Geographical distribution of radon and associated health risks in drinking water samples collected from the Mulazai area of Peshawar, Pakistan.

Geospatial methods, such as GIS and remote sensing, map radon levels, pinpoint high-risk areas and connect geological traits to radon presence. These findings direct health planning, focusing tests, mitigation, and policies where radon levels are high. Overall, geospatial analyses offer vital insights, shaping interventions and policies to reduce health risks from radon exposure. There is a formidable threat to human well-being posed by the naturally occurring carcinogenic radon (222Rn) gas due to high solubility in water. Under the current scenario, it is crucial to assess the extent of 222Rn pollution in our drinking water sources across various regions and thoroughly investigate the potential health hazards it poses. In this regard, the present study was conducted to investigate the concentration of 222Rn in groundwater samples collected from handpumps and wells and to estimate health risks associated with the consumption of 222Rn-contaminated water. For this purpose, groundwater samples (n = 30) were collected from handpumps, and wells located in the Mulazai area, District Peshawar. The RAD7 radon detector was used as per international standards to assess the concentration of 222Rn in the collected water samples. The results unveiled that the levels of 222Rn in the collected samples exceeded the acceptable thresholds set by the US Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA) of 11.1 Bq L-1. Nevertheless, it was determined that the average annual dose was below the recommended limit of 0.1 mSv per year, as advised by both the European Union Council and the World Health Organization. In order to avoid the harmful effects of such excessive 222Rn concentrations on human health, proper ventilation and storage of water in storage reservoirs for a long time before use is recommended to lower the 222Rn concentration.

Synthesis, crystal structure and Hirshfeld surface analysis of a copper(II) complex involving 3-methyl-benzoate and 2,2'-bi-pyridine ligands.

3-Methyl-benzoic acid (3-mbH) and 2,2'-bi-pyridine (bipy) reacted with a cop-per(II) salt forming a new mixed ligand complex, aqua-(2,2'-bi-pyridine-κ2 N,N')bis-(3-methyl-benzoato)-κ2 O,O';κO-copper(II) 0.68-hydrate, [Cu(C8H7O2)2(C10H8N2)(H2O)]·0.68H2O or [Cu(3-mb)2(bipy)(H2O)]·0.68H2O. The coord-ination environment of CuII is a distorted octa-hedron. The metal atom is attached to two 3-mb moieties, which bind in monodentate and bidentate fashions. One of the 3-mb units is disordered. The coordination environment is completed by one bipy ligand and a water mol-ecule. A second water mol-ecule is outside the coordination sphere of the CuII atom and its occupancy refined to 0.68. The structure consists of chains along the b-axis direction formed by complex units joined via hydrogen bonds between the coordinated water mol-ecule and an O atom of a coordinated 3-mb unit. Hirshfeld surface analysis indicates that the most abundant contacts are H⋯H (56.8%), H⋯C/C⋯H (21.7%) and H⋯O/O⋯H (13.7%).

Crystal structure and Hirshfeld surface analysis of bis-[(eth-oxy-methane-thio-yl)sulfanido](N,N,N',N'-tetra-methyl-ethane-1,2-di-amine)-mercury(II).

The title four-coordinate mononuclear complex, [Hg(C3H5OS2)2(C6H16N2)] or [Hg(C3H5OS2)2(tmeda)] (tmeda: N,N,N',N'-tetra-methyl-ethane-1,2-di-amine), has a distorted tetra-hedral geometry. The HgII ion is coordinated to two N atoms of the N,N,N',N'-tetra-methyl-ethylenedi-amine ligand and two S atoms from two ethylxanthate xanthate ligands. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked by weak C-H⋯S hydrogen bonds, forming a two-dimensional supra-molecular architecture in the ab plane. The most important contributions for the crystal packing are from H⋯H (59.3%), S⋯H (27.4%) and O⋯H (7.5%) inter-actions.

Crystal structure and Hirshfeld surface analysis of a copper(II) complex containing 2-nitro-benzoate and tetra-methyl-ethylenedi-amine ligands.

