Lead and Cadmium levels in seminal plasma of men investigated for infertility: Is it due to occupational and environmental exposures?

Objective: This study was done to determine the association between environmental and occupational exposure to Lead (Pb) and Cadmium (Cd) and their levels in seminal plasma. Method: Data on exposures was collected from 300 males investigated for infertility using an interviewer administered questionnaire from July 2010 to October 2011. Positive exposure was defined as environmental or occupational exposure to one or more toxicants such as pesticides, paints, solvents, metals and chemicals. Lead and Cadmium were estimated in seminal plasma by Graphite Furnace Atomic absorption spectrophotometry after digestion with Nitric acid. The correlation between Pb and Cd level and distance from the environmentally polluted area was done by Spearman’s correlation. The means of Lead(Pb) and Cadmium(Cd) levels between exposed and non exposed groups were compared using T-test. Results: The means (SD) of age, duration of the infertility and BMI of the subjects were 34.83(5.34) years, 45.70 (35.09) months, 24.42 (4.28) Kg/m2 respectively. Of the men investigated, 54.6% were exposed to toxicants through environmental or occupational sources. While 26.6% lived in areas with possible environmental toxicity 37.3% were exposed to toxicants through occupational sources. Lead and Cadmium were detected in 38.3% and 23% of men respectively.  Means of Lead (17.69±28.0 ug/dl) vs. (13.46±23.75 ug/dl) and Cadmium (1.24±3.38 ug/dl) vs. (1.11±3.02 ug/dl) levels were higher in the exposed when compared to non exposed men.  A significant positive correlation(r=0.26) was observed between distance from the environmentally polluted areas and Cd positive subjects (P=0.03). Conclusion: Exposure to toxicants through occupational and environmental sources is associated with lead and cadmium levels in seminal plasma.

Accessibility and Usage of Digital Technologies among Academics for Research: A Case of Selected Humanities and Social Sciences Faculties in Sri Lankan Universities

The Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) involve understanding the human experience and the relationships between individuals and groups in society. The adoption of digital technologies has challenged the discipline of HSS, creating an entirely new environment for the study of human activities. This research aims to explore the employment of digital tools, resources and services in HSS research. Further, the use of digital methods (DM) throughout the research process; the impact of COVID-19 on the use of DM in research; the constraints of using DM in research were tested. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from Colombo, Kelaniya and Sri Jayewardenepura universities targeting academics in Economics, English, English Language Teaching, Geography, History and Archeology, Buddhist Studies, Political Science, Sinhala, and Sociology. Considering the digital infrastructure facilities, most of the academics rated email (45.6%) and LMS services (46.7%) as excellent but maintenance provided by the institute was not adequate. Most academics rated good on access to data storage (37.9%); reference management software (27.5%); plagiarism detection software (29.1%); institutional repository (35.2%); and support to online publications (39.6%) provided by their institutes. 55.7% of surveyed academics in SS often use digital data collection methods while in the Humanities it was 43.4%. Online publishing was most often used by SS (50.9%) and only 39.5% by the Humanities. 53.8% of SS academics and 43.4% of humanities academics often use cloud storage. Findings confirmed the expansion of using digital research methods during the pandemic compared to the early pandemic situation. Collaborative research works, virtual conferences, citation databases and digital indexing were identified as popular trends. DOI: http://doi.org/10.31357/fhss/vjhss.v08i02.0

Biosolids application and soil organic carbon dynamics: a meta-analysis.

Soil carbon sequestration has been recognized as a potential “direct action” tool in mitigating climate change. Organic matter rich biosolids from wastewater industry has been applied to soils as one of the strategies to the carbon sequestration. However, most of the short- and long-term studies as influenced by land application of biosolids have been showed quite inconsistent results in carbon increments in soils. Therefore, soil carbon sequestration resulted by biosolids application is yet to be needed further studies to elucidate. This study presents a comprehensive MetaAnalysis (MA) on soil carbon sequestration as influenced by biosolids application. Datasets comprised with 175 independent paired-treatments across 25 countries were fed in to Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (version 3) programme and modelled. The MA compared Soil Organic Carbon (SOC as g/kg) changes as the functions of time after biosolids application and its rate over twelve groups under two categories: application age (time after application) as 11 year, and cumulative application rate as 251 tonnes/ha.The fixed model is applied to explicate overall effects of analysed data derived from the MA. The MA showed overall positive influences on soil carbon sequestration towards increasing SOC. For example, the highest effect on SOC was observed at 1-3 age group suggesting the need of short term biosolids application to develop carbon storage in soils. Overall, this study shows that land application of biosolids can be used to increase soil carbon storage and therefore has the potential to be a strategy for mitigating climate change towards carbon sequestration in soils

