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The present study aims to assess the effect of a heavy metal burden on general health, biochemical parameters, an antioxidant enzyme, and reproductive hormone parameters in adult male brick kiln workers from Pakistan. The study participants (n = 546) provided demographic data including general health as well as body mass index. Blood was collected to quantitatively assess hematological, biochemical, and reproductive hormone parameters as well as heavy metal concentrations using both atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) and particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE). The data showed that 10% of the brick kiln workers were underweight and 10% obese (P = 0.059), with workers also reporting multiple health issues. Heavy metal concentrations utilizing AAS revealed significantly (p = 0.000) higher levels of cadmium, chromium, and nickel, while PIXE detected more than permissible levels of Si, P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Zn, Ti (p = 0.052), Mn (p = 0.017), Fe (p = 0.055), Co (p = 0.011), Ni (p = 0.045), and Cu (p = 0.003), in the blood of kiln workers. Moreover, a significant increase in platelet count (P = 0.010), a decrease in sodium dismutase levels (p = 0.006), a major increase in reactive oxygen species (p = 0.001), and a reduction in protein content (p = 0.013) were evident. A significant increase in cortisol levels (p = 0.000) among the workers group was also observed. The concentration of LH and FSH increased significantly (p = 0.000), while that of testosterone decreased (p = 0.000) in the worker group compared with controls. A significant inverse relationship was found between cortisol, LH (r = − 0.380), and FSH (r = − 0.946), while a positive correlation between cortisol and testosterone was also evident (r = 0.164). The study concludes that increased heavy metal burden in the blood of brick kiln workers exposes them to the development of general and reproductive health problems due to compromised antioxidant enzyme levels, increased oxidative stress conditions, and a disturbing reproductive axis.

Background Bisphenol A is well known endocrine-disrupting chemical while Bisphenol S was considered a safe alternative. The present study aims to examine the comparative effects of xenobiotic bisphenol-A (BPA) and its substitute bisphenol-S (BPS) on spermatogenesis and development of sexually dimorphic nucleus population of dopaminergic neurons in the anteroventral periventricular nucleus (AVPV) of the hypothalamus in male pups. Methods Sprague Dawley rat’s pups were administered subcutaneously at the neonatal stage from postnatal day PND1 to PND 27. Thirty animals were divided into six experimental groups (6 animals/group). The first group served as control and was provided with normal olive oil. The four groups were treated with 2 μg/kg and 200 μg/kg of BPA and BPS, respectively. The sixth group was given with 50 μg/kg of estradiol dissolved in olive oil as a standard to find the development of dopaminergic tyrosine hydroxylase neurons in AVPV regions. Histological analysis for testicular tissues and immunohistochemistry for brain tissues was performed. Results The results revealed adverse histopathological changes in testis after administration of different doses of BPA and BPS. These degenerative changes were marked by highly significant (p

Background CDC’s (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) National Center for Health statistics recent reports have shown that an upsurge has occurred in the use of dietary supplements among age of 20 years since 1994 and this use shown regular increase. The purpose of our study was to investigate the effect of supplements on the reproductive health on male athletes in Pakistan. Methods A total of 150 adult male with mean age of 25.78 ± 0.56 years were included in this study and divided into four groups: Non-athlete control (n = 57), Non supplemental athlete control (n = 40), Supplemental athlete group I (n = 28) and supplemental athlete group II (n = 25). Blood (10 ml) was taken from each subject. Complete blood count was performed and 5 ml of blood was centrifuged to separate plasma and then analyzed for antioxidant enzyme (CAT, POD, GR and GSH) activities, Lipid peroxidation (TBARS), electrolyte, metal (sodium, potassium and zinc) and Luteinizing hormone (LH) concentration. Results Complete blood count results showed normal RBC, WBC, Platelets, Hemoglobin, Hematocrit, Mean corpuscular hemoglobin and Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration. Antioxidant enzymes (CAT, POD, GR, GSH) increased significantly in supplemental athletes as compared to control groups. Sodium and potassium showed significant increase (p

An experiment to investigate the effect of seed rate (5, 7.5, 10, 12.5 and 15 kg ha-1) and row spacing (30, 45 and 60cm) on agronomic characteristics of plants including stem densitym-2, plant height, stem diameter, number of heads m-2, number of heads per plant, number of grains per head, 1000-grain weight and grain yield was conducted using the cultivar “Sorghum 2011” for two years 2016 and 2017. Seed rates and row spacing had significant effect on plant height, plant density m-2, number of heads m-2, number of grains per head and grain yield. Row spacing had non-significant effect on stem diameter, number of heads per plant and 1000-grain weight. Row spacing at 30 cm produced the highest number of plants m-2 and plant height. Plant height increased with increase in seed rate in all the row spacing. Stem diameter decreased with increase in the seed rate and row spacing. Narrow row spacing (30 cm) and low seeding rate (5 kg ha-1) produced the maximum grain yield consistently during both years. Lower yields were recorded in the treatments having greater row spacing (60 cm) and higher seed rates (7.5, 10, 12.5 & 15 kg ha-1). Higher seed rates and wider row spacing induced morphological changes rendering plants to lodging.SAARC J. Agri., 15(2): 81-91 (2017)

