Emerging contaminants of high concern for the environment: Current trends and future research.

Wastewater is contaminated water that must be treated before it may be transferred into other rivers and lakes in order to prevent further groundwater pollution. Over the last decade, research has been conducted on a wide variety of contaminants, but the emerging contaminants are those caused primarily by micropollutants, endocrine disruptors (EDs), pesticides, pharmaceuticals, hormones, and toxins, as well as industrially-related synthetic dyes and dye-containing hazardous pollutants. Most emerging pollutants did not have established guidelines, but even at low concentrations they could have harmful effects on humans and aquatic organisms. In order to combat the above ecological threats, huge efforts have been done with a view to boosting the effectiveness of remediation procedures or developing new techniques for the detection, quantification and efficiency of the samples. The increase of interest in biotechnology and environmental engineering gives an opportunity for the development of more innovative ways to water treatment remediation. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of emerging sources of contaminants, detection technologies, and treatment strategies. The goal of this review is to evaluate adsorption as a method for treating emerging pollutants, as well as sophisticated and cost-effective approaches for treating emerging contaminants.

Impact of smoking cessation, coffee and bread consumption on the intestinal microbial composition among Saudis: A cross-sectional study.

The gut microbiota is often affected by the dietary and lifestyle habits of the host, resulting in a better efficacy that favors energy harvesting from the consumed food. Our objective was to characterize the composition of gut microbiota in adult Saudis and investigate possible association with lifestyle and dietary practices. Feces from 104 Saudi volunteers (48% males) were tested for microbiota by sequencing the V3-V4 region of bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA). For all participants, data were collected related to their lifestyle habits and dietary practices. The relative abundance (RA) of Fusobacteria was significantly higher in normal weight Saudis (P = 0.005, false discovery rate-FDR = 0.014). Individuals who consumed more coffee presented marginally significant more RA of Fusobacteria (P = 0.02, FDR = 0.20) in their gut microbiota compared to those reporting low or no coffee intake, but the RA of Fusobacteria was significantly higher in smokers compared to non-smokers (P = 0.009, FDR = 0.027). The RA of Fusobacteria was also significantly higher in those reporting daily consumption of bread (P = 0.005, FDR = 0.015). At the species level, the gut microbiota of people who consumed coffee was dominated by Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron followed by Phascolarctobacterium faecium and Eubacterium rectale. Similarly, the gut microbiota of smokers was also enriched by B. thetaiotaomicron and Lactobacillus amylovorus. Smoking cessation, bread and coffee consumption induce changes in the intestinal microbial composition of Saudis. This indicates the significance of diet and lifestyle practices in the determination of the composition of the gut microbiota, which could possibly lead later to changes in metabolic profile and weight.

Chemokines and their association with body mass index among healthy Saudis.

Obesity is a chronic disorder that is associated with body mass index (BMI) of greater or equal to 30 kg/m2. The prevalence of obesity in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is increasing at an alarming rate and is expected to reach 41% in men and up to 78% in women by 2022. Since chemokines are associated with involuntary weight loss, the objective of this study was to elucidate their association with BMI among Saudis. A questionnaire was used to collect information about diet, health conditions, and demographics from 15 men and 16 women who participated in the study. BMI was calculated based on clinical measurements and participants were classified according to their BMI category as: normal, underweight, overweight, or obese. Serum samples were collected for a multiplex assay using the Human Chemokine Magnetic 30-plex panel. The serum concentration of either the monokine induced by gamma interferon (MIG) or the CXC-motif chemokine ligand 9 (CXCL-9) was significantly increased in obese men (P = 0.0194) and women (P = 0.043) as compared to underweight men and women, respectively. However, the serum levels of other chemokines were not significantly different among the groups. We found that MIG levels are differentially regulated in serum, based on individuals' BMI.

Occurrence of organic compounds in groundwater of Saudi Arabia.