Inflamation and oxidative stress : The molecular connectivity between insulin resistance, obesity and Alzheimer\u27s disease

Type 2 diabetes (T 2 DM), Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and insulin resistance are age-related conditions and increased prevalence is of public concern. Recent research has provided evidence that insulin resistance and impaired insulin signalling may be a contributory factor to the progression of diabetes, dementia, and other neurological disorders. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common subtype of dementia. Reduced release (for T 2 DM) and decreased action of insulin are central to the development and progression of both T 2 DM and AD. A literature search was conducted to identify molecular commonalities between obesity, diabetes, and AD. Insulin resistance affects many tissues and organs, either through impaired insulin signalling or through aberrant changes in both glucose and lipid (cholesterol and triacylglycerol) metabolism and concentrations in the blood. Although epidemiological and biological evidence has highlighted an increased incidence of cognitive decline and AD in patients with T 2 DM, the common molecular basis of cell and tissue dysfunction is rapidly gaining recognition. As a cause or consequence, the chronic in flammatory response and oxidative stress associated with T 2 DM, amyloid- ! (A ! ) protein accumulation, and mitochondrial dysfunction link T 2 DM and AD

The association of circulating amylin with β-amyloid in familial Alzheimer's disease.

INTRODUCTION: This study assessed the hypothesis that circulating human amylin (amyloid-forming) cross-seeds with amyloid beta (Aβ) in early Alzheimer's disease (AD). METHODS: Evidence of amylin-AD pathology interaction was tested in brains of 31 familial AD mutation carriers and 20 cognitively unaffected individuals, in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) (98 diseased and 117 control samples) and in genetic databases. For functional testing, we genetically manipulated amylin secretion in APP/PS1 and non-APP/PS1 rats. RESULTS: Amylin-Aβ cross-seeding was identified in AD brains. High CSF amylin levels were associated with decreased CSF Aβ42 concentrations. AD risk and amylin gene are not correlated. Suppressed amylin secretion protected APP/PS1 rats against AD-associated effects. In contrast, hypersecretion or intravenous injection of human amylin in APP/PS1 rats exacerbated AD-like pathology through disruption of CSF-brain Aβ exchange and amylin-Aβ cross-seeding. DISCUSSION: These findings strengthened the hypothesis of circulating amylin-AD interaction and suggest that modulation of blood amylin levels may alter Aβ-related pathology/symptoms

Remediation of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contaminated soils – To mobilize or to immobilize or to degrade?

Poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are synthetic chemicals, which are introduced to the environment through anthropogenic activities. Aqueous film forming foam used in firefighting, wastewater effluent, landfill leachate, and biosolids are major sources of PFAS input to soil and groundwater. Remediation of PFAS contaminated solid and aqueous media is challenging, which is attributed to the chemical and thermal stability of PFAS and the complexity of PFAS mixtures. In this review, remediation of PFAS contaminated soils through manipulation of their bioavailability and destruction is presented. While the mobilizing amendments (e.g., surfactants) enhance the mobility and bioavailability of PFAS, the immobilizing amendments (e.g., activated carbon) decrease their bioavailability and mobility. Mobilizing amendments can be applied to facilitate the removal of PFAS though soil washing, phytoremediation, and complete destruction through thermal and chemical redox reactions. Immobilizing amendments are likely to reduce the transfer of PFAS to food chain through plant and biota (e.g., earthworm) uptake, and leaching to potable water sources. Future studies should focus on quantifying the potential leaching of the mobilized PFAS in the absence of removal by plant and biota uptake or soil washing, and regular monitoring of the long-term stability of the immobilized PFAS. © 2020 Elsevier B.V