The reaction of copper(II) sulfatepentahydrate with 2-nitro-benzoic acid and N,N,N',N'-tetra-methyl-ethylenedi-amine (TMEDA) in basic solution produces the complex bis-(2-nitro-benzoato-κO)(N,N,N',N'-tetra-methyl-ethylenedi-amine-κ2 N,N')copper(II), [Cu(C7H4NO4)2(C6H16N2)] or [Cu(2-nitro-benzoate)2(tmeda)]. Each carboxyl-ate group of the 2-nitro-benzoate ligand is coordinated by CuII atom in a monodentate fashion and two TMEDA ligand nitro-gen atoms are coordinate by the metal center, giving rise to a distorted square-planar coordination environment. In the crystal, metal complexes are linked by centrosymmetric C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming ribbons via a R 2 2(10) ring motif. These ribbons are linked by further C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, leading to two-dimensional hydrogen-bonded arrays parallel to the bc plane. Weak π-π stacking inter-actions provide additional stabilization of the crystal structure. Hirshfeld surface analysis, dnorm and two-dimensional fingerprint plots were examined to verify the contributions of the different inter-molecular contacts within the supra-molecular structure. The major inter-actions of the complex are O⋯H/H⋯O (44.9%), H⋯H (34%) and C⋯H (14.5%).

Crystal structure and Hirshfeld surface analysis of one-dimensional copper(II) coordination polymer incorporating succinate and tetra-methyl-ethylene-diamine ligands.

The reaction of copper nitrate with succinic acid (succH) and N,N,N',N'-tetra-methyl-ethylenedi-amine (TMEDA) in basic solution produces the complex catena-poly[[[(N,N,N',N'-tetra-methyl-ethylenedi-amine-κ2 N,N')copper(II)]-µ-succinato-κ2 O 1:O 4] tetra-hydrate], {[Cu(C4H4O4)(C6H16N2)]·4H2O} n or {[Cu(succ)(tmeda)]·4H2O} n . Each carboxyl-ate group of the succinate ligand coordinates to a CuII atom in a monodentate fashion, giving rise to a distorted square-planar geometry. The succinate ligands bridge the CuII centres, forming one-dimensional polymeric chains. Hydrogen bonds between the ligands and water mol-ecules link these chains into sheets that lie parallel to the ac plane. Hirshfeld surface analysis, d norm and two-dimensional fingerprint plots were examined to verify the contributions of the different inter-molecular contacts within the supra-molecular structure.

Crystal structure and Hirshfeld surface analysis of a copper(II) complex with ethyl-enedi-amine and non-coordinated benzoate.

In the title compound, di-aqua-bis-(ethyl-enedi-amine-κ2 N,N')copper(II) bis-(2-nitro-benzoate), [Cu(C2H8N2)2(H2O)2](C7H4NO4)2, two di-aqua-bis-(ethyl-enedi-amine)-copper(II) cations and four nitro-benzoate anions are present in the asymmetric unit. All four anions are 'whole-mol-ecule' disordered over two sets of sites. The major components have refined occupancies of 0.572 (13), 0.591 (9), 0.601 (9) and 0.794 (10). The CuII ions exhibit slightly distorted octa-hedral geometries. In the crystal, cations and anions are connected to each other via N-H⋯O and O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming a two-dimensional network parallel to (200). The inter-molecular contacts in the crystal were further analysed using Hirshfeld surface analysis, which indicates that the most significant contacts are O⋯H/H⋯O (42.9%), followed by H⋯H (35.7%), C⋯H/H⋯C (14.2%), C⋯C (2.9%), C⋯O/O⋯C (2.2%), N⋯H/H⋯N (0.9%) and N⋯O/O⋯N (0.3%).

Crystal structure and Hirshfeld surface analysis of a zinc xanthate complex containing the 2,2'-bi-pyridine ligand.

