Objectives: Benzene is commonly emitted in several industries, leading to widespread environmental and occupational exposure hazards. While less toxic solvents have been substituted for benzene, it is still a component of petroleum products and is a trace impurity in industrial products resulting in continued higher occupational exposures in industrial settings in developing countries. Materials and Methods: We investigated the potential use of an electronic nose (e-nose) to monitor the headspace volatiles in biological samples from benzene-exposed Egyptian workers and non-exposed controls. The study population comprised 150 non-smoking male workers exposed to benzene and an equal number of matching non-exposed controls. We determined biomarkers of benzene used to estimate exposure and risk including: benzene in exhaled air and blood; and its urinary metabolites such as phenol and muconic acid using gas chromatography technique and a portable e-nose. Results: The average benzene concentration measured in the ambient air of the workplace of all studied industrial settings in Alexandria, Egypt; was 97.56±88.12 μg/m 3 (range: 4.69-260.86 μg/m 3 ). Levels of phenol and muconic acid were significantly (p < 0.001) higher in both blood and urine of benzene-exposed workers as compared to non-exposed controls. Conclusions: The e-nose technology has successfully classified and distinguished benzene-exposed workers from non-exposed controls for all measured samples of blood, urine and the exhaled air with a very high degree of precision. Thus, it will be a very useful tool for the low-cost mass screening and early detection of health hazards associated with the exposure to benzene in the industry.

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Hepatitis C is a leading cause of liver disease and transplantation and is a significant burden on public health worldwide. This study aimed to apply the Electronic Nose (E-Nose) and quadrupole Mass Spectrometry (MS/MS) technologies for screening blood samples from hepatitis C patients and healthy controls. We analysed volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the headspace over blood samples to identify those VOCs char-How to cite this article: Mohamed EI, El-Ghnam SM, Bayoumi AM, Abdel-Mageed SM, Ghareeb DA, Ross B. Electronic nose versus quadrupole mass spectrometry for identifying viral hepatitis C patients.

Background: Women with BC are at increased risk for the development of osteoporosis and skeletal fractures. We investigated the effect of CAF chemotherapy alone and adjunct to vitamin D treatment on biochemical markers of bone formation and on segmental and total bone mineral density (BMD) for non-metastatic breast cancer (NMBC) postmenopausal women who had gone through a mastectomy. Methods: The study population was comprised of 200 NMBC women who were divided into two equal groups; before and after treatment with CAF chemotherapy alone and before and after treatment with CAF+Vitamin D treatment protocols. Other 100 healthy participants served as the Control group. All participant women were subjected to blood biochemical analysis and segmental and total BMD measurements using Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry technique. Results: We found that CAF chemotherapy alone had no effect on women's body weight, BMI, tumor marker CA15-3, PTH, ALP and Ca levels as compared to the initial state, while CAF+Vitamin D adjunct treatment caused significant reductions in their levels as compared to the initial state and Healthy Controls. We found also that CAF chemotherapy alone had no effect on plasma levels of P and Vitamin D as compared to initial state yet, CAF+Vitamin D adjunct treatment caused significant elevations in their levels as compared to the initial state and Healthy Controls. Conclusions: Vitamin D may decrease the risk of BC recurrence by decreasing risk factors like body weight and serum levels of CA15-3, PTH, ALP, and Ca, thus increasing segmental and total BMD and decreasing the risk of osteoporosis.