Diffuse cerebral edema with leukoencephalopathy revealing systemic lupus erythematosus: A case report and review of literature.

Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a common autoimmune disease with various symptoms involving multiple organs. Neuropsychological manifestations are various and generally serious. Leukoencephalopathy is particularly rare but life-threatening in patients with SLE. Results: Here, we describe the case of a young woman who developed a subacute onset intracranial hypertension, papillar edema on fundus examination, diffuse cerebral edema on brain CT scan, and diffuse leukoencephalopathy on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The immunological workup was positive for antinuclear antibodies, anti-DNA and anti-extractable nuclear antigens (ENA) antibodies. She was ultimately diagnosed with SLE and experienced significant improvement after treatment with high dose of corticosteroids, acetazolamide, and immunosuppressant. We additionally review the previously reported cases of SLE with diffuse cerebral edema and leukoencephalopathy with a focus on the possible pathophysiological mechanisms of such association. Conclusions: We highlight, through this case report and the literature review, the importance of considering SLE in patients with cerebral edema and diffuse leukoencephalopathy and treating it aggressively.

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and Metals in Diverse Biochar Products: Effect of Feedstock Type and Pyrolysis Temperature.

Biochar's agricultural and environmental benefits have been widely demonstrated; however, it may cause environmental contamination if it contains large amounts of pollutants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals (HMs). Therefore, this study aimed to assess the contents of PAHs and HM in a range of biochars generated from different sources and pyrolysis temperatures. A range of feedstock was converted to biochar, including sewage sludge (SS), olive mill pomace (OP), feather meal (FM), soft offal meal (CSM), chicken manure (CM), and date palm residues (DPR). Each feedstock was then pyrolyzed at three temperatures of 300, 500, or 700 °C, thereby producing a total of 18 types of biochar. These biochar products were analyzed for 16 PAHs and eight metals (Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb). Benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, and benzo(a)pyrene were significantly greater in the biochar produced at 700 °C than in that produced at 300 °C, especially for CM. The concentrations of dibenz(a,h)anthracene were significantly lower at 700 °C but greater at 500 °C and 300 °C in DPR. Increasing the pyrolysis temperature from 300 to 700 °C significantly increased the concentrations of metals, including Cr in SS and OP; Mn in CM; and Fe, Ni, Cu, and Zn in SS. However, the concentration of Cd was significantly lower in the SS when biochar was produced at 700 °C than at 500 or 300 °C. The type of feedstock used and the pyrolysis temperature are key factors influencing the contents of PAHs and HMs in biochar, both of which need to be considered during the production and use of biochar. Further investigations are recommended to establish the relationships between pyrolysis temperature and types of feedstock and the formation of PAH or the concentrations of metals. Monitoring the concentrations of PAHs and HMs before applying biochar to soil is also recommended.

Risk Assessment of Pesticide Residues by GC-MSMS and UPLC-MSMS in Edible Vegetables.

In recent years, there has been a significant increase related to pesticide residues in foods, which may increase the risks to the consumer of these foods with the different quality and concentrations of pesticide residues. Pesticides are used for controlling pests that reduce yields. On the other hand, it has become a major public health concern due to its toxic properties. Thus, the objective of the current study employed the application of Quick Easy Cheap Effective Rugged Safe (QuEChERS) method, in combination with gas and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric detection (GCMSMS, LCMSMS) in order to determine 137 pesticide residues (63 insecticides, 41 acaricides, 40 herbicide, 55 fungicide, nematicide, growth regulator, Chitin synthesis inhibitors, and Juvenile hormone mimics), in 801 vegetables such as 139 tomatoes, 185 peppers, 217 squash, 94 eggplants, and 166 cucumbers from different locations in Hail and Riyadh cities. The results showed that the majority of pesticide residues were detected for each of the following pesticides: acetaimpride, metalaxyl, imidaclopride, bifenthrin, pyridaben, difenoconazole, and azoxystrobien, which were repeated in the samples studied 39, 21, 11, 10, 8, 7, and 5, respectively. In addition, results observed that the tomato was the most contaminated with pesticide residues; it was contaminated with 19 compounds and was followed by pepper, cucumber, and squash, and the last commodity in the contaminated ranking was eggplant. The highest calculated estimated daily intakes (EDIs) were recorded for tomatoes which were estimated between 0.013 to 0.516 mg/kg of body weight per day (bw/day) while the lowest EDIs value was between 0.000002 to 0.0005 mg/kg of bw/day for cucumber. Results indicated that the EDIs values were lower than the acceptable daily intake (ADI) values. Results observed that the most of pesticide residues exposure in food consumption in Saudi Arabia were lower than ADIs. In addition, the highest value for health risk index (HRI) was recorded with Ethion residue in tomato, but in sweet pepper, the highest value for HRI was 127.5 in the form of fipronil residue. On the other hand, results found that the highest values of HRI were 1.54, 1.61, and 0.047 for difenoconazole, bifenthrin, and pyridaben residues in squash, eggplant, and cucumber.

