Background: Automobile spray painting is considered an occupation with a high risk of respiratory impairment and asthma. Exposure to organic solvents used for spraying might be of high risk for development of dysfunction in other organs.
Objective: The study was designed to evaluate the pulmonary and hepatic toxicity due to exposure of automobile painters to organic solvents in work places within the Baghdad governorate area.
Methods: Thirty cross sectional selected male workers employed in automobile body paint shops in two industrial areas within Baghdad city (Al-Sheikh Omar and Al-Rasheed camp regions) were recruited to the study during the period from March to May 2012. Thirty non-exposed students and employees in the college of pharmacy-University of Baghdad, age matched with workers, were included as control group. Pulmonary function test (PFT) was performed for all subjects using flow spirometry and blood samples were obtained for evaluation of serum transaminases (AST and ALT), in addition to serum levels of total bilirubin and albumin. The results were correlated with age of workers and duration of exposure.
Results: The results indicated significant decrease in PFT markers (FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC and PEF) compared to control group, while liver function did not significantly affected. Correlation of the PFT markers with age and duration of exposure reveals non significant values.
Conclusion: Spray painting is an occupation which involves the risk of respiratory impairment and also confirms the need of regular medical examinations and implementation of appropriate measures to prevent adverse respiratory effects of workplace exposure in automobile spray painters.
Piroxicam is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used in the treatment of musculo-skeletal and joint disorders. The problem with this drug is its poor solubility in water and hence poor bioavailability after oral administration. In order to improve its solubility and dissolution behavior, hydrophilic additives such as starch, lactose, superdisintegrants including crospovidone (C.P), cross carmellose sodium (CCS), and sodium starch glycolate (SSG) were physically dry mixed with the drug by simple trituration. The improvement in the solubility in 0.1 N HCl was obtained as the amount of starch or lactose increased in the physical mixture, while for superdisintegrants, they further improve the solubility when they are present in s
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Samples prepared by using carbon black as a filler material and phenolic resin as a binder. The samples were pressed in a (3) cm diameter cylindrical die to (250)MPa and treated thermally within temperature range of (600-1000)oC for two and three hours. Physical properties tests were performed, like density, porosity, and X-ray tests. Moreover vicker microhardness and electric resistivity tests were done. From the results, it can be concluded that density was increased while porosity was decreased gradually with increasing temperature and treating time. In microhardness test, it found that more temperature and treating time cause more hardness. Finally the resistivity was decreased in steps with temperature and treating time. It can be c
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Cadmium sulfide and Aluminum doped CdS thin films were prepared by thermal evaporation technique in vacuum on a heated glass substrates at 373K. A comparison between the optical properties of the pure and doped films was made through measuring and analyzing the transmittance curves, and the effect of the annealing temperature on these properties were estimated. All the films were found to exhibit high transmittance in the visible/ near infrared region from 500nm to 1100nm.The optical band gap energy was found to be in the range 2.68-2.60 eV and 2.65-2.44 eV for CdS and CdS:Al respectively , with changing the annealing temperature from room temperature to 423K.Optical constants such as refractive index, extinction coefficient, and complex di
... Show MoreIn this work, 332 Al alloy was prepared and reinforced with (0.5% and 1%) nano-Al2O3 particles. The prepared unreinforced and reinforced 332 Al alloy with nano-Al2O3 were solution heat treated (T6) at 510 ̊C and aged at 225 ̊C with different times (1, 3, and 5 h). Hardness test was performed on all the prepared alloys. All prepared alloys were dry slided under different applied loads (5, 10, 15, and 20 N) against steel counterface surface using pin on disk apparatus. The results showed that refinement effect was observed after addition of nano-Al2O3 particles and a change in silicon morphology after performing the solution heat treatment. The results also showed that har
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Effect of the thermal annealing at 400oC for 2 hours and Argon laser radiation for half hour on the optical properties of AgAlS2 thin films, prepared on glass slides by chemical spray pyrolysis at 360oC with (0.18±0.05) μm thickness .The optical characteristics of the prepared thin films have been investigated by UV/Vis spectrophotometer in the wavelength range (300 – 1100)nm .The films have a direct allow electronic transition with optical energy (Eg) values decreased from (2.25) eV for untreated thin films to (2.10) eV for the annealed films and to (2.00) eV for the radiated films. The maximum value of the refractive index (n) for all thin films are given about (2.6). Also the extinction coefficient (K) and the real and imaginary d
... Show MoreIn the present work, pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique was applied to a pellet of Chromium Oxide (99.999% pure) with 2.5 cm diameter and 3 mm thickness at a pressure of 5 Tons using a Hydraulic piston. The films were deposited using Nd: YAG laser λ= (4664) nm at 600 mJ and 400 number of shot on a glass substrate, The thickness of the film was (107 nm). Structural and morphological analysis showed that the films started to crystallize at annealing temperature greater than 400 oC. Absorbance and transmittance spectra were recorded in the wavelength range (300-
4400) nm before and after annealing. The effects of annealing temperature on absorption coefficient, refractive index, extinction coefficient, real and imaginary parts of d
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Fiber reinforced polymer composite is an important material for structural application. The diversified application of FRP composite has taken center of attraction for interdisciplinary research. However, improvements on mechanical properties of this class of materials are still under research for different applications. In this paper we have modified the epoxy matrix by Al2O3, SiO2 and TiO2 nano particles in glass fiber/epoxy composite to improve the mechanical and physical properties. The composites are fabricated by hand lay-up method. It is observed that mechanical properties like flexural strength, hardness are more in case of SiO2 modified epoxy composite compare to other nano
... Show MoreThis research aims to investigate the effect of four types of nanomaterial on the Marshall properties and durability of warm mix asphalt (WMA). These types are; nano silica(NS), nano carbonate calcium (NCC), nano clay(NC), and nanoplatelets (NP). For each type of Nanomaterial, three contents are tried as following; NS(1%, 3%, and 5%), NCC(2%, 4%, and 6%), NC(3%, 5%, and 7%), and NP (2%, 4%, and 6%) by weight of asphalt cement. Following Marhsall mix design method, the optimum asphalt cement content is determined, thereafter the optimum dosage for each nanomaterial is obtained based on the highest Marshall stability value. The durability of the control mix (no nanomaterial) and modified mixtures have been compared based on moisture damage, r
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The increasing population growth resulting in the tremendous increase in consumption of fuels, energy, and petrochemical products and coupled with the depletion in conventional crude oil reserves and production make it imperative for Nigeria to explore her bitumen reserves so as to meet her energy and petrochemicals needs. Samples of Agbabu bitumen were subjected to thermal cracking in a tubular steel reactor operated at 10 bar pressure to investigate the effect of temperature on the cracking reaction. The gas produced was analyzed in a Gas Chromatograph while the liquid products were subjected to Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. Heptane was the dominant gas produced in bitumen cracking at all temperatures and the r
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