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Impact of Heavy Metals on Plant Health: Exploring Toxicity and Oxidative Stress
(Book Rivers, 2026) Taiba Saeed, Durdana Yasin, Asad Ullah
Heavy metals, naturally occurring elements with high atomic weight and density, pose significant threats to plant health when present in elevated concentrations. This chapter provides the information on the intricate relationship between heavy metals and plants, highlighting the dual challenges of toxicity and oxidative stress. Plants are routinely exposed to heavy metals such as cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), Copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), arsenic (As), and chromium (Cr) through contaminated soil and water sources. These metals, when absorbed by plant roots, can translocate to aerial parts, disrupting physiological and biochemical processes. Heavy metal toxicity manifests in plants through a variety of detrimental effects, including inhibition of photosynthesis, impaired nutrient uptake, and disruption of cellular structures. A primary consequence of heavy metal exposure is the induction of oxidative stress, a state characterized by the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as superoxide radicals, hydrogen peroxide, and hydroxyl radicals. While ROS are naturally generated in plants during metabolic processes, their levels are tightly regulated by antioxidant defense mechanisms. However, heavy metals disrupt this balance, leading to an excessive accumulation of ROS. This oxidative burst can damage cellular components, including lipids proteins, and DNA, thereby exacerbating the toxic effects of heavy metals. Plants have evolved complex defense strategies to mitigate heavy metal-induced oxidative stress. These include the synthesis of metal-binding proteins like phytochelatins and metallothioneins, the activation of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, catalase, and peroxidases, and the upregulation of non-enzymatic antioxidants like ascorbate and glutathione. Despite these adaptive responses, the efficiency of these mechanisms varies among plant species and is often insufficient to fully counteract heavy metal toxicity under severe contamination.
Role of the Women in the National Development of India
(Bharati Vidyapeeth’s New Law College, Sangli, 2026) Sanjay Aher, Sadaf Khan, Krishna Choudhary, Kavya Maheshwari, Janhavi Nilesh Ghodke
Mechanism-Based Drug Repurposing Strategies for Rheumatoid Arthritis
(Intech Open, 2026) Ambareen Fatima Ahmed, Anas Islam
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory disorder characterized by persistent synovial inflammation, progressive joint destruction, and systemic complications. Despite advances in disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), therapeutic heterogeneity, incomplete response, safety concerns, and high treatment costs continue to limit optimal disease control. This chapter presents a mechanism-based narrative review of drug repurposing strategies in RA, emphasizing the pharmacological rationale for repositioning approved or clinically investigated agents based on shared pathogenic mechanisms. Key inflammatory pathways, including cytokine signaling, JAK–STAT, NF-κB, MAPK, and immunometabolic networks, are critically examined as therapeutic targets. The chapter integrates evidence from pharmacological studies, network pharmacology, molecular docking, multi-omics approaches, and translational clinical research to evaluate repurposing candidates originating from oncology, metabolic, cardiovascular, anti-infective, and neuropharmacological indications. Clinically supported therapies are distinguished from exploratory candidates supported primarily by preclinical or computational evidence. Major translational barriers, including inconsistent clinical validation, safety concerns, economic constraints, and regulatory challenges, are discussed. The importance of biomarker-guided patient stratification, precision rheumatology, and integrated multi-omics approaches is highlighted to improve translational success. Although mechanism-based repurposing offers considerable promise in RA, robust experimental and clinical validation remains essential before computational predictions can be translated into meaningful therapeutic outcomes.
The Legal Mosaic of Humanity: A Rights-Based Approach to the Human Genome
(Bloomsbury Publishing India Pvt. Ltd, 2026) Mirza Juned Beg, Mohd Sufiyan Khan
Dismantling Workplace Gender Inequality in India: A Human Rights and Legal Perspectives
(INTEGRITY EDUCATION INDIA, 2026) Mirza Juned Beg, Mohd. Sufiyan Khan
Despite the introduction of progressive laws, constitutional assurances, and international agreements, gender discrimination in the workplace continues to be a major issue in India. Using a human rights framework, this Chapter reviews the three dimensional approaches structural, legal and social economic to understanding workplace gender discrimination in India. This chapter will evaluate the adequacy of India’s legal system, identify issues relating to its implementation, and review judicial interventions. The chapter further explains that the current state of gender equality is related to the patriarchal social structure, that the majority of women work in an informal economy and that there are insufficient enforcement mechanisms in law. Additionally, the author offers suggestions for dismantling systemic barriers to their advancement: use human rights language; examine inter-sectionality issues; and create policies based on these analyses.