Use of lipophilic and hydrophilic polymers in production of sustained release zinc sulfate tablets

Background and aims: Zinc sulfate administered to correct zinc deficiency. Its oral administration has shown serious digestive side effects and sometimes it has led to the lack of use it. The main aim of the present study was to use lipophilic and hydrophilic polymers in production of sustained release zinc sulfate tabletsover an extended period of time. Methods: Sustained release (SR) zinc sulfate tablets were prepared using either lipophilic-based matrix or hydrophilic matrix system or natural polymers by either hot-fusion (HF) granulation or direct compression (DC) method. Physical and chemical features of provided SR tablets including hardness, friability, and weight variation, disintegration time, swelling index, content uniformity and drug release behavior were evaluated. The drug concentration was assayed by an atomic absorption spectrophotometer at 213.8 nm. Results: Most of the prepared formulations showed acceptable physicochemical properties. Among 30 formulations, SR tablets with lipophilic matrix-based showed more predictable release profiles compared to tablets prepared based on hydrophilic or natural matrixes. Tablets containing carnauba wax showed slower release while tablets with hydrogenated castor oil represented faster release profile. A few lipophilic matrix tablets containing zinc sulfate (110 mg), beeswax (or carnauba wax) and Avicel (or Emcompress) were selected as the optimum formulations showing release profiles based on USP criteria for lipophilic-based SR tablets. The mean dissolution time (MDT) and dissolution efficiency (DE8%) of selected formulations were 1.69-1.95 hr and 69.3-71.8%, respectively. Tablet hardness and granule size had no effects on release rate. The drug release kinetic followed Higuchi model. Conclusion: Lipophilic based SR tablets of zinc sulfate is suggested as an alternative for capsule or syrup of the drug whichhave digestive side effects

Urine and milk iodine concentrations in healthy and congenitally hypothyroid neonates and their mothers

Wstęp: Częste występowanie wrodzonej niedoczynności tarczycy (CH, congenital hypothyroidism) w Iranie skłoniło autorów do oceny roli jodu w etiologii CH, opierając się na porównaniu jego stężenia w moczu zdrowych noworodków i noworodków z wrodzoną niedoczynnością tarczycy oraz w mleku i moczu ich matek. Materiał i metody: W tym przekrojowym badaniu zmierzono stężenie jodu w moczu (UIC, urinary iodine concentration) noworodków z CH oraz UIC i stężenie jodu w mleku (MIC, milk iodine concentration) ich matek, a następnie porównano je z wynikami otrzymanymi w grupie kontrolnej. Wartości UIC zmierzone u noworodków i karmiących matek podzielono na 3 kategorie: niskie UIC < 150 mg/l, średnie - 150-230 mg/l i wysokie > 230 mg/l. Analogiczne kategorie przyjęto dla MIC: niskie 180 mg/l. Wyniki: Mediana UIC u noworodków z CH (n = 68) i u zdrowych noworodków (n = 179) wynosiła odpowiednio 300,5 i 290,5 mg/dl, (P > 0,05). Mediana UIC w grupach badanej i kontrolnej wynosiła odpowiednio 150 i 130 mg/l (P > 0,05). Mediana MIC w grupie badanej była większa niż w grupie kontrolnej (210 mg/l v. 170 mg/l, P < 0,05). Stwierdzono dodatnią korelację między UIC u noworodków i MIC u ich matek. Nie wykazano wyraźnej zależności między UIC i stężeniem TSH w surowicy u noworodków oraz UIC I MIC u matek. Wnioski: Spożycie sodu w badanej populacji było prawidłowe. Nadmierna podaż sodu może być czynnikiem ryzyka CH, jednak w badaniu wykazano brak korelacji między MIC I UIC u matek i podobne wartości mediany UIC u noworodków w obu grupach, dlatego do sformułowania jednoznacznych wniosków potrzebne są dalsze badania. (Endokrynol Pol 2010; 61 (4): 371-376)Introduction: In view of the high prevalence of Congenital Hypothyroidism (CH) in Iran, in this study we evaluated the role of iodine in the aetiology of CH by comparing urine and milk iodine concentrations in healthy and congenitally hypothyroid neonates and their mothers. Material and methods: In a cross-sectional study, urinary iodine concentrations (UIC) in newborns with CH, as well as UIC and the milk iodine concentrations (MIC) of their mothers, were measured and compared with a control group. The lower, mid, and upper range of UIC for neonates and lactating mothers was considered to be 230 mg/L, and lower, mid, and upper range of MIC was considered to be 180 mg/L, respectively. Results: The median UICs in subjects with CH (n = 68) and healthy subjects (n = 179) were 300.5 and 290.5 mg/L, respectively (P > 0.05). The median UICs in the case and control groups were 150 and 130 mg/L, respectively (P > 0.05). The median MIC in the case group was higher than in the control group (210 mg/L v. 170 mg/L, P < 0.05).There was a positive correlation between newborn UIC and MIC. There was no significant correlation between newborn UIC and serum TSH, maternal UIC and maternal MIC, or newborn UIC and serum TSH. Conclusions: There is no inadequacy in iodine intake in the studied population. Iodine excess could be a possible risk factor for CH, but there were findings, such as lack of correlation between maternal MIC and UIC, and the median neonatal UIC, which was similar in the two groups, so, drawing conclusions should be done with some caution and requires further studies. (Pol J Endocrinol 2010; 61 (4): 371-376

