There are various substances that can disrupt the homeostatic mechanisms of the body, defined as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). The persistent nature of microplastics (MPs) is a cause for concern due to their ability to accumulate in food chains and widespread use, making their toxic effects particularly alarming. The potential of MPs for disrupting the endocrine system was observed in multiple tissues. Moreover, the adrenal gland is known to be extremely sensitive to EDCs, while with the effect of MPs on the adrenal gland has not previously been studied. This study aimed to highlight the potential polyethylene microplastics (PE-MPs) induced adreno-toxic effects rather than exploring the implicated mechanisms and concluding if melatonin (Mel) can afford protection against PE-MPs induced adreno-toxicity. To fulfill the goal, six groups of rats were used; control, Mel, PE-MPs (3.75 mg/kg), PE-MPs (15 …

Endocrine disruptors are synthetic or natural chemicals that can agonize/antagonize hormone receptors or can interfere with the production and secretion of hormones, leading to altered tissue histology and physiology. Pyrogallol is a contaminant widely distributed in aquatic environments that presents health risks to both humans and animals. However, the potential for endocrine disruption by pyrogallol, particularly in fish, are lacking. The purpose of this study was to shed light on how pyrogallol may affect hormone signalling, histopathology, and reproductive outcomes in African catfish Clarias gariepinus. To investigate this, African catfish were exposed to one sublethal concentration of pyrogallol at either 0, 1, 5 or 10 mg/L for 15 days. We then assessed the effects of pyrogallol on the thyroid gland as well as the reproductive system by measuring sex hormone, seminal quality, gonadal histopathology, and …

This study reports the effects of bisphenol A (BPA) on the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis, focusing on growth performance, reproductive output, oxidative stress responses, and lipid metabolism genes. High BPA levels disrupted peak daily offspring production and led to oxidative stress and increased superoxide dismutase and catalase activity. The research identified distinctive monoacylglycerol O-acyltransferase (MGAT) and diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase (DGAT) genes in B. plicatilis, B. rotundiformis, and B. koreanus, enhancing understanding of lipid metabolism in these species. BPA exposure significantly altered MGAT and DGAT expression, and feeding status affected these regulatory patterns. When food was unavailable, BPA reduced DGAT2 and MGAT2a expression. However, under feeding conditions, DGAT2 and MGAT1 levels increased, indicating that nutritional status and BPA exposure interact to affect …

يشكل تغير المناخ العالمي، الناتج عن العمليات الطبيعية والقوى الخارجية والأنشطة البشرية، تهديدًا كبيرًا لرفاهية الإنسان وتنميته. إن ارتفاع منسوب مياه البحر ودرجات الحرارة يجعل مناطق مختلفة غير صالحة للسكن بشكل متزايد، حيث تواجه النظم البيئية البحرية مخاطر كبيرة، لا سيما من حوادث تبيض المرجان. البحر الأحمر، وهو منطقة محيطية حديثة النشأة تشكلت من تباعد الصفيحتين التكتونيتين العربية والأفريقية، يمتد على مسافة 2250 كم تقريبًا في الطول و355 كم في العرض، ويصل إلى أعماق تصل إلى 2200 متر. تتميز هذه المنطقة بمناظر طبيعية قاحلة وتضاريس جبلية. أحد المخاوف الكبيرة بشأن البحر الأحمر هو وجود الرمال السوداء على طول ساحله في مصر. هذه الرمال غنية بالمعادن ذات اللون الداكن مثل المغنتيت والإلمنيت والهيماتيت، والتي يشمل تكوينها السيليكا وأكسيد الحديد وأكسيد التيتانيوم. وقد تم استخدام تقنيات مثل فلورة الأشعة السينية (XRF) وحيود الأشعة السينية (XRD) لتحليل تكوينه. يُسهم تأثير البياض للرمال السوداء، الذي يتميز بضعف قدرتها على عكس الإشعاع الشمسي، في زيادة امتصاص الحرارة والاحترار الموضعي. يؤثر هذا الاحترار على درجات حرارة سطح البحر الأحمر، التي تتأثر بعوامل مثل تفاعلات الهواء والبحر والعواصف الترابية. الآثار البيئية لتعدين الرمال السوداء عميقة، مع مخاطر تشمل تدمير الموائل والتلوث. تؤكد هذه الأنشطة على الحاجة إلى دراسات شاملة وممارسات إدارة مستدامة في منطقة البحر الأحمر. إن معالجة الآثار البيئية المرتبطة بتعدين الرمال السوداء أمر بالغ الأهمية للحفاظ على النظام البيئي للبحر الأحمر. علاوة على ذلك، يُعد التعاون الدولي والممارسات المستدامة أمرًا حيويًا في حماية النظام البيئي للبحر الأحمر من الآثار الضارة لتغير المناخ. من خلال فهم التفاعل بين تغير المناخ والأنشطة البشرية، مثل تعدين الرمال السوداء، وتنفيذ استراتيجيات فعالة للحفاظ عليها، يمكننا العمل على التخفيف من الآثار السلبية على هذه البيئة البحرية الفريدة والحيوية.

