The suppression of MAPK/NOX/MMP signaling prompts renoprotection conferred by prenatal naproxen in weaning preeclamptic rats.

Although nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are frequently used for fever and pain during pregnancy, their possible interaction with perinatal renal injury induced by preeclampsia (PE) has not been addressed. Here, studies were undertaken in the N(gamma)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) PE model to assess the influence of gestational NSAIDs on renal damage in weaning dams. PE-evoked increments and decrements in urine protein and creatinine clearance, respectively, were intensified by celecoxib and weakened by diclofenac or naproxen. Naproxen also improved renal cloudy swelling, necrosis, and reduced glomerular area evoked by PE. The concomitant rises in renal expression of markers of oxidative stress (NOX2/4), extracellular matrix metaloproteinase deposition (MMP9), and prostanoids (PGE2, PGF2α, TXA2) were all more effectively reduced by naproxen compared with celecoxib or diclofenac. Western blotting showed tripled expression of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs; p-p38, p-JNK1, p-ERK1, p-ERK2) in PE kidneys that was overturned by all NSAIDs, with naproxen producing the largest drop in p-ERK2 expression. The PE-provoked elevation in renal expression of autophagic marker LC3 was reduced by naproxen and diclofenac, but not celecoxib. The data suggests superior effect for naproxen over other NSAIDs in rectifying preeclamptic renal injury and predisposing inflammatory, oxidative, autophagic, and fibrotic signals.

Gestational NSAIDs distinctly reprogram cardiac injury in preeclamptic rats: Roles of cyclooxygenase, apoptotic and autophagic trails.

AIMS: Considering the role of cyclooxygenases (COX) in placental programming induced by preeclampsia (PE), we investigated whether gestational exposure to nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) with different COX-1/2 selectivity would variably modulate pre- and postnatal (weaning time, i.e. 3 weeks after delivery) cardiovascular manifestations of PE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: PE was induced by oral administration of Nω-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 50 mg/kg/day for 7 days) to pregnant rats starting from day 14 of gestation. Rats were treated simultaneously with celecoxib (10 mg/kg/day), diclofenac (0.5 mg/kg/day), or naproxen (1 mg/kg/day). KEY FINDINGS: Tail-cuff measurements revealed a higher systolic blood pressure (SBP) in PE mothers at gestational day 20 (GD20). More exaggerated rises in prenatal SBP were noted in PE rats treated with celecoxib but not diclofenac or naproxen. Higher levels of serum creatine and kinase MB (CK-MB), a biomarker of cardiac damage, were demonstrated in weaning PE rats and this effect was suppressed by naproxen only. Additionally, naproxen was the most effective among all 3 NSAIDs in diminishing the PE-induced surges in (i) cardiomyocyte cross-sectional area, (ii) cardiac COX-1/COX-2 activities, (iii) arachidonate metabolites (PGE2, PGF2α, and TXA2), (iv) caspase-3 and beclin-1 expressions. By contrast, the PE-related increments in cardiac expression of antiangiogenic (sFlt-1, and endoglin-1) and inflammatory (nuclear factor kappa B, NF-κB) factors were indiscriminately reduced by all NSAIDs. SIGNIFICANCE: Compared with celecoxib or diclofenac, naproxen appears to be the most advantageous in minimizing cardiac damage in weaning PE rats due to its synchronized downregulatory effects on cyclooxygenase, apoptotic, and autophagic pathways.

Wind Turbine Blades Using Recycled Carbon Fibers: An Environmental Assessment.

Polymers reinforced with virgin carbon fibers (VCF) are being used to make spar caps of wind turbine (WT) blades and polymers with glass fibers (GF) to make skins of the blade components. Here, we assess the life cycle environmental performance of the hybrid blades with spar caps based on VCF and the shells and shear webs based on RCF (recycled CF) composites (RCF-hybrid). The production of the WT blades and associated reinforced polymers is assumed to occur in Sweden, with their uses and end-of-life management in the European region. The functional unit is equivalent to three blades in an offshore WT with the market incumbent blades solely based on the GF composite or the hybrid option. The RCF-hybrid blades offer 12-89% better environmental performance in nine out of 10 impact categories and 6-26% better in six out of 10 impact categories. The RCF-hybrid blades exhibit optimum environmental performance when the VCF manufacturing facilities are equipped with pollution abatement systems including regenerative thermal oxidizers to reduce ammonia and hydrogen cyanide emissions; spar caps are made using VCF epoxy composites through pultrusion and resin infusion molding, and the blade scrap is mechanically recycled at the end of life. The energy and carbon payback times for the RCF-hybrid blades were found to be 5-13% lower than those of the market incumbents.

Montelukast potentiates the antiinflammatory effect of NSAIDs in the rat paw formalin model and simultaneously minimizes the risk of gastric damage.