Investigating the Efficiency of Advanced Photochemical Oxidation (APO) Technology in Degradation of Direct Azo Dye by UV/H2O2 Process

Every year more than 700,000 tons of dyestuff is produced, 50% of which is azo. Azo dyes contain one or more azo bonds (-N=N-) and are among the most important synthetic dyes because they are produced in high amounts and also have many applications in different industries especially in textile industries. This study was done to investigate dye removal of dyed effluents in textile industries as well as COD removal through advanced photochemical oxidation by the application of UV/ H2O2. A low-pressure 55-watt (UVC) mercury ultraviolet lamp as radiation source and H2O2 30 %( Merck) as oxidant were used. Dyestuff of C.I. Direct Red 80 of azo group was selected as model due to its high use and application. Some important parameters such as the effect of UV, duration of UV radiation, H2O2 concentration, dyestuff concentration and pH were studied in five separate stages based on the standard methods. The results showed that after 20 minutes, UV individually could remove 33.3 and 18.4 percent of color and COD, respectively; while, H2O2 could remove only 5.7% of color and 3.5%  of COD after 24 hr. In UV/ H2O2 system, color removal reaches 100% in optimum conditions after 5 min radiation; however, after 20 min of radiation, COD removal was 77.3 %. Optimum conditions for color removal (30 mg/L) and the COD resulting from the color in H2O2 process included 150 mg/L of pure H2O2, neutral pH and low concentrations of color. Therefore, UV/H2O2 system proved to be an effective method for removing color and the COD produced by color. However, removal efficiency of UV radiation and H2O2 individually was not appropriate because they can not individually generate enough OH˚ radicals, which are the main decomposing agents

p-Chlorophenol Oxidation in Industrial Effluent by Ultrasonic/Fenton Technology

Phenolic compounds have become a cause for of worldwide concern due to their persistence, toxicity and health risks. Hence, removal of these pollutants from aqueous effluents is an important practical problem. Ultrasonic technology may be used for water and wastewater treatment as an advanced oxidation process. Application of this technology, leads to the decomposition of many organic compounds during cavitation process. The degradation of 4-chlorophenol in aqueous solution under sonolysis at 45 kHz coupled with fFenton process was is investigated. The oxidation rate was influenced by many factors, such as the pH value, the amount of hydrogen peroxide, catalyst (FeSO4) and initial p-chlorophenol concentration. The experimental results showed that the decomposition of p-chlorophenol was affected by the various reaction conditions. The optimum conditions obtained for the best degradation rate were pH=3, H2O2 concentration of 0.05 mol/L and 0.025 mmol/L for catalyst, respectively. Also it was observed that the degradation of p-chlorophenol depended on its initial concentratio

