This study focuses on evaluating total phenolic contents (TPC) in Taraxacum officinale (L.), a member of the family Asteraceae (compositae). The TPC were estimated by Folin-Ciocalteu's reagent and gallic acid was taken as standard. The amount of phenolics was communicated as gallic acid equivalent (GAE). The TPC varied from 41.47 mg/g to 691.6 mg/g in the Taraxacum officinale (L.) extracts. The maximum phenolic contents were found in hydro-alcoholic extract (691.6 mg/g GAE) in comparison with aqueous extract. These extracts have a significant role as antibacterial and antimicrobial agents.

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There is an accumulation of evidence that shows a significant role of cancer stem cells in tumor initiation, proliferation, relapse, and metastasis. Nanog is the most important core transcription marker of stem cells, known by its role in maintaining pluripotency, proliferation, and differentiation. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the role of Nanog in breast cancer cell tamoxifen resistance and its implications in breast cancer treatment. In this study, the expression of the three core transcription markers Nanog, Oct3/4, and Sox2 were quantitatively evaluated using flow cytometry. Then, small interfering RNA (siRNA) against human Nanog was transfected into tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer cells via Lipofectamine 2000. Nanog gene expression in the cells was detected using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The change in cell proliferation was evaluated using the tetrazolium bromide method. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect apoptosis of the transfected cells alone and in combination with 4-hydroxytamoxifen. The results showed a high level expression of Nanog, Oct3/4, and Sox2 in MDA-MB-231 and MCF7/tamoxifen resistant cells compared with MCF7/wild-type. siRNA-mediated Nanog gene silencing can efficiently inhibit cell proliferation and induce apoptosis of tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer cells. This study provides a basis for further study of the role of Nanog in developing resistance to tamoxifen, its implication in breast cancer management, and as a new strategy to enhance response to endocrine therapy.

Heavy metal poisoning is a worldwide problem that is caused by different human industrial activities such as battery and painting manufacturing and occupational exposure of those working at petrol stations. Wastewater is known to contain higher amounts of heavy metals such as lead (Pd) and cadmium (Cd) and might be sources of exposure for workers at the wastewater treatment plant. However, to our best knowledge, no studies were done to evaluate the level of cadmium and lead in blood of workers at wastewater treatment plants and evaluate the subsequent effect of lead and cadmium on delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (δ-ALAD), urinary delta-aminolevulinic acid (Uδ-ALA), and 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) as markers of lead and cadmium toxicity. In this case-control study, 79 workers at the Al-Rustumiya wastewater plant in Baghdad, Iraq, and 40 control subjects were included. The levels of lead and cadmium were measured in blood of the study subjects using the atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) method. 8-OHdG was analysed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. δ-ALAD and Uδ-ALA were estimated using spectrophotometry-based methods. Our work showed that workers had a significantly higher level of lead and cadmium when compared with the control group (P<0.05), yet, still within the World Health Organization permissible limit. The level of both metals was positively associated with duration of work at the plant (P<0.01). The activity of δ-ALAD was inversely associated with the lead level, while both Uδ-ALA and 8-OHdG were positively correlated with the lead level (P<0.05). These three markers lacked any statistically significant association with the cadmium level (P>0.05). To sum up, working at the wastewater treatment plant was associated with a higher blood level of lead and cadmium and their possible health hazard. Health and occupational safety authorities are required to set up tighter regulations and protocols to minimize these hazards and ensure a safe working environment.

No abstract

In this study, different organic (moringa and neem leaf powder) and inorganic (alum) coagulants were used for the wastewater treatment. Results revealed that all the coagulants at various doses significantly affected the pH, electrical conductivity (EC) and turbidity of wastewater. The maximum decrease in all the attributes was observed when 10 g of coagulants were used. Similarly, maximum adsorption potential was observed in case of moringa leaf powder. Maximum decrease in all physiochemical attributes such as pH (13%), EC (65%), turbidity (75%), total dissolved solids (TDS; 51%), total suspended solids (TSS; 48%), total hardness (TH; 29%), chloride contents (66%) and phosphate contents (44%) was observed. Regarding the heavy metals, maximum decrease for Cadmium (Cd; 96%), Lead (Pb; 88%), Arsenic (As; 23%), Iron (Fe; 90%), Manganese (Mn; 96%) and Zinc (Zn; 48%) was observed in same treatment. The decreasing order in terms of their adsorption potential for coagulants was moringa leaf powder > Alum > neem leaf powder. However, the maximum effect of coagulants was observed in case of textile wastewater as compared to the hospital wastewater. Based on the analyses, it is concluded that the moringa leaf powder has maximum adsorption potential for the remediation of wastewater.

Emissions of hazardous materials like methane, carbon monoxide, sulphur, and coal dust during the mining process posed severe environmental problems [1-4]. Non-implementation of environmental standards is a major cause of these enhanced effluents. The incidence of sulphur in the coal matrix is responsible for acidic contents of underground water. Effective greenhouse gases released into the air are a major source of global warming and acid rain. Negative changes to the environment caused by the coal mining process include severe damage to waterways due to the sulphurous contents of mined material. The concerns of such activities have resulted in the alteration in atmospheric settings that eventually affect climatic conditions globally [5-20]. The composition and structure of coal consists of carbon mixed with hydrogen-containing impurities. The presence of benzene tri-, tetra-, and complex waxy material indicates the preponderance of aromatic structures. The topological indices are often used to model

Background: Breast cancer is the most common neoplasm in women, and it is the leading cause of cancer death in women. Major advances have been made in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, resulting in a decrease in mortality from breast cancer over the last four decades. Objective: The aim of the current study is to compare the clinic-pathologic features and survival rate in the breast cancer subtypes in the city of Kirkuk -Iraq. Patients and methods: A retrospective study was conducted on the clinical-pathological data of 280 breast cancer female patients, with mean age of 50.05 year, who visited Kirkuk Oncology Center, over the period from April 2020 to January 2021. Results: Luminal A was the most commonly diagnosed subtype (57.0%) amongst them (56.9%) belonged to 41-50 years old age group. Significant association between menopause state and the relative survival rate (P =0.002) has been noticed. Nevertheless, a significant association between tumor stage AIII and postmenopausal patient was noticed (P =0.022), on the same time patients with tumor stage AIII showed a higher survival rate (≥5 years), whereas 85% of those who diagnosed with stage IV tumors survived for less than 5 years. Conclusion: Our results show the impact of molecular subtype, age, and tumor stage in breast cancer management. Efforts should be made to address the result of Luminal A breast cancer subtypes and to consider Her2 negative cases to produce a more reliable and reproducible diagnostic tool and treatment target, and to increase women's knowledge of breast cancer and the value of early diagnoses.