The presence of organic compounds in drinking water is well recognized in many developing countries; however, the occurrence of organic contaminants in the groundwater of Saudi Arabia, which is the main source of drinking water in the country, is not well documented. A national comprehensive study was carried out to assess the occurrence of organic compounds in groundwater wells used for drinking water purpose, in different regions of Saudi Arabia. A total of 993 well water samples were collected from all 13 administrative regions of the kingdom. Samples were analyzed for a total of 131 organic compounds using the standard methods. The results indicated that total organic carbon values were in the range of 0.01 to 84.13 mg/L with an average weighted value of 12.61 mg/L. Organic compounds were detected in only 9 regions, with 19.84% of the samples containing organic compounds. Only 96 wells (9.67%) showed contents of organic compounds above the safe limits. Pesticides were not detected in any of the well water samples. Overall, organic compounds were found in only 197 out of 993 wells (19.84%) in the whole country. Most of the wells containing organic compounds were located in residential, industrial, and agriculture areas. Riyadh region and Eastern Province were found to have the most affected wells as compared to other regions. Several regions did not show any organic compounds in the well waters.It can be said that the problem of groundwater contamination with organic compounds in Saudi Arabia is not acute and is manageable at present. It is, however, recommended that a regular monitoring of drinking water wells of all regions should be carried out by the competent authorities for organic compounds to know any contamination if and when it happens. Preventing such contaminants from reaching drinking water sources and protecting drinking water well heads from such contaminants remains a priority.

Monitoring of acrylamide carcinogen in selected heat-treated foods from Saudi Arabia.

The present study reports the outcomes of assessment on acrylamide levels in selected heat-treated foods of diverse brands and origins from Saudi Arabia. In chips, acrylamide level was detected from 28 to 954 µg/kg, sample 7 (salted) contained higher amount (954 µg/kg) whereas, sample 8 (labneh and mint) comparatively produced lower amount (28 µg/kg). Nuts and dried fruits have generated acrylamide from 2 to 93 µg/kg, salted peanut of Indian origin produced higher amount (93 µg/kg) while apricot (plain) relatively generated lower amount (2 µg/kg). The levels of acrylamide in biscuits, pastry, cacao, chocolate, olive, cheese, corn, oat and wheat flakes, and bread were found from 26 to 234 µg/kg. Biscuits generated high concentration (234 µg/kg) while corn flakes fairly generated lower amount (26 µg/kg). The obtained results have shown a great variation of acrylamide content and reason might be due to foods type, cooking ingredients and, cooking methods, time and temperature.

Consequences of adding gum Arabic as a cryoprotectant on motility and viability of frozen stallion semen.

A trial was conducted to check effect of adding gum Arabic (GA) instead of egg yolk (EY) as a cryoprotectant for stallion sperm. Two experiments were designed; experiment I tested adding 3 levels of nonheated GA (i.e., 3, 6 and 9 g/100 mL diluents) in HF-20 extender. However, in experiment II the same levels were tested except that GA was heated at 80 °C for 60 min. HF-20 containing 10% of EY was used as control. In experiment I, sperm frozen in HF-20 containing nonheated GA exhibited lower percentages of motile sperm, progressively motile sperm and sperm with intact plasma membranes, vitality rate, and acrosome integrity after cooling or after deep freezing. Frozen semen in HF-20 containing 3-6% of preheated GA in experiment II maintained sperm motility at 46-50% and elevated progressive motility at 27%. The semen diluted in preheated GA (6%) and frozen exhibited a fertility rate of 40% (2/5). A similar fertility rate (40%) was found in the control semen (i.e. 10%) compared to those that were inseminated with frozen semen in preheated 3% GA (20%, 1/5). These results suggest that preheated GA could be used as an alternative cryoprotectant for cryopreserving stallion sperm.

Occurrence of acrylamide carcinogen in Arabic coffee Qahwa, coffee and tea from Saudi Arabian market.