The experiment was conducted at the field of University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan to evaluate the performance of lower dose of herbicides in combination with allelopathic crop water leachates for controlling horse persulane ( Trianthemaportulacastrum L.) weed in cotton field during two consecutive years of 2007 and 2008. Seven treatments viz., T 1 = control as weedy, T 2 = Pendimethalin @ 1.25 kg active ingredient (a.i.) ha -1 (full dose) as pre-emergence, T 3 = Paraquat @ 200 g a.i. ha -1 (full dose) direct shielded at 40 days after sowing (DAS), T 4 = Pendimethalin @ 0.417 kg a.i. ha -1 (1/3 dose) as pre-emergence, T 5 = Paraquat @ 67g a.i. ha -1 (1/3 dose) direct shielded at 40 DAS, T 6 =sorghum + sunflower + brassica + mulberry water extracts each @ 18 l ha -1 + Pendimethalin @ 0.417 kg a.i. ha -1 (1/3 dose) as pre-emergence, and T7 = sorghum + sunflower + brassica + mulberry water extracts each @ 18 l ha -1 + Paraquat @ 67g a.i. ha -1 (1/3 dose) direct shielded at 40 DAS were compared. Combination of water leachates of allelopathic crops with either 1/3 dose of Paraquat or with 1/3 dose of Pendimethalin were found more effective than other treatments for reducing density and dry weight of horse persulane at both the stages. Higher but identical number of bolls per plant, boll weight per plant and seed cotton yield were recorded in water leachates + 1/3 dose of Pendimethalin as pre-emergence, and water leachates + 1/3 dose of Paraquat direct shielded at 40 DAS. Higher gross return and gross margin were also obtained from the same treatments. The results revealed that sorghum, sunflower, brassica and mulberry water extracts each @ 18 l ha-1 in combination with 1/3 dose of Paraquat direct shielded at 40 DAS or with 1/3 dose of Pendimethalin as pre-emergence is economical, environment friendly and sustainable strategy for controlling horse persulane weed in cotton field in Pakistan. SAARC J. Agri., 15(1): 23-31 (2017)

Due to the continuous increase in polystyrene microplastics (PS MPs) incorporation in the environment, growing number of adverse effects on living organisms and ecosystem have become a global concern. Therefore, current study was planned to elucidate the impacts of 5 different concentrations control, 2, 20, 200, and 2000 μgL-1 of PS MPs on testicular tissues of rats. PS MPs significantly reduced the activities of antioxidant enzymes (catalase, superoxide dismutase and peroxidase) as well as total protein contents, while elevated the level of lipid peroxidation and reactive oxygen species. Moreover, expressions of steroidogenic enzymes (3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and steroidogenic acute regulatory protein) as well as the levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH) in plasma, intra-testicular testosterone and plasma testosterone were reduced and a significant ( P < 0.05) reduction was noticed in the sperm count, motility and viability. Furthermore, PS MPs significantly up-regulated the expressions of Bax and caspase-3, while down-regulated the Bcl-2 expression. The histomorphological assessment revealed significant damages in the testicles as well as decrease in the number of germ cells (spermatogenic, spermatocytes and spermatids). Collectively, PS MPs generated oxidative stress (OS) and caused potential damage to the testicles of rats in a dose-dependent manner.

Enriching rearing environment is the strategy suggested for improving the post release survivorship of captive-reared animals. Here, an attempt has been made to evaluate the impact of early rearing enrichment on the hypothalamic–pituitary–interrenal axis (HPI axis), blood glucose, and brain dopaminergic and serotonergic systems of Tor putitora. Fifteen-day-old hatchlings of T. putitora were reared up to advanced fry stage in barren, semi-natural, and physically enriched environments and compared them with regard to pre-stress and post-stress levels of whole-body cortisol, blood glucose, brain serotonergic activity (5HIAA/5HT ratio), dopaminergic activity (DOPAC/DA and HVA/DA ratios) and norepinephrine (NE) levels. Significantly low basal whole-body cortisol, glucose and brain NE levels were observed in a physically enriched group of fish as compared to the other two groups. However, after acute stress, all rearing groups showed elevated levels of cortisol, blood glucose, brain 5HIAA/5HT, DOPAC/DA and HVA/DA ratios and NE levels but the magnitude of response was different among different rearing groups. The barren reared group showed a higher magnitude of response as compared to semi-natural and physically enriched groups. Similarly, the recovery rate of whole-body cortisol, blood glucose, and whole-brain monoamines were long-lasting in barren-reared mahseer. We illustrate that increased structural complexity (physical enrichment) during the early rearing significantly modulates various physiological and stress-coping mechanisms of mahseer.