Survey of Chemical Quality and Fertilizer Value of Vermicomposted Municipal Wastewater Sludge

Using of organic waste resources especially municipal wastewater sludges for improvement of agricultural soils’ fertility is increasing , but in order to decrease environmental and health risks sludge must be stabilized before using in farms. Nowadays, vermicomposting process has been considered for stabilizing organic wastes. As, there is contravercial reports about concentration of nutrients (P,.K.N), organic matters and C/N ratio in vermicomposts, this research study is performed to determine concentration of nutrients organic matters and C/N ratio in vermicomposts derived from municipal wastewater sludge The concentration of nutrients in manure and vermicompost was compared with each other.   شماره 50- سال 1383                                                                                                                        آب و فاضلاب     Eighty five percent of dewatered raw sewage sludge and %15 bulking agent were mixed to provide earhworms’ food for a one month period. Concentrations of volatile orgainic matters, total nitrogen, total phosphorous, total potassium, Ash and pH in initial substrate and vermicomposted sludge were determined by dry agitation., macrokageldal, colorimetery, flamephotometery, Gotas, modifled Burian and Erhart methods, respectively. Concentrations of organic matter, nitrogen phosphorous, potassium , pH and C/N ratio in vermicomposted sludge were %36.42 , %1.04 , %0.11 , %0.62 , 7.5 and 22.62 respectively. The obtained vermiocompost is a suitable organic amender for fertilizing  of agricultural soils

Performance of Isfahan North Wastewater Treatment Plant in the Removal of Listeria monocytogenes

Listeria and in particular Listeria monocytogenes is considered a ubiquitous foodborne pathogen which can lead listeriosis in human and animals. Listeriosis can be serious and may cause meningitis, septicemia and abortion in pregnant women. Although wastewater or sludge may contaminate foods of plant origin, there are no data on occurrence of Listeria spp. in wastewater and sludge in Iran. The purpose of current investigation was to study the occurrence of Listeria spp. in various samples of wastewater and sludge in Isfahan North wastewater treatment plant. Influent, effluent, raw sludge and dried sludge samples were collected from Isfahan North municipal wastewater treatment plant. L. monocytogenes were enumerated by a three–tube most probable number (MPN) assay using enrichment Fraser broth. A total of 65 various samples from five step in 13 visits were collected. The presence of Listeria spp. also was determined using USDA procedure. Then, phenotypically identified L. monocytogenes were further confirmed by Polymerase Chain Reaction amplification. L. monocytogenes isolated from 76.9%, 38.5%, 84.6%, 69.2% and 46.2% of influent, effluent, raw sludge, stabilized sludge and dried sludge respectively. The efficiency of wastewater treatment processes, digester tank and drying bed in removal L. monocytogenes were 69.6%, 64.7% and 73.4% respectively. All phenotypically identified L. monocytogenes were further confirmed by Polymerase Chain Reaction. The results of present study have shown that Listeriaspp. and L. monocytogenes in particular, were present in wastewater treatment plant effluents and sludge at high level. The bacteria may spread on agriculture land and contaminate foods of plant origin. This may cause a risk of spreading disease to human and animals

Comparison of Horizontal and Vertical Constructed Wetlands with Coagulation-Flocculation-Filtration Unit Efficiencies in the Polishing of Industrial Wastewater Effluent: A Case Study of Mourchekhort Industrial Estate Wastewater Treatment Plant, Iran