Impact of Atmospheric Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) of Falling Dust in Urban Area Settings: Status, Chemical Composition, Sources and Potential Human Health Risks.

The present work is considered to investigate the sources, concentration, and composition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and associated health risk assessment of road dust in Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia. The study region included an urban area, strongly affected by traffic, a bare and an industrial area. A total of 50 locations were selected for sampling and 16 different PAHs were determined. The concentration of PAHs in road dust and their estimated lifetime average daily dose (LADD) for adults (human) ranged from 0.01 to 126 ng g−1 and 1950 to 16,010 mg kg−1 day−1, respectively. The ADDing was calculated separately for children (>6), teenagers (6−12), and adults (>12) for all PAHs with each collected sample. Moreover, the average daily exposure dose by ingestion (ADDing) and average daily exposure dose by dermal absorption (ADDder) were more in children (<6 years) as compared to teenagers (6−12 years) and adults (>12 years). Likewise, total equivalency factor based on BaP (TEQBaP) calculations pointed out that PAHs having more benzene rings or having high molecular weight showed high TEQBaP as compared to low molecular weight PAHs. The data revealed that the children population is at high risk for asthma, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, and immunity suppression as compared to adults in the particular area of investigated region. These outcomes of this study can be used to deliver significant policy guidelines concerning habitants of the area for possible measures for controlling PAHs contamination in Riyadh City to protect human health and to ensure environmental sustainability.

Study of the Photocatalytic Degradation of Highly Abundant Pesticides in Agricultural Soils.

Organic pesticides are major sources of soil pollution in agricultural lands. Most of these pesticides are persistent and tend to bio accumulate in humans upon consumption of contaminated plants. In this study, we investigate different natural soil samples that were collected from agricultural lands. The samples revealed the presence of 18 pesticides that belong to four different groups including organochlorines (OCP), organophosphorus (OPP), carbamates (Carb), and pyrethroids (Pyrth). The photocatalytic degradation of the five most abundant pesticides was studied in the presence and absence of 1% TiO2 or ZnO photocatalysts under UV irradiation at a wavelength of 306 nm. The five abundant pesticides were Atrazine (OCP), Chlorpyrifos methyl (OPP), Dimethoate (OPP), Heptachlor (OCP), and Methomyl (Carb). The results showed that photolysis of all pesticides was complete under UV radiation for irradiation times between 64-100 h. However, both photocatalysts enhanced photocatalytic degradation of the pesticides in comparison with photolysis. The pesticides were photocatalytically degraded completely within 20-24 h of irradiation. The TiO2 photocatalyst showed higher activity compared to ZnO. The organochlorine heptachlor, which is very toxic and persistent, was completely degraded within 30 h using TiO2 photocatalyst for the first time in soil. The mechanism of photocatalytic degradation of the pesticides was explained and the effects of different factors on the degradation process in the soil were discussed.

Heavy metal pollution and associated health risk assessment of urban dust in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Depending on their particle size and concentration, heavy metals in urban dust pose a health hazard to humans. This study investigated the total concentration, health risk, integrated pollution load index (IPI), and enrichment factor (EF) of various heavy metals in urban dust at different locations in Riyadh City. Surface dust samples were collected from 50 different residential yards in the north, south, west, east, and central corners of the city and analyzed for cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn). With respect to concentrations heavy metals were in the following order Zn > Cu > Mn > Cr > Ni > Pb > Cd. The EF trends exposed repeated anthropogenic activities were responsible for Mn, Cr, and Ni, while Pb, Zn, and Cu appeared to come from Earth's crust. Since the heavy metal concentrations were lower than the threshold values, children and adults are exposed to lower health risk in investigated area. Also, there are no pollution of heavy metals in the dust with respect to IPI which is less than the critical limit (<1) with the exception of a sampling location in north side of the city with higher IPI showed unhealthy respiration conditions in particular areas. It was concluded that rapid industrialization and urbanization and their concentrations in dust may cause health problems in near future in north side as well as other sides of Riyadh City.

Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics, and CO2 Efflux in the Calcareous Sandy Loam Soil Treated with Chemically Modified Organic Amendments.