The present work describes the outcomes of the assessment on acrylamide contents in a number of thermally treated foods (Arabic coffee Qahwa, coffee and tea) obtained from the Saudi Arabian markets. A total of 56 food samples of different brands and origin were studied, the amounts of acrylamide in Arabic coffee Qahwa, coffee and tea were obtained in the range of 10 to 682 µg kg-1. In comparison to coffee (152-682 µg kg-1), the Arabic coffee Qahwa (73-108 µg kg-1) and tea (10-97 µg kg-1) contain lower amounts of acrylamide. Among the analyzed samples, the green tea contained low amounts of acrylamide ranged from 10 to 18 µg kg-1, and thus the green tea could be considered as a healthier hot drink. A great variation of acrylamide formation has been observed in these food products. This divergence may be due to the initial concentration of amino acids especially asparagines and reducing sugars in food products, in addition to roasting temperature and time, pH and water activity. The obtained data can also be used in epidemiological investigation to estimate the acrylamide exposure from nutritional survey.

Gut Microbiota: A Contributing Factor to Obesity.

Obesity, a global epidemic of the modern era, is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and diabetes. The pervasiveness of obesity and overweight in both developed as well as developing populations is on the rise and placing a huge burden on health and economic resources. Consequently, research to control this emerging epidemic is of utmost importance. Recently, host interactions with their resident gut microbiota (GM) have been reported to be involved in the pathogenesis of many metabolic diseases, including obesity, diabetes, and CVD. Around 10(14) microorganisms reside within the lower human intestine and many of these 10(14) microorganisms have developed mutualistic or commensal associations with the host and actively involved in many physiological processes of the host. However, dysbiosis (altered gut microbial composition) with other predisposing genetic and environmental factors, may contribute to host metabolic disorders resulting in many ailments. Therefore, delineating the role of GM as a contributing factor to obesity is the main objective of this review. Obesity research, as a field is expanding rapidly due to major advances in nutrigenomics, metabolomics, RNA silencing, epigenetics, and other disciplines that may result in the emergence of new technologies and methods to better interpret causal relationships between microbiota and obesity.

Precipitation of Ibuprofen Sodium using compressed carbon dioxide as antisolvent.

Precipitation with compressed antisolvent (PCA) process was used to produce fine particles of Ibuprofen Sodium with the ultimate goal of obtaining controlled particle size and size distribution of this non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. This systematic investigation shows that particle size and size distribution of the final product can be controlled reproducibly by varying a number operating parameters such as antisolvent addition rate, temperature, concentration, and solution addition rate. The mechanisms that control particle size and particle size distribution were explained by invoking the differences in the relative weight of primary, secondary nucleation and growth kinetic phenomena. A number of techniques were used for the characterization of the generated particles. In addition to scanning electron microscope (SEM), dynamic light scattering measurements were conducted to determine the size of the particles in terms of number-weighted size distribution. The influence of process parameters on the Ibuprofen Sodium crystallinity was investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD). Moreover, the ''in vitro'' drug performance was tested. The results showed an improvement of the PCA processed Ibuprofen Sodium ''in vitro'' drug activity. In addition, dissolution investigations demonstrated that the flow rate, in combination with the particle size distribution, substantially influence the drug "in vitro" dissolution.

Water quality of bottled water in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A comparative study with Riyadh municipal and Zamzam water.

Nine domestic and three imported bottled water brands were analyzed in Saudi Arabia for various physicochemical water quality parameters. The results of the analysis were compared with the drinking water standards set by different regulatory agencies. The levels of different physicochemical parameters like pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), Ca, Mg, Na, K, NO(3), Cl, and SO(4) of all local and imported bottled water brands met the standards set by different regulatory agencies. Fifteen (15) trace metals viz. Al, As, Ba, Be, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Sr, Pb, and Zn were also analyzed in all the samples. Comparison of analyzed results with the reported label values showed considerable variation for different parameters. Variation was also recorded for the analyzed parameters for 3 bottles of the same bottled water brand, both for local and imported bottled waters. Zamzam water was also collected from Makkah Al Mukarrama from different locations and analyzed for various physical and chemical parameters. Bottled waters were also compared with the city municipal water supply and Zamzam water.