This research was carried out for two successive seasons (2022 and 2023) in a private orchard located at Assiut Governorate, Egypt, to evaluate the effectiveness of propolis extract and sodium thiosulfate in maintaining the quality attributes of Saidy date palm fruits during storage. The date palms were 17 years old, grown in a sandy soil, spaced at 8 * 8 meters apart, and irrigated by the drip system. At the end of August, five pre-harvest treatments of date bunches were sprayed as follows:  two concentrations of propolis (3% and 5%) and two concentrations of sodium thiosulfate (0.5% and 1%), in addition to the control treatment (spraying with water). Date bunches were stored at ambient conditions (21 ± 7°C and 60 – 70% RH) for 75 days, and the fruit quality was evaluated every 15 days. The results demonstrated that all quality analyses showed that all applied treatments outperformed the control. Sodium thiosulfate at 1% and propolis extract at 5% were more effective than various treatments Saidy date fruits last longer by lowering the number of fungi, slowing down physiological and weight loss as well as decay. It is delaying changes in total soluble solids, total acidity, as well as total sugars during 75 days of storage at room temperature (21 ± 7°C and 60 – 70% RH) in both seasons.

Due to the excessive release of toxic and hazardous compounds into the environment, environmental pollution is increasing day by day. This rapid increase in pollutants results from industrialization and urbanization expansion. This pollutant affects in a harmful way to all the living forms, alters the environmental conditions and ecology, and changes diversity manner. The removal of these pollutants has been attempted using numerous conventional approaches, but they have not proven very successful. Until now microbial bioremediation represents the safest way to turn pollutants into non-hazardous materials. Soil ecosystem contains diverse microorganisms with a large capacity of removing a large number of pollutants through their unique enzymatic power. Microbial enzymes are proven to be an efficient and environmentally friendly technology solution for detoxifying pollutants from the environment. Many soil organic pollutants can be remedied by enzymes, including organo-heavy metals, PAHs, azo dyes, and polymers. Hydrolase enzymes (esterase, protease, lipase, cellulase, cutinase), and organophosphorus hydrolase enzymes (oxygenase, peroxidase, laccase) are the main pollutant-remediating soil enzymes. The current state of soil pollution, harmful pollutants’ impacts on soil life forms, as well as the microbial bioremediation enzymes, types, mechanisms, and possible applications, will be discussed in this chapter.

Background Soil-borne diseases are becoming more prevalent due to climate change, while the use of pesticides
is being discouraged due to their harmful environmental impacts. This study explored the potential of natural
compounds, specifically fucoidan from brown seaweed and nanohydroxyapatite from calcareous red seaweed, as
eco-friendly alternatives for mitigating Fusarium infections. The treatments aimed to enhance the plant’s defense
mechanisms and improve seedling growth.
Results The treatments using fucoidan, nanohydroxyapatite, or their combination at concentrations of 250–500 μg
mL⁻¹ for 6 h, significantly enhanced seedling growth, including increased height, root area, and both fresh and dry
weights. Photosynthetic pigment levels and total flavonoid contents increased by more than 30% in treated seedlings
compared to the infected control. Malondialdehyde levels, an indicator of oxidative stress, were notably reduced,
comparable to or lower than those in the non-infected control. Enzymatic activities associated with plant defense,
such as chitinase and polyphenol oxidase, were also higher in treated seedlings. Anatomical improvements were
observed, including enhanced vascular cylinder and metaxylem areas. FT-IR analyses highlighted several biochemical
changes, such as an increased CH₂/CH₃ ratio indicating lipid structural variation, reduced amide I and II bands, an
increase in the C = C band (linked to lignin), and a higher degree of esterification compared to infected controls.
Conclusions The study demonstrates that fucoidan and nanohydroxyapatite are promising sustainable, cost-
effective, and environmentally friendly treatments that effectively boost the defense responses and growth of faba
bean seedlings against Fusarium falciforme ASU26 infection. These natural compounds could serve as alternatives to
conventional pesticides, offering enhanced plant resistance to pathogens and supporting healthier plant growth.

