The exposure to nickel chloride (NiCl2) can cause hematotoxicity and hepatotoxicity and canaffect development. The present study pertains to the protective effect of selenium (Se) against NiCl2-induced toxicity in preimplanted Wistar albino rats. The subcutaneous (s.c.) administration of 25 or 50 mg/kg of NiCl2 to Wistar albino rats on day 3 of gestation induced an immediate and significant decrease in maternal body weight and anemia 2 days after treatment. In addition, an increase in plasma aspartate aminotransferase (AST) was observed. These effects were maintained on day 20 of gestation. Moreover, a significant increase in plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels was observed with the administration of 25 mg/kg of NiCl2. Conversely, administration of 50 mg/kg of NiCl2 by s.c. injection increased erythropoiesis at day 20 of gestation and decreased platelets counts. In addition, administration of 100 mg/kg of NiCl2 markedly reduced the maternal body weight and number of live fetuses and increased fetal loss, predominantly at the end of the experimental period. All dose levels of NiCl2 caused an alteration in the hepatic histoarchitecture. When 0.3-mg/kg Se was injected s.c. with 100-mg/kg NiCl2, the levels of plasma AST and ALT and the structure of the liver were restored. Administration of 20 mg/L/day of NiCl2 in the drinking water significantly reduced the maternal body weight at day five of gestation as well as erythropoiesis during the exposure period. The present study suggests that Se can counteract the nocuous effect of nickel on the liver; however this antioxidant did not prevent alterations in development and erythropoiesis. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 2013.

fleet safety is seen as important, not just for fleet operators, but as a strategic approach to improving the safety of the entire vehicle fleet. Corporate purchasers of vehicles and transport services can specify high safety standards and thus create an economic imperative for providers of vehicles and transport services to meet these standards. Fleet management comprises all actions needed to maintain and operate pieces of equipment throughout its life from the beginning stages of equipment acquisition to the final stages of asset disposal. Such areas include maintenance and repair, inventory control, training, and safety issues. A company fleet management process is evaluated using two methods: Haddon matrix which is implemented to evaluate organizational safety context into which the driver assessment, monitoring and improvement program should fit. Haddon provides an all-encompassing pre-crash, atscene and post-crash systems-based framework for fleet safety. The network influence method which is presented as a risk management method.

The essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation of fresh aerial parts of Ferula lutea Poiret (Apiaceae) was analyzed by GC and GC-MS. Twenty one compounds were characterized representing 84.9 % of the essential oil with the prevalence of 2,3,6-trimethylbenzene (25.0 %), cis-chrysanthenol (20.8 %), α-pinene (10.9 %) and thymol (10.2 %).