In the title compound, (2,2'-bi-pyridine-κ2 N,N')bis-(2-meth-oxy-ethyl xanthato-κS)zinc(II), [Zn(C4H7O2S2)2(C10H8N2)], the ZnII ion is coordinated to two N atoms of the 2,2'-bi-pyridine ligand and two S atoms from two 2-meth-oxy-ethyl xanthate ligands. The ZnII ion lies on a crystallographic twofold rotation axis and has distorted tetra-hedral coordination geometry. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked by weak C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming supramolecular chains propagating along the a-axis direction. Weak intra-molecular C-H⋯S hydrogen bonds are also observed. The inter-molecular contacts in the crystal were further analysed using Hirshfield surface analysis, which indicates that the most significant contacts are H⋯H (36.3%), followed by S⋯H/H⋯S (24.7%), C⋯H/H⋯C (15.1%), O⋯H/H⋯O (14.4%), N⋯H/H⋯N (4.1%) and C⋯C (2.9%).

Crystal structure and DFT study of a zinc xanthate complex.

In the title compound, bis-(2-meth-oxy-ethyl xanthato-κS)(N,N,N',N'-tetra-methyl-ethylenedi-amine-κ2 N,N')zinc(II) acetone hemisolvate, [Zn(C4H7O2S2)2(C6H16N2)]·0.5C3H6O, the ZnII ion is coordinated by two N atoms of the N,N,N',N'-tetra-methyl-ethylenedi-amine ligand and two S atoms from two 2-meth-oxy-ethyl xanthate ligands. The amine ligand is disordered over two orientations and was modelled with refined occupancies of 0.538 (6) and 0.462 (6). The mol-ecular structure features two C-H⋯O and two C-H⋯S intra-molecular inter-actions. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked by weak C-H⋯O and C-H⋯S hydrogen bonds, forming a three-dimensional supra-molecular architecture. The mol-ecular structure was optimized using density functional theory (DFT) at the B3LYP/6-311 G(d,p) level. The smallest HOMO-LUMO energy gap (3.19 eV) indicates the suitability of this crystal for optoelectronic applications. The mol-ecular electrostatic potential (MEP) further identifies the positive, negative and neutral electrostatic potential regions of the mol-ecules. Half a mol-ecule of disordered acetone was removed with the solvent-mask procedure in OLEX2 [Dolomanov et al. (2009 ▸). J. Appl. Cryst. 42, 339-341] and this contribition is included in the formula.

A unique case of accessory/double nail of middle finger.

INTRODUCTION: A rudimentary, accessory or double nail of the middle finger of hand is extremely rare. Although rudimentary, accessory or double nail of the toes only described four times before, in the literature. Most cases are incidentally detected and only few patients seek help because they have discomfort and pain or cosmetic reasons. Some have a positive family history, but most patients cannot give any information concerning heredity or any previous trauma. PRESENTATION: A 28 year old male presented with an abnormal growth of the nail of middle finger of left hand,which was hard and pointed. It was causing pain and discomfort to patient when touched. This growth was made of keratinized material and inseparable from nail bed, which showed a longitudinal depression corresponding to a slight protuberance of the cuticle of primary nail. DISCUSSION: Being an extremely rare entity, this situation can lead to difficulty in diagnosis, so its symptoms and pattern of occurrence should be thoroughly noted. Surgical excision is the treatment of choice for patient's symptomatic relief and cosmetic concern. Nail unit resection procedure can easily be performed under local anesthesia. CONCLUSION: Accessory nail of finger should be removed surgically due to pain and discomfort or cosmetic reasons and histopathology should be done afterwards.

Vitamin D deficiency in patients with tuberculosis.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency and association of Vitamin D deficiency in patients with tuberculosis. STUDY DESIGN: Case control study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Medical Department, Combined Military Hospital, Kharian, from July 2010 to June 2012. METHODOLOGY: One hundred and five outdoor patients of tuberculosis were selected with 255 gender matched controls. Tuberculosis was diagnosed by presence of acid fast bacilli in sputum smears, positive culture for Mycobacterium tuberculosis or demonstration of chronic caseating granulomatous inflammation in tissue specimens. Controls were drawn randomly from general population. Serum 25 hydroxyvitamin D [25 (OH) D3] levels < 25 ng/ml was considered Vitamin D deficiency. The results were analyzed on SPSS version 17. RESULTS: Mean Vitamin D levels were 23.23 ± 6.81 ng/ml in cases, 29.27 ± 8.89 ng/ml in controls (p < 0.0001). Vitamin D deficiency was found in 57% of cases and 33% controls (p < 0.0001). Mean Vitamin D levels were significantly lower in females with tuberculosis (20.84 ng/ml) as compared to males (25.03 ng/ml, p = 0.002). Mean BMI in patients of tuberculosis with Vitamin D deficiency were 19.51 ± 1.77 kg/m2 and in patients with normal Vitamin D were 21.65 ± 1.79 kg/m2 (p < 0.0001). Mean Vitamin D levels in patients with multi-drug resistant tuberculosis was lower to a mean of 15.41 ± 4.67 ng/ml (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: There is significant deficiency of Vitamin D in patients with tuberculosis as compared to controls. This deficiency is more pronounced in females, individuals with low BMI, extra pulmonary and MDR tuberculosis.

