Impact of Exposure of Chemical Fumes on Blood Pressure and Peak Expiratory Flow Rate in Industrial Workers of Faisalabad

Objectives: 1. To determine the impact of duration of exposure to industrial chemical fumes on Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR) and blood pressure of the industrial workers. 2. To find out the association between changes in blood pressure and PEFR due to exposure to industrial chemical fumes in these subjects. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed at Aziz Fatimah Medical and Dental College, Faisalabad. The study participants were 151 males working in the chemical industries. The study was approved by institutional ethical committee and informed consent was taken from the participants. Free camp was arranged for three days in September 2020 in the industrial area of Faisalabad. Thorough history of exposure to chemicals was taken using structured proforma. PEFR values were recorded using Wrights handheld peak flow meter. Blood pressure was taken by auscultatory method using mercury sphygmomanometer. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 22. Results: Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were significantly raised with increase in duration of exposure.  PEFR levels were significantly declined with increase in duration of exposure to chemicals. Significant negative association was noted between diastolic blood pressure and PEFR (p value = 0.003). Negative correlation was observed between PEFR and systolic Blood pressure, however it was not statistically significant (p value = 0.92). Conclusions: PEFR decreased while Systolic and diastolic blood pressures increased significantly with increase in the duration of exposure to chemicals. There was a significant negative correlation between PEFR and diastolic blood pressure while there was no association between PEFR and systolic blood pressure.

Opto-Electronic Response of Spinel Compounds Through Modified Becke-Johnson Exchange Potential

Theoritical Study is carried out on some of the Spinel compounds. These compounds have wide range applications in various optoelectronic devices, industries and ornamental purposes being natural gem stones. For the better performance and practical applications of these Spinel compounds the newly suggested approximation is used known as the "modified Becke-Johnson potential approximation (mBJ)" as presented in the Wien2K computer package which is commercially available. The optoelectronic responses of SnX2O4 (X= Mg, Zn), MgIn2O4, SiZn2O4, GeX2O4 (X= Mg, Cd) and CdX2O4 (X= In, Ga, Al) are calculated and presented. The calculated total and partial density of states of the studied compounds within only the mBJ approximation is a prototype since the patterns of the density of states for all approximations are almost similar to each other. In MgIn2O4 charge distribution between the cation and anions is uniform; hence the bonding nature is mainly covalent. Electron effective masses of CdX2O4 are calculated, CdGa2O4 has higher mobility of charge carriers as compared to CdAl2O4 and CdIn2O4. A unique character of cation replacement is observed in these compounds. If we replace the cation in all of the above studied compounds the band gap and its dependent optical parameters change which demonstrate the wide range applicability and appropriateness of these compounds in various optoelectronic instruments. All of the herein studied materials are found to have direct band gaps and hence most suitable for optoelectronic instruments.