Zeitschrift für Umweltanalytische Chemie

We want to understand the sources of oxidants as factors in understanding the role they play in the pathogenesis of neurodegeneration, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Our earlier observations pointed to the difference of intracellular iron when it originates from physiological hemoglobin versus pathological methemoglobin degradation, where heme oxygenation of hemoglobin results in ferrous (Fe2+) iron, while methemoglobin catabolism produces ferric (Fe3+) iron. Methemoglobin plays the role of carrier, donor and source of cytotoxic redox-active ferric (Fe3+) iron and also plays a critical role as an originator of neurodegenerative diseases. Environmental toxicity factors determine a permanent intracellular source of redox-active ferric (Fe3+) iron which without ferrous-ferric inversions, ‘in situ’, has a direct impact on the endothelial small vessels of the brain, increasing the rate of capillary endothelial cell apoptosis and possible cross into brain parenchyma, to astrocytes, glia, neurons, and other neuronal cells, to cause greater degeneration. Understanding the transport and neuronal accumulation of ferric (Fe3+) iron, points to how microvessels are organized into a well structured neurovascular unit, with harmful consequences for the brain. Previously our research indicated neonatal jaundice incidence (p=0.034), and heart murmur at a later age (p=0.011), and found that the incidence of children and adults displaying mild disorders such as dyslalia and learning/memory impairments (p=0.002) was significantly higher than in children and adults of mothers lacking methemoglobinemia during pregnancy. Our results point to the consequences of mother-fetal methemoglobinemia caused by environmental oxidants, consequences which not been precisely demonstrated yet. The effects of exogenously induced oxidative stress on the structure and function of the vascular endothelial are direct targets of free hemoglobin and of its oxidative derivative methemoglobin which readily release heme, an abundant source of redox-active iron, and react with sulfur compounds synergy during pregnancy, causing early and late vascular endothelial dysfunction in vital organs and the CNS through ‘neurovascular unit’ damage, which plays a critical role in understanding oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of neurodegeneration. The harmful effects of mother-fetal pregnancy complications include increased brain non-heme ferric iron deposition, which has been confirmed by the results of histochemical research. According to our hypothesis such a process could result in neuronal death in humans, and with ageing, leading finally to hard neurodegenerative brain diseases such as AD, PD and others.

Abstract This analytical method was adapted to determine the sorption of oxytetracycline (OTC), an antibiotic of large use for animal and agriculture, to tropical soils. Tetracycline antibiotics for veterinary are considered emerging environmental contaminants. The high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV-visible detector in reverse mode was used to generate quantitative data that allowed the construction of sorption Freundlich isotherms for soils-OTC at pH 4.8. The Freundlich isotherm was presented as a mathematical model suitable for the verification of soils-OTC sorption from chromatographic data, proving the sorption and its type, as well as the soil-OTC sorption capacity. The method consists of: • Measuring the presence of the oxytetracycline (OTC) veterinary in tropical soils • Constructing Freundlich isotherm for sorption soil-OTC to understand the OTC’s fate on environment

Imidazole is a heterocyclic compound a five-membered of diunsaturated cyclic the structure composed of atoms three carbon and two atoms nitrogen in non-adjacent positions. The simplest member of the family is imidazole itself, colorless to pale yellow crystalline solid yellow with a faint odor amine like, soluble in water and alcohol, melts at 89°C to 256°C. After Imidazole’s are poorly soluble in water in general, but are dissolved in organic solvents such as chloroform, propylene glycol and polyethoxylated castor oil. Imidazole’s have antibacterial, antifungal, antiprotozoal, and anthelmintic. Several distinct phenylimidazoles are therapeutically useful as antifungal agents against superficial infections or systemic be. Thiabendazoles that deworming and anti-fungal properties are compounds of the imidazole class. Benzimidazole is a bicyclic compound having an imidazole ring fused to the benzene. The Benzimidazole structure is a part of the portion of the nucleotide vitamin B12 and the core in some drugs, such as inhibitors of the proton pump and anthelmintic agents. Imidazole has two nitrogen atoms. One is slightly acidic, while the other is at the bottom. The imidazole and its derivatives are widely used as intermediates in the synthesis of biological target or pharmaceutical compounds, agrochemicals, dyes, photographic chemicals, corrosion inhibitors, curing agents for epoxy resin adhesives and plastic modifiers.

Two agro wastes were selected and carbonized at 600°C for 45 min and 800°C for 30 min and each was divided into three different portions. Each portion was activated with HCl, H2SO4 and H3PO4 as activating agents. The activated carbons were characterized for some important parameters such as pH, ash content, nitrogen, carbon content, sulphur, fat, fibre, protein, moisture content, carbohydrate, oxygen, hydrogen, sodium, potassium and pore volume. Wastewater from battery industry was collected and treated with the activated carbons with a view to determining the extent of the heavy metal adsorption ability. The results of the characterization shows pH range of 6.71 to 6.82, while the pore volume ranged from 3.9 × 10-5 to 2.4 × 10-5 m3/g for Oil Bean activated carbon and 8.7 × 10-6 to 6.2 × 10-6 m3/g for Snail shell activated carbon. The percentage yield of activated carbon before activation is 25.79 to 27.27 for Oil Bean and 61.85 to 86.11% for Snail shell activated carbon. FTIR results shows a surface reorganization of the activated carbon with a formation of new functional groups after chemical activation. The adsorption data generated fitted well into the Freundlich isotherm model since most values of the determination coefficient (R2) >0.500 indicating a heterogeneous adsorption of heavy metals from aqueous solution. It was observed also that those carbon activated with H3PO4 were better adsorbents in most of the activated carbons produced irrespective of the heavy metals, followed by those activated with HCl while those activated with H2SO4 were the least. The ANOVA indicates that there exist a positive significance relationship between the reliability factor (R2) and the Langmuir constants in almost all the activated carbon types produced. So also it was for Freundlich isotherm constants except few of them. This study has shown that activated carbon produced from oil Bean shell and Snail Shell can compete favourably with traditional activated carbons in treating industrial waste especially from battery industries using HCL, H2SO4 and H3PO4 as activating agents.