ery from SD. These results suggest that memantine could be considered for future clinical trials targeting SD, and in some cases as an adjunct or alternative to ketamine.

These data extend recent work showing that N-Methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonists can improve recovery from SD. These results suggest that memantine could be considered for future clinical trials targeting SD, and in some cases as an adjunct or alternative to ketamine.

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus is a chronic metabolic disease that causes endothelial damage and is an important risk factor for atherosclerosis. In the present study vitamin D3 supplementation in rats was used to determine the role of Osteoprotegerin (OPG)/Receptor activator kB ligand (RANKL) signalling in endothelial damage and changes in the expression levels of genes involved in this pathway. We hypothesized that vitamin D3 supplementation affects OPG and RANKL activity in the aorta.

Diabetes was induced in rats via injections of 40mg/kg of streptozotocin followed by a high fructose (10%) diet. Group 2 (healthy) and 4 (diabetic) received 170IU/kg of vitamin D3 weekly for 5weeks, while Group 1 (healthy) and 2 (diabetic) received sterile saline. The aortas of each group were collected to analyse mRNA expression using the real-time PCR method and also to evaluate magnesium and calcium levels using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

Opg and Il-1b expression levels were significantly associated withibute to the regulation of cytokine-mediated vascular homeostasis and mineral deposition in the aorta; therefore, further comprehensive studies are proposed to demonstrate this relationship.Groundwater aquifers in Morocco’s coastal regions are under serious threat as a result of climate change. This study was conducted to evaluate and map the quality of water resources, by evaluating the level of pollution of the groundwater in the Meskala-Ouazzi sub-basin, a coastal area of Essaouira based on the physico-chemical analysis of 58 samples using a geographic information system (GIS) technique, analytical analysis, nitrate pollution index (NPI), and groundwater pollution index (GPI). The diagram piper of the study area is dominated by Cl-Ca-Mg, Cl-Na, HCO3-Ca-Mg, and SO4-Ca types. The concentrations of nitrate ranged from 2 to 175 mg/L. It was discovered that 22% of the groundwater samples had nitrate amounts greater than the World Health Organization’s recommended maximum allowable level of 50 mg/L. The NPI ranged between - 0.9 and 7.8. According to the classification of NPI, 44.8% of the total groundwater samples represent clean water, indicating that the groundwater in the study area is suitable for irrigation. GPI values ranging from 0.6 to 3.7, with an average of 1.7, identifies 37.9% of all groundwater samples as low polluted. The inverse distance weighting (IDW) approach was used to generate a spatial distribution map, which indicates that appropriate groundwater is present in the sub-upstream basin’s part. Overall, the forte concentration in groundwater samples detected in western and central areas showed that the nitrate originated from large amounts of nitrogen fertilizer used by humans in agricultural activities during periods of irrigation. The low tritium (δ3H) content shows that the aquifer recharge is stale water and excessive use of fertilizers leads to groundwater pollution faster over time.Cadmium (Cd) in agricultural soils can be absorbed by wheat and transferred into the grains, risking human health. In order to find the optimal foliar treatment method to reduce Cd accumulation in wheat grain, nineteen single-factor foliar treatments and multi-factor combination treatments were used to study the effects of different foliar sprays on Cd accumulation of wheat grain. The results showed that the foliar application of ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA), selenium (Se), and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) can significantly reduce Cd concentration in wheat grains by 49.2%, 29.6%, and 28.8%, respectively, in the field. Foliar application of EDTA, Se, zinc (Zn), ascorbic acid (ASC), silicon (Si), and molybdenum (Mo) can significantly reduce Cd concentration of wheat grains by 32.3%, 32.0%, 27.7%, 27.7%, 26.3%, and 25.9%, respectively, in pot experiment. Foliar application of 2 mM EDTA and 2 mM Se exerted excellent effects on controlling the Cd accumulation of wheat grains both in pot and field experiment. Foliar application with 0.1 mM Se or 2 mM EDTA significantly reduced Cd concentrations in grains both in grain filling stage and heading + grain filling stage. Spraying at the filling stage has a better effect on reducing Cd concentration in grains than spraying at the heading stage. In addition, the relationship between Cd concentration in grains and husks was significantly positive, while the Cd concentration in grains and flag leaves was significantly negative. Our research proves that foliar spraying of Se and EDTA is feasible to reduce the Cd concentration in wheat grains, which provides technical guidance for the safe production of wheat in low-Cd-contaminated soils.High concentration of nitrate (NO3-) in groundwater is a major concern because of its complex origin and harmful effects on human health. This study aims to investigate the distributions of nitrate in various aquifers and in areas with different land use types in alluvial-pluvial fans in North China Plain, to identify dominant sources and factors using hydrochemical data and principal component analysis, and to conduct health-risk assessment of groundwater nitrate using the models recommended by USEPA. Results show that approximately 76.1% groundwater in fissured aquifers showed high-NO3- (> 50 mg/L), and was 2.7 times of that in granular aquifers. In fissured aquifers, the proportion of high-NO3- groundwater (PHNG-WHO) in peri-urban areas was more than 1.3 