining momentum. Conclusion: The emerging situation indicates not only the need for further medical research in this area, but also the tightening of requirements for the packaging and use of household chemicals, and the solution of this problem at the state level.

Determination of the composition and properties of PET bottles: Evidence of the empirical approach from Perm, Russia

Efficient collection systems and information about the characteristics and quality of collected secondary plastic waste flows are of fundamental importance for the development of circular economies. In order to assess the effectiveness of the implementation of separate collection systems for plastic packaging, especially polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, characteristic of the collected PET bottles in street mesh containers were studied in the city of Perm, Russia. The share of extraneous fractions was assessed and differentiation was carried out by volume, type of product, label presence, shape, content of solid and liquid impurities and colour. These results indicate that PET composition in different seasons is very similar, despite the assumption that the consumption of PET bottles in the spring and autumn seasons varies. In the mesh containers, up to 34% of the items were foreign objects, considering that only PET bottles should be collected. In each dimensional flow of PET bottles, the proportion of transparent bottles prevailed; it ranged from 31% to 70%. Based on the results of the experiment, almost all PET bottle categories had a standard shape, except packaging for food products and household chemicals, in which 26–27% of PET bottles had a non-standard shape. The results about charactersitic of source-separated PET bottles are fundamental for goal-oriented design and implementation of collection, recycling technologies, secondary separation facilities, the economics of recycling intitatives and reverse vending machines for collecting materials.

Incidence and profile of acute intoxication among adult population in Najran, Saudi Arabia: A retrospective study

Acute poisoning is considered one of the most important medical emergencies, resulting in severe morbidity and mortality, and is an economic burden on governments. This study aimed to determine the extent of acute adult intoxication among the population located in the Najran area, Saudi Arabia, over the last 3 years (from January 2017 to December 2019). The study is a hospital-based retrospective observational study. The data of all acutely intoxicated adult patients were collected from patients’ files of King Khalid Hospital, the main hospital in the Najran area. In this study, the total number of intoxicated patients was 852. Patients were divided into three groups according to their age: 15–25 years, 26–35 years and >35 years. Accidental intoxication was predominant (64.6%), especially with therapeutic drugs (60.2%), predominantly acetaminophen and amphetamine, which intoxicated 24.5% and 23.4% of the patients, respectively. Moreover, this study showed that 10.6% of patients were intoxicated with overdoses of alcohol, mostly among patients aged over 35 years. Furthermore, the present study revealed that 23.9% of patients were intoxicated with household chemicals, especially Clorox bleach or Flash. Patients presented with a wide range of symptoms; some were even asymptomatic. Overall, patients’ outcomes were good; mortalities were few (1.2%), and most fatalities were found in patients aged over 35 years (60%). The present study showed that pharmaceutical drugs constituted the most common causative agents in acute intoxication. Household chemicals, especially Clorox bleach, Flash and pesticides, are highly implicated in the acute toxicity problem. Drug abuse, especially amphetamine and alcohol, still represents a great threat facing people from the Najran region. It is crucial to deliver effective public health education programmes to increase community awareness about the predisposing risk factors of acute toxicity, whether as overdoses or suicide attempts.

Exploring Indigenous Science to Identify Contents and Contexts for Science Learning in Order to Promote Education for Sustainable Development

Indigenous science is comprised of the science-related knowledge and associated practices of indigenous cultures. Indigenous science provides rich contexts that can contribute to understanding the relationship of sociocultural life and environmental ethics in certain communities. It can also lead to better reflection upon Western modern views of science. Based on a qualitative analysis of indigenous science in the Baduy community (Indonesia), we describe how indigenous science can provide relevant contexts for students to learn scientific concepts, as well as help them to recognise the value of promoting sustainability. We present potential topics encompassing the sociocultural context of Baduy science that can be associated with sustainability issues. Topics were identified from six themes (agriculture, medicine, natural dyes, household chemicals, renewable energy, and astronomy). Potential implications of these topics to science learning are also presented. We view contextualization of science teaching and learning by indigenous science as a promising source to enhance students’ perception of the relevance of science learning. It can also promote education for sustainable development.

Case of acute esophagogastroectasia in a cat

Cases of poisoning of domestic animals with household chemicals, in particular, chlorine-containing and surface-active substances (surfactants) are not uncommon, however, the changes occurring in the body under the action of this group of substances are insufficiently described. This article describes a case of acute gastric dilatation and megaesophagus in a cat, presumably against the background of poisoning with surfactants and chlorine-containing agents, including pathogenetic X-ray diagnostics and blood tests.