[Effect of Nigella sativa oil against Bisphenol A induced toxicity on the tissue of male NMRI mice kidney: a stereological study]

Background and Objective: Bisphenol A [BPA] is an endocrine disruptor chemical and as an environmental pollutant is able to generate free radicals causing tissue damage. This study was done to investigate the effect of Nigella sativa oil against BPA induced toxicity on the tissue of male NMRI mice kidney by stereological method

Methods: In this experimental study 24 adult male NMRI mice [32 +/- 3 g] were randomly allocated into control, BPA [200 mg/kg/day], BPA [200 mg/kg/day] plus Nigella sativa oil [5 ml/kg/day] and Nigella sativa oil [5 ml/kg/day] groups and treated for 5 weeks, orally. At the end, animals were sacrificed, their left kidneys were removed, fixed, sectioned, processed and stained with Heidenhain' azan staining method. Then, the kidney tissue sections were evaluated using stereological method and serum malondialdehyde [MDA] level was also measured

Results: The total weight and volume of kidney, volume of cortex, volume of proximal and distal tubules and volume of their lumen, volume of interstitial tissue, volume of glomeruli, tuft, as well as serum MDA level significantly increased in BPA treated group compared to the controls [P<0.05]. These parameters were significantly reduced in BPA plus Nigella sativa oil group compared to BPA ones [P<0.05]

Conclusion: This study revealed that Nigella sativa oil can reduce the oxidative stress toxicity induced by BPA in the mice renal tissue

Anaerobic removal of COD from high strength fresh and partially stabilized leachates and applications of multi stage Kinetic model

High strength fresh leachates generated at a new disposal trench, compost plant and partially stabilized leachate of an older trench were characterized in terms of anaerobic degradation at laboratory batch scale at 35 [degree sign] C. Fresh leachate had extremely high COD of 66,710 - 89,501 mg/L along with low pH of 4.1-5.9 in contrast to older and therefore partially stabilized leachate with a COD of about 19,000 mg/L and higher pH of 8.4. Filtration of fresh leachate samples showed to have considerable effect on continuation of degradation as for the unfiltered samples, degradation nearly stopped after a slight reduction in COD. As a first attempt, it was shown that a considerably better fit was achieved for COD variations of filtered fresh leachate samples using first order multistage kinetic model based on which hydrolysis was found to have the smallest rate, therefore being the rate limiting stage in anaerobic degradation process

Strategic management of municipal debris aftermath of an earthquake

Earthquakes in urban areas leave behind a considerable amount of debris, which delays the relief services and the reconstruction activities. The relief work would be impossible without the removal of debris from the main access roads to the devastated areas. The proper implementation of this endeavor requires a long-term management of debris. This article discusses development of strategic management for earthquake debris in the city of Tehran. Thus, the pertinent strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges are identified in order to assess the actual and potential debris management capacity of Tehran. The Personal judgments are used in a Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix [QSPM] in order to prioritize the strategies. The results of this research show that the sum of attractiveness numbers for the Internal Factors Evaluation [IFE] matrix is 2.3, which is less than 2.5. It indicates that weaknesses are more dominant than the strengths. Moreover, the sum of attractiveness numbers for External Factors Evaluation [EFE] matrix is 3.3, which indicates more potential opportunities than potential challenges. The analysis of results points out that the most important strategies in regard to the development of debris management plan are the accurate estimation of volume, weight and type of earthquake debris; reinforcement of the present structures; proper design of structures under construction; utilization of experiences from other earthquake prone countries; recycling and reuse of debris and construction wastes; and identification of the temporary debris depot sites within Tehran