In Saudi Arabia, more than 335,000 tons of cow manure is produced every year from dairy farming. However, the produced cow manure is usually added to the agricultural soils as raw or composted manure; significant nitrogen losses occur during the storage, handling, and application of the raw manure. The recovery of ammonia from cow manure through thermochemical treatments is a promising technique to obtain concentrated nitrogen fertilizer and reducing nitrogen losses from raw manure. However, the byproduct effluents from the recovery process are characterized by different chemical properties from the original raw manure; thus, its impact as soil amendments on the soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics is unknown. Therefore, a 90-day incubation experiment was conducted to study the impact of these effluents on CO2 efflux, organic C, microbial biomass C, available NH4+, and NO3- when added to agricultural soil. In addition to the two types of effluents (produced at pH 9 and pH 12), raw cow manure (CM), composted cow manure (CMC), cow manure biochar (CMB), and control were used for comparison. The application of CM resulted in a considerable increase in soil available nitrogen and CO2 efflux, compared to other treatments. Cow manure biochar showed the lowest CO2 efflux. Cumulative CO2 effluxes of cow manure effluents were lower than CM; this is possibly due to the relatively high C:N ratio of manure effluent. The content of P, Fe, Cu, Zn, and Mn decreased as incubation time increased. Soil microbial biomass C for soil treated with cow manure effluents (pH 12 and 7) was significantly higher than the rest of the soil amendments and control.

Rapid analytical method for the determination of 220 pesticide with their isomers by GCMS-TIC.

This paper presents a cost-effective and validated multi residue modified and miniaturized method for the determination of 220 chemically different groups of pesticides and their isomers. This determination method is performed with single Quaid Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry -Total Ion Chromatogram GCMS-TIC. Two methods was experimented and modified with different GCMS parameters to analyses most common used pesticide and their residues in the standers solution and can be applied for real environmental samples. The results showed by single Quaid GCMS-TIC it can analyze 220 pesticides including their isomers within 49.6 min and low detection limit by using modified method 2 as described in this research. Limit of detection (LOD) was ranged from 0.78 to 14.74 ng/ml (ppb) with good separation and resolution. Limit of quantification (LOQ) was ranged between 2.34 and 44.22 ng/ml (ppb). Method 2 was more accurate, shorter, and clear separation rather than method 1. This method can be successfully applied in real environmental samples proven to be a good option for routine analysis of pesticide within the maximum residue limits (MRL) referenced to European commission especially with the most common GCMS-TIC which exists in most of labs and low income countries.

Levels of pesticide residues in breast milk and the associated risk assessment.

The aim of this study was to determine the types and levels of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) present in the human milk collected from cities in eastern and central Saudi Arabia. This study is part of assessment of various persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in human milk in four cities of eastern and central Saudi Arabia, namely, Riyadh, Al-Kharj, Al-Jobail and Al-Dammam. Milk samples were collected from 50 donors according to the WHO/UNEP protocol for monitoring human milk for POPs. The OCPs in each of the 50 milk samples were analyzed using as triple quadrupole gas chromatography mass spectrometry-mass spectrometry detection (GC-MS/MS). Quality assurance included the analysis of blank, spiked and reference samples. Sixteen different OCPs were identified namely: aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, hexachlorobenzene, alpha, beta, gamma and delta hexachlorocycohexame, pp'-,op'-DDT, pp'-DDE, pp'-DDD, alpha and gamma chlordane, heptachlor, mirex and methoxychlor. The results of the analysis OCPs in human milk samples indicated that the tested positive samples for one or more pesticide at the limits of determination used in this study. As required by the Stockholm Convention on POPs, the levels of certain POPs in human milk will serve as an indicator of the effectiveness of the treaty in eliminating or reducing emissions of selected POPs. This study contributes to that effort by providing seline data on current levels of OPCs in human milk in Saudi Arabia.

Mitochondrial DNA in Fresh versus Frozen Embryo Culture Media of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Patients Undergoing Invitro Fertilization: A Possible Predictive Marker of a Successful Pregnancy.

PURPOSE: Frozen embryos transfer (ET) may improve the live-birth and reduce rates of ovarian hyperstimulation in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients. Morphological criteria are the classical way for embryo selection, yet recently, many biochemical and genetic markers have been developed. This study aimed to compare fresh and frozen ET using the mtDNA/gDNA ratio of embryo secretome and the possibility of using this ratio as a predictive marker of PCOS pregnancy rate. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: One hundred PCOS patients undergoing IVF were chosen according to Rotterdam criteria and divided into two groups. Group I (50 with fresh ET), group II (50 with frozen ET), and otherwise 33 apparently healthy women as a control group with fresh ET. We then carried out absolute quantification of embryo culture media mtDNA and gDNA by real-time PCR. RESULTS: mtDNA/gDNA ratio was significantly low in PCOS embryo culture media in comparison with control. Additionally, while the mtDNA/gDNA ratio was significantly high in pregnant PCOS embryo culture media, it was high, though not statistically significant, in the fresh ET than frozen ET group. mtDNA/gDNA ratio sensitivity and specificity in PCOS embryo culture media as a predictive value of pregnancy rate were (86% and 96%, respectively). CONCLUSION: mtDNA/gDNA ratio measurement in PCOS embryo culture media is a novel marker that can be clinically applied as a predictive value of the quality of the morphologically good embryo.