Background and Objectives:HIV/AIDS is as a major public health problem which leads to serious challenges to humankind globally. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge about HIV/AIDS among high school students in Erbil city and to investigate the association between high school students’ socio-demographic characteristics and their level of knowledge about HIV/AIDS.Methods:This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in three high schools in Erbil city from February to April 2014. A sample of 437 students was included in the study from fourth, fifth and sixth stages. A multistage cluster sampling method was used to select the students. Data analysis included descriptive statistics and chi-square association test for categorical variables.Results:The age range of the students was between 14 and 21 years with mean ± standard deviation of 16.0 ± 0. 927 years. All the students had heard about AIDS where around two thirds of students had heard from mass media like TV/Radio. Around 45% of students had good knowledge scores about HIV/AIDS, and 43.7% had acceptable knowledge scores, while only 11.2% had poor knowledge scores. There was a statistically significant association between high knowledge score about HIV/AIDS with older age, male gender, and typical school type (P < 0.001). High socio-economic status of students was significantly associated with high score of knowledge about HIV/AIDS (P = 0.005).Conclusion:The overall rate of knowledge (acceptable and good) about HIV/AIDS among high school students was high. Socio-demographic characteristics of students have an effect on their knowledge about HIV/AIDS.

Access Free Rad. Antiox. www.antiox.org of deteriorative changes in the biological systems leading to cell inactivation. [1] Many antioxidant enzymes and compounds present in the cell, mitigate the oxidative stress due to free radicals, by dismutating these free radicals species or by converting these radicals into a less effective forms. [2] Antioxidant supplements or antioxidant-rich food are used to help the human body reduce oxidative damage from free radicals and active oxygen species. [3] Other synthetic antioxidants such as butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and trolox are widely used as antioxidants in the pharmaceutical and food industry. However, they have been shown to have toxic and/or mutagenic effects. [2] Because of their toxicity, the development and isolation of natural antioxidants IntroductIon The exogenous chemicals and endogenous metabolites in the body produce reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are capable of oxidizing various biomolecules resulting in tissue damage and cell death. Free radicals have been implicated in the cause of several diseases such as liver cirrhosis, atherosclerosis, cancer and diabetes and play an important role in ageing. Oxidative stress can also contribute to the development of neuro-degenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's as well as other diseases. These free radicals attack unsaturated fatty acids of biomembranes, resulting in lipid peroxidation and desaturation of proteins and DNA, causing a series

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Background: Substance use among adolescents, especially smoking and alcohol consumption, has become a public health concern in the Kurdistan Region, Iraq, in the past 10 years. Aims: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of substance use and certain associated factors among high school students in Erbil City, Kurdistan Region, Iraq. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a multistage cluster sampling technique to collect a sample of 3000 students. A modified version of the School Survey on Drug Use from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime was used for data collection. Binary logistic regression models were used to identify risk factors for substance use. Results: The lifetime prevalence rates of cigarettes smoking, waterpipe smoking and alcohol consumption were 27.6%, 23.6% and 3.7%, respectively. Male gender, age 17-19 years, smoker in the family, and easy accessibility of cigarettes were significantly associated with cigarette smoking. Factors significantly associated with waterpipe smoking were male gender, age 17-19 years, waterpipe smoker in the family, waterpipe smoker friend, and easy accessibility. Male gender, alcohol dependent in the family, alcohol-dependent friend, easy accessibility of alcohol, and low family income were significant predictors of alcohol consumption. Conclusions: The prevalence of cigarette smoking and waterpipe use was high in the studied sample. Possible explanations for this finding might be the use of flavoured tobacco associated with aromatic smell, and the misconception that waterpipe smoking is less toxic and addictive than cigarette smoking.

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