Glutathione-S-transferases (GSTs) play a role in the detoxification of environmental chemicals and mutagens, such as those inhaled during tobacco smoking. There have been conflicting reports concerning GST polymorphisms as risk factors in the development of lung cancer. No studies focused on Arab populations exposed to Waterpipe (WP) tobacco smoke have been undertaken. Here Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and gene sequenc- ing were applied to analyze allelic variations in GSTP1-rs1695 and -rs1138272 amongst 123 lung cancer patients and 129 controls. The data suggest that WP smoking raised the risk of lung cancer more than three-fold (OR 3.6; 95% CI 2.1–6.0; p < 0.0001). However, there was no s

This study synthesized polyacetal from the reaction of polyvinyl alcohol with para-nitrobenzaldehyde. Polyacetal/polyvinylpyrrolidone polymer blends were prepared using solution casting. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were biosynthesized using onion peel extract as the reducing agent. Nanocomposites were fabricated by blending polyacetal/PVP with AuNPs and AgNPs at different ratios. XRD and FESEM characterized the AuNPs and AgNPs. FTIR, FESEM, TGA, and DSC characterized the polyacetal, polymer blends, and nanocomposites. DSC and TGA confirmed the improved thermal stability of the polymer blends and nanocomposites. Nanocomposites demonstrated higher efficacy in inhibiting lung cancer cell lines compared t

The coefficient of charge transfer at heterogeneous devices of Au metal with a well-known dyeis investigations using quantum model.Four different solvent are used to estimation the effective transition energy. The potential barrier at interface of Au and dye has been determined using effective transition energy and difference between the Fermi energy of Au metal and ionization energy of dye. A possible transfer mechanism cross the potential barrier dyeand coupling strength interaction between the electronic levels in systems of Au and is discussed.Differentdata of effective transition energy and potential barrier calculations suggest that solvent is more suitable to binds Au with dye.

The mean age of AS patients was (35.0 ± 9.8) years.When the patients and control subjects were divided into different age groups (>40, 30-40, <30 years), the differences were not significantin terms of disease prevalence. The results also showed that the percentage of male patients is higher than that of females. There was no significant difference (P?0.05) between patients and controls in the distribution of males and females.Most of the patients had the disease for a period of 5 years or higher, with a disease severity of ? 2.1 and functional disability degree of I, II. The resultsshoweddifferent patterns of distribution for the three tested cytokines. A significant increase in the level of TNF-?, anon-significantincrease i

This study is an attempt to find whether arginine metabolism dysregulation by arginase activity is related to hyperglycemia, followed by changes in nitric oxide (NO) generation in type 2 diabetic patients. This study includes 42 control subjects (Group I), and 92 Iraqi patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The patient group was subdivided into two groups: Group II (54) with T2DM only and Group III (38) with T2DM and dyslipidemia (who were treating with atorvastatin along with diabetes treatment). The samples were obtained to measure arginase activity and NO levels. Serum arginase activity increased significantly in patients(groupII and groupIII) compared to control group. While serum NO level was significantly lower in diabetic pa

Hyperthyroidism or thyrotoxicosis occurs due to excess release of thyroid hormone. These hormones regulate the body’s energy balance and have effects on adipokine level. There are several reports suggesting interrelation between adipokines (resistin and leptin) with thyroid dysfunction. Objectives: This study was established to investigate the effect of thyroid hormones in hyperthyroidism state on the level of some adipokines, leptin and resistin; in comparison with control. Patients and Methods: The present study included 50 Iraqi female patients with hyperthyroidism with age ranged between 30-58 years and 30 healthy controls with age ranged between 30-53 years. Serum samples were collected from study groups. The levels of thyroid hormon

Excess alcohol consumption is associated with numerous metabolic changes and homeostasis disturbances of many macro- and micro-elements in the body. It has been associated with multiple pathologies at all levels. In the digestive apparatus, alcohol has generally been related to its toxic effects upon the liver. Alpha-1 antitrypsin (α-1 AT or AAT) plays an important role in controlling inflammation, coagulation and repair mechanisms in the body and most α-1 AT in the body is produced by the liver; from the other hand, Intrinsic factor (IF), which is a glycoprotein produced by the parietal cells of the stomach is necessary for the absorption of vitamin B12 in the small intestine. This study was designed to assess serum levels of α-1 AT and

Abdominal fat synthesizes a variety of adipokines, including vaspin and chemerin, that affect the resistance to insulin. This research was conducted to demonstrate the effect of pioglitazone, one insulin sensitizer used to decrease insulin resistance, on these adipokines in   obese patients with polycystic ovary (PCOS). Twenty-five obese women with PCOS were treated with pioglitazone 15mg/bid for 12 weeks. Modifications in fasting blood glucose (FBG), serum fasting insulin (FSI), chemerin and vaspin serum levels, follicle stimulation hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), testosterone (T), and in baseline and post-therapy were assessed. Body mass index decreased without any substantial variance after 12 weeks of piogl

This study was designed to evaluate the effect of anesthesia on thyroid hormones (T3, T4, rT3), thyrotropin(TSH), and cortisol levels in patients undergoing major urological surgery. The study included fifty patients scheduled for elective major urological surgery where 70% of the patients underwent general anesthesia, while30% underwent regional anesthesia. All patients were in stable control general conditions. The study showed that the thyroid hormones, thyrotropin and cortisol levels were affected with general anesthesia more than regional. The levels of these hormones responded to anesthetics and surgical stresses. This response was thought to be mainly mediated by afferent neurogenic impulses from the area of injury. Therefore, ab

Background: Studies discussing the correlation between biochemical markers of bone turnover and the diagnosis of osteoporosis in postmenopausal Iraqi women are rare. This study is devoted to find out the significance of serum osteocalcin (OC) and osteopontin (OPN) levels with the incidence of osteoporosis and its major complication (fracture).Objectives: to investigate the significance of bone turnover biochemical markers; serum osteocalcin and serum osteopontin in evaluating osteoporosis for postmenopausal Iraqi women with and without history of vertebral fracture, as well as to explore the relationship of these markers with bone mineral density (BMD).Methods: Fifty seven postmenopausal women whose ages are fifty years old and over, cat