times of those in other areas. Similarly, in shallow granular aquifers, the PHNG-WHO in peri-urban areas was also higher than that in other areas. By contrast, in deep granular aquifers, the PHNG-WHO in urbanized areas was 2.8 and 5.2 times of that in peri-urban areas and farmland, respectively. High NO3- levels in both granular and fissured aquifers originated mainly from domestic sewage and animal waste, and fertilizers are also important sources of NO3- in fissured aquifers. Intensive groundwater exploitation aggravated nitrate contamination because more thickness of vadose zones resulting from over-exploitation is in favor of nitrification. Risk assessment of groundwater nitrate indicated about 43.3%, 45.6%, and 54.2% of the groundwater samples showed unacceptable non-carcinogenic risk to adult males, adult females, and children, respectively. The proportion of samples with health risks had a significant positive correlation with the urbanization level. Our study indicates that several effective measures for pollution prevention, such as strengthening sewage treatment and prohibiting groundwater over-exploitation, must be adopted so as to ensure the sustainable management of groundwater and the safety of drinking water.The present research aimed to provide a mechanism for enhancing sustainable supply chain survivability (SSCS) during and after the COVID-19 outbreak. Logistical and manufacturing operations have been restricted due to the severe lockdown, which significantly impacts the demand and supply of various items. COVID-19 has a massive effect on a multitude of units of various sectors. This research emphasized the important elements that must be considered to adapt the sustainable supply chain (SSC) practices. As a result, businesses are now attempting to improve the system for SSC. The stepwise weight assessment ratio analysis (SWARA) approach is used in this research to classify dynamic aspects for improving SSC survival in an epidemic condition. The results reveal that the viability of the supply chain network is the essential criteria for managing the relationships of suppliers and buyers and maximizing SSCS during and after COVID-19. This research will help businesses, manufacturers, and other stakeholders to concentrate on the described factors to achieve a brighter environment.Several methodological approaches have been applied to evaluate the performance of water companies for regulatory purposes. Performance assessment involving a long-time period is relevant to consider the heterogeneity of the water companies as many changes might have occurred across years. In this study, we applied three different parametric models to estimate cost efficiency scores for a sample of English and Welsh water companies over the years 1991-2018. Two out of three models employed allowed us to decompose overall cost efficiency (OCE) into persistent and transient cost efficiency, i.e. allow identifying the drivers of OCE. The assessment covered six price reviews, and therefore, OCE estimations were linked with water industry regulation. Results revealed that OCE scores are sensitive to model specification as the average values for models 1, 2 and 3 were 0.959, 0.514 and 0.669, respectively. Nevertheless, the three models converge in identifying the source of raw water as an environmental variable affecting OCE. Cost efficiency estimations evidenced that price reviews conducted in 1999 and 2004 were challenging for water companies as OCE scores decreased. The opposite effect was identified for the subsequent price reviews. Beyond the estimated OCE score for the empirical application carried out, this study highlights the importance of selecting robust and adequate methods to evaluate the performance of water companies considering the main objective of such evaluation.Activated carbon prepared from grape branches was used as a remarkable adsorbent to uptake naproxen and treat a synthetic mixture from aqueous solutions. The material presented a highly porous texture, a surface area of 938 m2 g-1, and certain functional groups, which were key factors to uptake naproxen from effluents. The maximum adsorption capacity predicted by the Langmuir model for naproxen was 176 mg g-1. The thermodynamic study revealed that the adsorption process was endothermic and spontaneous. The linear driving force (LDF) model presented a good statistical adjustment to the experimental decay data. A suitable interaction pathway of naproxen adsorption onto activated carbon was proposed. The adsorbent material was highly efficient to treat a synthetic mixture containing several drugs and salts, reaching 95.63% removal. Last, it was found that the adsorbent can be regenerated up to 7 times using an HCl solution. Overall, the results proved that the activated carbon derived from grape branches could be an effective and sustainable adsorbent to treat wastewaters containing drugs.To prevent desertification, countries worldwide have made diversified efforts, and vegetation restoration has been demonstrated to be an effective approach. However, in regard to sandy land with limited water resources, measures such as revegetation may lead to an increased drought risk. Despite confirmed sand utilization achievements, many controversies remain regarding the advantages of desert greening, especially considering water scarcity. Therefore, the long-run and causal relationships between sandy land, water consumption, and vegetation coverage are necessarily explored. Choosing the southern margin of the Mu Us Sandy Land as the study area, this study explored the interactions between sandy land, water consumption, and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) of 2000-2018 with the vector autoregression (VAR) model approach. In the study area, various revegetation projects have been implemented, resulting in a notable reduction in the sandy land area. In addition, the NDVI increased from 0.196 in 2000 to 0.