Furan is a colorless toxic organic compound that is produced during thermal degradation of natural food constituents, and is present in various processed foods such as coffee and processed baby foods. The present study investigated the endocrine disrupting potential of furan in Sprague Dawley male pups. On postnatal day 0 (PND 0), pups were divided into five groups. The control group received subcutaneous injections of corn oil (50 μL), while the treated groups were injected with one of four concentrations of furan (1, 5, 10 and 20 mg kg−1 d−1 in 50 μL corn oil) from PND 1 to PND 10. Our results reveal significant physiological changes in groups receiving the two highest doses of furan (10 and 20 mg kg−1 d−1). Fertility was decreased in high dose groups, as evidenced by lower daily sperm production (DSP) and epididymis sperm counts, and dose-dependent histological alterations in the testes. High dose groups showed significant reductions in plasma concentrations of testosterone, LH and GH, while plasma cortisol and final body weight was increased compared to the control group. .The results suggest that neonatal exposure to high concentrations of furan cause structural and endocrine alterations in male neonatal rats, compromising fertility.

Furan is a colorless toxic chemical produced in various food items during heat processing and in chemical industries. Both in vitro and in vivo studies have reported that it induces oxidative stress and endocrine disruption; however, limited data are available regarding the effects of furan on the reproduction of mammals. In the present study, an in vitro experiment was designed to investigate the direct effects of furan exposure on oxidative stress and testosterone concentration in rat testicular tissue. Furan not only generated high oxidative stress but also decreased antioxidant enzyme activity in the testicular tissue. On the basis of in vitro study results, an in vivo sub-chronic exposure study was performed. Male rats were orally exposed to different concentrations of furan (0, 5, 10, 20, and 40 mg kg−1). An increase (P

Bisphenol A (BPA) is used as the main component of many consumer products such as infant's feeding bottles, coatings of beverages, and food cans. BPA can migrate into the environment, and it has been detected in the saliva, blood, and food. BPA leakage from many consumer products resulted in a ban on its use in many countries where alternatives to BPA were introduced into the market. BPA alternatives such as bisphenol B (BPB), bisphenol F (BPF), and bisphenol S (BPS) have a similar chemical structure and binding ability for estrogen receptor (ER), which shows toxicological effects in animals. In the present study, comparative effects of exposure to BPA and its analogs BPB, BPF, and BPS on testosterone concentration in the rat testis were evaluated by in vitro and in vivo approaches in which oxidative stress markers and antioxidant enzyme activities in reproductive tissues were determined. In the in vivo study, male rats were exposed to different concentrations of BPA and its analogs BPB, BPF, and BPS (5, 25, and 50 mg/kg/day) for 28 days. In the in vitro exposure study, antioxidant enzyme activities and oxidative stress markers were induced in the testes, whereas testosterone production was reduced. In the in vivo exposure study, we observed that antioxidant enzyme activities and protein content were reduced, whereas reactive oxygen species and lipid profile were increased in the treated groups compared to the control group. The present comparative study on BPA and its analogs, namely, BPB, BPF, and BPS suggests the toxic effect of these chemicals on the testes and spermatogenesis, and we also observed that these chemicals induce oxidative stress in the reproductive tissues of male rats.

In this paper, we propose a new multi-node relay network, that works on the Amplify-and-Forward protocol, to select the most optimal path towards the destination; thus adaptively setting the number of relays to be involved in the cooperation. Nakagami-2 fading channel is considered in the modeling and Instantaneous channel state information (CSI) from the destination is used as the selection criteria at the relays. Locations of the relays and distances between them are taken into account for an improved signal to noise ratio (SNR) with reduction in the bit error rate (BER). Moreover, spatial diversity is applied on the destination using maximal ratio combining (MRC). An analysis of the different spatial diversity techniques is done to find the best suited technique and simulation results for a much less BER over a 106 number of symbols in the input is presented.

Reliable communication between transmitter and receiver is accomplished by cooperative diversity techniques. Sending of data in various paths has greatly improved the performance of communication. We have studied the performance of Amplify-and-Forward (AF) based network in this work for diverse relay location at Nakagami, Rician and Rayleigh fading channels. The relay performance in Amplify-and-Forward (AF) protocol based on Symbol Error Rate (SER) against Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) in dBs is calculated. The software that is used to construct Monte-Carlo link level simulation is MATLAB. The effects of a relay at changed location in diverse channels accompanied with Additive White Gaussian noise (AWGN) is also calculated. BPSK modulation scheme is used for the transfer of information between the source, relay and destination node. The signals are combined through Maximum Ratio Combining method (MRC). Reliable communication between transmitter and receiver is accomplished by cooperative diversity techniques. Sending of data in various paths have greatly improved the performance of communication. We have studied the performance of Amplify-and-Forward (AF) based network in this work for diverse relay location at Nakagami, Rician and Rayleigh fading channels. The relay performance in Amplify-and-Forward (AF) protocol based on Symbol Error Rate (SER) against Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) in dBs is calculated. The software that is used to construct Monte-Carlo link level simulation is MATLAB. The effects of relay at changed location in diverse channels accompanied with Additive White Gaussian noise (AWGN) is also calculated. BPSK modulation scheme is used for the transfer of information between the source, relay and destination node. The signals are combined through Maximum Ratio Combining method (MRC).