OBJECTIVE AND DESIGN: Montelukast, a cysteinyl leukotriene receptor antagonist, exhibits antiinflammatory action. We tested whether exposure to montelukast plus nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) elicits better control of paw inflammation in the rat formalin test and improves associated gastric damage. MATERIALS: A total of 46 adult male rats were used in the study. TREATMENTS: We evaluated separate and combined effects of montelukast (20 mg/kg), celecoxib (COX2 inhibitor, 10 mg/kg), and diclofenac (nonselective COX1/COX2 inhibitor, 10 mg/kg) on paw and gastric damage in the rat formalin test. RESULTS: Individual pretreatments of rats with montelukast, diclofenac, or celecoxib partly reduced formalin-induced increases in (i) paw edema, fibrosis, and inflammatory cells, (iii) serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) and leukotrienes (LTB4 and LTD4), and (iv) paw expressions of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and COX2. These effects were accentuated in rats treated with montelukast plus diclofenac or montelukast plus celecoxib. Alternatively, montelukast or celecoxib, but not diclofenac, alleviated formalin-evoked gastric damage and increments in tumor necrosis factor-α and decrements in prostaglandin-E2. These advantageous gastric influences were potentiated in rats treated with montelukast plus celecoxib. CONCLUSIONS: While montelukast equally enhances antiinflammatory action of diclofenac or celecoxib via downregulating iNOS/COX2/LTs/IL-6 signaling, its gastroprotective action is preferentially potentiated by celecoxib.

Environmental Impact and Environmental Cost Assessment of Methanol Production from wood biomass.

Increasing demand for biofuel production and global competition for the use of natural resources are key factors in finding new and environmentally safe routes for methanol production. In the present study, life cycle assessment was used to analyse the potential environmental impact and environmental cost of a novel methanol production process from wood compared to a conventional processes. Both the novel and the conventional process were divided into three stages: pre-treatment, gasification, and syngas cleaning and methanol synthesis. The environmental impacts were assessed and compared using Simapro 9 (ecoinvent 3.5 database) and the ReCiPe 2016 (World-H) midpoint method. The results, expressed per tonne methanol, showed that the impact categories of global warming potential (GWP) and marine ecotoxicity potential were lower in the novel process in comparison to the conventional process (48.2 kg CO2 eq. vs. 63.1 kg CO2 eq., and 4.55 kg 1,4-DCB vs. 6.35 kg 1,4-DCB respectively). However, the novel process had a higher environmental impact in the pre-treatment stage. The results of the sensitivity analysis showed that the GWP of the novel process increased from 48.2 kg CO2 eq. to 216 kg CO2 eq. due to the replacement of Na2CO3 by K2CO3. The human toxicity impact categories showed significant impact on environmental cost. These findings will help relevant industries to reduce their environmental impact and improve the production efficiency of methanol from wood.

Comparative environmental assessment of end-of-life carbonaceous water treatment adsorbents.

This study evaluates and compares the environmental impacts arising from the disposal of different carbonaceous sorbents used for wastewater treatment. Three different adsorption materials were considered, i.e. activated carbon, biochar and hydrochar, and three end-of-life management approaches, i.e. incineration, regeneration and landfilling. The highest overall environmental impact was of Carcinogenic effects and Freshwater Ecotoxicity due to emissions of heavy metals during production of all types of sorbents. The use of materials with higher adsorption capacities and regeneration of carbonaceous materials were considered and shown to be an efficient way for reducing the overall environmental impacts of the different adsorbents. The compensation of fossil fuel incineration by using recovered heat led to negative impacts in all categories. Recirculation of HTC process water reduced the impact on Freshwater Ecotoxicity and Eutrophication.

Identifying potential environmental impacts of waste handling strategies in textile industry.

Waste management is a successful instrument to minimize generated waste and improve environmental conditions. In spite of the large share of developing countries in the textile industry, limited information is available concerning the waste management strategies implemented for textiles on those countries and their environmental impacts. In the current study, two waste management approaches for hazardous solid waste treatment of acrylic fibers (landfill and incineration) were investigated. The main research questions were: What are the different impacts of each waste management strategy? Which waste management strategy is more ecofriendly? Life cycle assessment was employed in order to model the environmental impacts of each waste streaming approach separately then compare them together. Results revealed that incineration was the more ecofriendly approach. Highest impacts of both approaches were on ecotoxicity and carcinogenic potentials due to release of metals from pigment wastes. Landfill had an impact of 46.8 % on human health as compared to 28 % by incineration. Incineration impact on ecosystem quality was higher than landfill impact (68.4 and 51.3 %, respectively). As for resources category, incineration had a higher impact than landfill (3.5 and 2.0 %, respectively). Those impacts could be mitigated if state-of-the-art landfill or incinerator were used and could be reduced by applying waste to energy approaches for both management systems In conclusion, shifting waste treatment from landfill to incineration would decrease the overall environmental impacts and allow energy recovery. The potential of waste to energy approach by incineration with heat recovery could be considered in further studies. Future research is needed in order to assess the implementation of waste management systems and the preferable waste management strategies in the textile industry on developing countries.