Background: Industrial wastewater treatment has always been difficult and costly due to the presence of different pollutants with high concentration. The use of constructed wetlands is economical due to not needing any external energy sources and materials and equipment to reduce pollutants. The aim of this study was to determine the efficiency of horizontal and vertical subsurface wetlands in the removal of pollutants from the wastewater of the Mourchekhort Industrial Estate, Iran, and compare it with performance of the conventional coagulation-flocculation-filtration unit of reuse process. Methods: Two horizontal and vertical wetlands in pilot scale and two control (no plant) reactors were operated for eight months. Removal efficiency of total suspended solids (TSS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), turbidity, phosphorous and nitrogen compounds, and index bacteria were evaluated. Horizontal wetland was considered with dimensions of 0.8 × 0.65 × 2 m and floor slope of 1%. Hydraulic retention time (HRT) and incoming sewage flow rate were set to to 6 days and 0.2 m3/d, respectively. Vertical subsurface reed had dimensions of 4 × 0.60 × 2 m and floor slope was equal to 1%. The control pilot (no plant) was designed exactly the same as the horizontal and vertical samples. The results were compared with coagulation-flocculation-filtration process efficiency. Findings: The efficiency of vertical wetland in removal of TSS, COD, turbidity, phosphorus and nitrogen compounds, and index bacteria was 58.1%, 62.4%, 73.4%, 20.4%, 21.3%, and 40.5%%, respectively. For horizontal wetlands, the efficiency was obtained as 57.0%, 52.6%, 70.3%, 22.4%, 18.2%, 39.1%, respectively, and for conventional coagulation-flocculation-filtration treatment process, it was 85.3%, 69.7%, 81.5%, 69.2%, 73.9%, and 78.2%, respectively. Conclusion: Although vertical wetland was more efficient than horizontal one for most of the operation parameters, both of these wetlands were less efficient than conventional coagulation-flocculation-filtration unit of reuse process. Although operating costs of wetlands are low, these systems alone cannot be considered as a substitute for the conventional pre-treatment process of coagulation-flocculation-filtration because of their low performance for the purpose of polishing

Natural Organic Matter Degradation Using Combined Process of Ultrasonic and Hydrogen Peroxide Treatment

potential treatment and removal of humic acid (HA). The US power, HA concentration and H2 O2 concentration enhanced removal process was performed by varying the irradiation time, the preliminary experiments demonstrated that natural organic matter (NOM) and HA removal was influenced by the power, HA concentration and time of sonication. The optimum conditions for HA and NOM removal were achieved by US irradiation of 110 W power, at 20 min contact time, and 20 mg.L-1 of HA concentration. Likewise, the optimum conditions for HA and NOM removal with hydrogen peroxide were obtained at 120 min time and 10×10-3 mol.L-1 of H2 O2 . The results indicated a strong capacity of sonication for NOM and HA removal, therefore by adding H2 O2 to the aqueous solution increased NOM and HA removal by US. The HA removal efficiency of US/H2 O2 (91.5%) was more than US (69.3%) and H2 O2 (20%). US/H2 O2 system proved to be the most effective. The sonochemical degradation with US/H2 O2 can be an efficient method to remove the NOM from aqueous solution and may be a realistic possibility for large-scale treatmen

Assessing the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks of metals in the drinking water of Isfahan, Iran

Abstract Metals are significant contributors to water pollution, posing serious threats to human health. This study aims to assess the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks associated with metals in Isfahan drinking water. Eighty water samples were randomly collected from the city's distribution network between January and March 2020–2021. Inductively coupled plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry was used to measure toxic metals, namely Pb, Cr, Cd, Ni, and As concentrations. Results revealed that the mean concentration of Ni (70.03 µg/L) exceeded the WHO reference value (70 µg/L), while the other metals were below the standard values. The average chronic daily intake order of toxic metals was Ni > Cr > Pb > As > Cd. Non-carcinogenic risk assessment through hazard quotient (HQ) and hazard index (HI) demonstrated that both THI for adults (HQingestion + HQdermal = 4.02E−03) and THI for children (HIingestion + HIdermal = 3.83E−03) were below the acceptable limit (less than 1). This indicated no non-carcinogenic risk to residents through water ingestion or dermal exposure. However, findings indicated that the ingestion route was the primary exposure pathway, with HQ values for ingestion exceeding HQ values for dermal adsorption. Carcinogenic risk assessment showed that the risk associated with As metal exceeded the acceptable limit (1 × 10−6). Therefore, implementing treatment improvement programs and appropriate control measures is essential to safeguard the health of Isfahan City residents