Prevalence of vitamin B12 deficiency in patients of type 2 diabetes mellitus on metformin: a case control study from Pakistan.

INTRODUCTION: Diabetes Mellitus is the most common endocrine disorder and metformin is the most commonly prescribed oral hypoglycemic agent. Metformin is well known to cause viamin B12 deficiency due to effect on calcium-dependent membrane action in the terminal ileum leading to malabsorption of vitamin B12. The purpose of this study is to determine prevalence and associations of Vitamin B12 deficiency in patients of type 2 diabetes mellitus treated with metformin. METHODS: This case control study was carried out in department of medicine, Combined Military Hospital, Kharian from 1(st) Jan 2012 to 30 december 2012. We enrolled 114 outdoor patients of type 2 diabetes mellitus currently on metformin for atleast 12 months, by consecutive sampling, and 105 age and sex matched patients taken as control. Patients with vitamin B12 levels of less than 150 pg/ml were said to be B12 deficient. The results were analyzed on SPSS version 16. RESULTS: Serum B12 levels were low in 35 patients (31%) on metformin as compared to only 9 patients (8.6%) among controls,(p value 0.002). Mean B12 levels were significantly low in metformin group 311 pg/ml (±194.4), p value 0.03. Dose of metformin had inverse correlation with B12 levels and the difference was statistically significant with p-value < 0.001. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated significantly high prevalence of vitamin B12 deficiency in patients treated with metformin with significant effect of dose and duration of metformin use on B12 levels. Physicians must recognize this important fact and screen diabetics on metformin therapy for underlying B12 deficiency.

Frequency and psychosocial impact of acne on university and college students.

Objectives of the study were to describe the frequency of acne in late adolescent and adult students and to evaluate psychosocial impact of the disease. It was a cross-sectional study conducted in four institutions, from June to August 2008. Questionnaires with Cardiff Acne Disability Index (CADI) were filled by 950 students. They were examined for presence and severity of acne. Age ranged from 17 to 28 years. Frequency of facial acne was 74.6%. Difference between the genders was not statistically significant. Mean ADI score was 2.67 + 5.35, and range was 0-13. The disease had a greater psychosocial impact on females as compared to males.

Experimental testing of hot mix asphalt mixture made of recycled aggregates.

The migration of population towards big cities generates rapid construction activities. These activities not only put pressure on natural resources but also produce construction, renovation and demolition waste. There is an urgent need to find out ways to handle this waste owing to growing environmental concerns. This can reduce pressure on natural resources as well. This paper presents the results of experimental studies which were carried out on hot mix asphalt mixture samples. These samples were manufactured by adding recycled aggregates (RA) with natural crushed stone aggregates (CSA). Three levels of addition of RA were considered in the presented studies. RA were obtained from both the concrete waste of construction, renovation and demolition activities and reclaimed asphalt pavement. Separate samples were manufactured with the coarse and fine aggregate fractions of both types of RA. Samples made with CSA were used as control specimens. The samples were prepared and tested using the Marshall method. The performance of the samples was investigated in terms of density-void and stability/flow analysis and was compared with the performance criteria as given by National Highway Authority for wearing course material in Pakistan. Based on this data optimum asphalt contents were determined. All the samples made by adding up to 50% RA conform to the specification requirements of wearing course material as given by National Highway Authority in terms of optimum asphalt contents, voids in mineral aggregates and stability/flow. A statistical analysis of variation of these samples confirmed that addition is also possible statistically.