Silver-based metal organic frameworks (MOFs) have recently acquired considerable interest due to their potential applications in sensing and detection, bioimaging, and light-emitting devices. Incorporating specific linkers or functional groups into the MOF structure can tailor their fluorescence characteristics and thus can selectively respond to target analytes. Herein, we report the synthesis of a novel luminescent silver-based MOFs (SOF1) derived from 2,3-dihydroxyterephthalic acid (2,3-DHBDC). The formation of SOF1 was established via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and elemental analysis. The synthesis conditions i.e. molar ratio of Ag to 2,3-DHBDC and temperature played a crucial role in the formation of clean SOF with no formation of silver nanoparticles (NPs). High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) revealed various shapes depending on the synthesis conditions. Mostly, octahedrons and hexagons were observed for SOFs obtained utilizing molar ratio of 1:1 and 1:2, respectively. Furthermore, the selected area electron diffraction (SAED) revealed its high crystallinity. The synthesized SOF1 showed a distinct and strong fluorescent signal that is much higher than that produced from SOF2 based on the isomeric ligand; 2,5-dihydroxyterephthalic acid (2,5-DHBDC). The designed sensor was utilized for the sensitive detection of trifluralin (TRF) pesticide in river water samples. The achieved limit of detection of TRF was found to be 8 μg/L. The fluorescence quenching was experimentally and mathematically confirmed to primarily occur through the mechanisms of inner-filter effect (IFE), static quenching (SQ) and photoinduced electron transfer (PET). Moreover, a thin film of SOF1 was synthesized for selective visualization of TRF.

This study uniquely emphasizes the crucial role of MOF synthesis techniques in optimizing electrocatalytic properties and enhancing electroanalytical performance. The main aim of this work is to develop a highly sensitive, selective, and cost-effective electrochemical sensor for detecting sunitinib malate (SUN) in serum samples collected from renal cancer patients. The designed sensor was based on using CuO nanoparticles/lanthanum 1,4-napthalene dicarboxylic acid (NDC) MOF-modified carbon paste electrode (CuO NPs/LaNDC-MOF/CPE) coupled with square-wave adsorptive anodic stripping voltammetry (SW-AdASV) as the electrochemical technique. Two MOF synthetic approaches were utilized i.e. conventional (Conv.) and solvothermal (Solvo.). The synthesized La-MOFs were characterized using X-ray Diffraction analysis (XRD), Fourier transform IR spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherm (BET). LaNDC-MOF (Conv.) has a higher surface area (four times) than LaNDC-MOF (Solvo.). Moreover, the modified electrode based on LaNDC-MOF (Conv.) exhibited better electrocatalytic activity and improved sensitivity towards the oxidation of SUN than that prepared through solvothermal route. Various experimental parameters, including accumulation potential, accumulation time, and pH of the supporting electrolyte, were optimized to obtain the best analytical performance. The fabricated sensor based on CuO NPs/LaNDC-MOF/CPE showed an oxidation peak of SUN at 0.66 V vs Ag/AgCl. Under the optimized conditions, SW-AdASV method exhibited a linear response over a concentration range of 0.01–1.0 μmol l^-1 with a detection limit of 0.002 μmol l^-1 for SUN. The proposed method was successfully applied for the determination of SUN in pharmaceutical formulations and serum samples of renal cancer patients. Moreover, the proposed methodology via modification of CPE with the synthesized MOFs tailors them to be applied for clinical analysis and therapeutic drug monitoring of SUN, providing a valuable tool for personalized medicine and improving the treatment outcomes for renal cancer patients.

Global environmental problems are one of the biggest threats to humanity today. These problems include water contamination, which is made worse by the economy's and industry's rapid growth. We describe in this work a new method for synthesis of ZrMo₂O₈ nanoparticles (NPs) by employing a phosphomolybdic acid (PMA)-modified zirconium ceftriaxone complex as a precursor. The precursor was thermally decomposed for 2 h at 600 °C, producing ZrMo₂O₈ NPs. Using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), the structural and morphological characteristics of the produced NPs were described. ZrMo₂O₈ NPs had a dense spherical structure with an average diameter of 25.2 nm. The surface characteristics of the modified complex and the resulting ZrMo₂O₈ NPs were investigated via nitrogen adsorption-desorption. Their specific surface areas were determined using the BET method to be 22.4 m²/g and 21.7 m²/g, respectively. Remarkably, ZrMo₂O₈ NPs showed a greater pore volume of 0.041 cm³/g and a larger pore width of 2.26 nm. Conversely, the modified complex had a pore volume of 0.023 cm³/g and a pore width of 2.06 nm. The adsorption efficiency of the ZrMo₂O₈ NPs was tested for the removal of Rhodamine B dye (RhB) from aqueous solutions. The adsorption studies indicated that the ZrMo₂O₈ NPs (50 mg) show rapid RhB adsorption (50 mL of 5.0 ppm), 95 % removal efficiency was attained in 180 min at pH 7. The highest adsorption capacity of 9.5 mg/g was observed when using 15 mg of ZrMo₂O₈ and 50 mL of 10.0 ppm RhB dye at pH 7. The studies of linear and non-linear kinetics showed that the adsorption mechanism is best described by pseudo-second-order model. The reusability of ZrMo₂O₈ NPs was examined over several cycles. Only a slight decrease in removal efficiency was observed, with removal efficacy reached 90 % after four cycles. Our results showed that the PMA-modified zirconium ceftriaxone complex is an effective precursor for producing ZrMo₂O₈ NPs. Furthermore, the nanoparticles are highly efficient adsorbents for the dye removal applications.