Cleaner technologies to combat heavy metal toxicity.

Heavy metals frequently occur as silent poisons present in our daily diet, the environment we live and the products we use, leaving us victims to various associated drastic health and ecological bad effects even in meagre quantities. The prevalence of heavy metals can be traced from children's toys, electronic goods, industrial effluents, pesticide preparation, and even in drinking water in some instances; necessitating methods to remediate them. The current review discusses the various physicochemical and biological methods employed to tackle the problem of heavy metal pollution. Apart from the conventional methods following the principles of adsorption, precipitation, coagulation, and various separation techniques, the advancements made in the directions of biological heavy metal detoxification using microbes, plants, algae have been critically analyzed to identify the specific utility of different agents for specific heavy metal removal. The review paper is a nutshell of different heavy metal remediation strategies, their merits, demerits, and modifications done to alleviate process of heavy metal pollution.

Prevalence of vitamin deficiencies in an apparently healthy urban adult population: Assessed by subclinical status and dietary intakes.

OBJECTIVES: Studies in children and pregnant women consistently showed pandemic proportions of micronutrient deficiencies in the Indian subcontinent. However, vitamin deficiencies in apparently healthy adults are seldom recognized, hence the aim of this exploratory study was to assess their subclinical vitamin status and dietary intakes. METHODS: In all, 270 apparently healthy urban adults 30 to 70 y of age, from Hyderabad city, India participated in this study. Blood levels of vitamins (A, B1, B2, B6, total and active B12, D, and folate) and homocysteine were assessed. Anthropometric parameters were measured; dietary intake was obtained by food frequency questionnaire, and probability of adequacy (PA) was calculated by the estimated average requirement. RESULTS: Among the study population, the overall prevalence of deficiency of vitamin B2 was strikingly high (50%) followed by the vitamins B6 (46%), active B12 (46%), total B12 (37%), folate (32%), D (29%), B1 (11%), and A (6%). Hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcys) was widely prevalent (52%) in the study participants. In case of dietary intakes, PA was lowest for vitamin B12 (4%) and folate (9%) followed by vitamins A (22%), B2 (33%), B6 (30%), and B1 (59%). The mean PA of these vitamins was noticeably low (28%). The unadjusted logistic regression analysis found men and those with a deficiency of folate and total and active B12 to be at higher risk for HHcys. In the adjusted model, the risk for active B12 deficiency almost doubled. CONCLUSION: The study demonstrated a high prevalence of multiple subclinical vitamin deficiencies, dietary inadequacies, and HHcys, which are possible risk factors for disease burden among apparently healthy adults.

Status of Vitamin B12 and Folate among the Urban Adult Population in South India.

BACKGROUND: Deficiency of vitamin B12 (B12) and folate (FA) leads to a wide spectrum of disorders that affect all age groups. However, reports on B12 and FA status in healthy adults in India are limited. Hence, we determined the plasma levels and dietary intake of B12 and FA in the adult population. METHODS: We conducted a community-based cross-sectional study in an urban setup among 630 apparently healthy adults distributed into 3 age groups: 21-40, 41-60 and >60 years. Plasma concentrations of B12 and FA were analyzed by radio immunoassay and dietary intake by 24-hour recall method. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of FA deficiency was 12%, but there was no significant difference in plasma FA concentrations among the groups. While the overall prevalence of B12 deficiency was 35%, it was significantly higher in the 21-40 (44%) and 41-60 age groups (40%) when compared with the >60 group (30%). B12 deficiency was higher in vegetarians (54%) compared to those consuming mixed diet (31%), and the reverse was the case with FA. However, the dietary intakes of FA and B12 were not significantly different among the groups. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate a higher prevalence of B12 deficiency in apparently healthy adults in an urban setup.

Plasma vitamin D status in patients with type 2 diabetes with and without retinopathy.

OBJECTIVE: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a common cause of blindness. Although an association between hypovitaminosis D and type 1 diabetes is known, the association between vitamin D (VD) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) and its complications such as DR has been unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the status of VD in T2D patients with and without DR. METHODS: A cross-sectional case-control study was conducted with 99 normal control (CN) participants and 164 patients with T2D, of which 82 had retinopathy (DR) and 82 did not (DNR). After a complete ophthalmic examination, inclusive of fundus fluorescein angiography, the clinical profile and the plasma levels of VD and calcium were analyzed. RESULTS: Although the mean plasma VD levels were significantly lower in the DNR and DR groups compared with the CN group, no significant differences were observed between the groups with diabetes. Although the mean levels of VD in all three groups were below the normal range, the prevalence of VD deficiency (VDD) was higher in the DNR and DR groups (66% and 63%) than in the CN group (45%), suggesting that the prevalence of VDD was higher in individuals with diabetes, regardless of the presence or absence of retinopathy. However, there were no group differences in the plasma levels of calcium. Additionally, VDD did not seem to be related to patient's age or body mass index, but was related to the duration of diabetes. CONCLUSION: Results from this study suggest a possible association between VDD and T2D, but not specifically with DR. Further investigations are warranted.

Congenital asymptomatic absence of pericardium.

An interesting congenital anomaly of the pericardium is its absence. One such case is reported here. Recent literature is reviewed also.