Health risk assessment of heavy metals in some vegetables-Erbil City-Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Heavy metals can have significant impacts on human health due to their toxicity and potential to accumulate in the body over time. Some heavy metals, such as lead, cadmium, mercury, and arsenic, are particularly harmful even at low concentrations. The estimation of hazards of vegetable intake to human health as well as explore the of heavy metals accumulation in different vegetables (cucumbers, tomato, eggplant, and bell peppers) collected in Erbil city from different source locally and imported from nearby country are conducted. The heavy metals concentration (cooper, zinc, lead and cadmium) was measured and analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrophotometry. The maximum concentration of Pb was 27.95 mg/kg and the minimum was 6.49 mg/kg; for Cd, the concentration was 1.43 and 0.99 mg/kg, 74.94 and 5.14 mg/kg for Zn; and for Cu, the result was 56.25 and 8.2 mg/kg for the maximum and minimum, which they are within limits described by Food Agricultural Organization, but more than health limits and health risks calculated by mean of hazard quotient (HQ) techniques for Cu and Pb which they are more than 1. The local sample that collected in Erbil city show less concentration of heavy metals and low HQ in comparison with imported samples. The carcinogenic risk study shows elevated risk of accumulative consuming of edible part of those plant which they exceed the permissible limit that is 10-6.

Predictors of Survival Time Among HIV-Infected Adults After Initiating Anti-Retroviral Therapy in Kombolcha Town: A 5-Year Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) enhances the survival of HIV-infected patients by reducing viral load and increasing CD4. As CD4 count increases, patients are more protected against opportunistic infections. In developing countries including Ethiopia, there were limited studies about the survival benefit of ART particularly no study in Kombolcha Town. Thus, this study was aimed to address the gap. Methods: A hospital-based retrospective cohort study was employed in Kombolcha town among 510 patients' records from January 2015 to December 2019. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select patient records. The collected data were checked, coded, and entered into Epidata version 4.6 and exported to Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 26 for data cleaning and analysis. Kaplan-Meier was used to estimate the probability of category of each predictor and a log rank test was used to compare survival curves. Bivariate and multivariate Cox-regression were employed using a 95% CI and variables with p-value <0.05 were declared as predictors of poor survival time. Results: In this cohort, out of 510 HIV-infected patients, 39 (7.65%) were died, and 471 (92.35%) were censored. Fair drug adherence (AHR=6.88, 95% CI: 4.31-24.04), Poor drug adherence (AHR=9.58, 95% CI: 8.72-30.97), CD4 count <50 cell/µL (AHR=9.38, 95% CI: 1.48-59.31), CD4 count 50-99 cell/µL (AHR=9.67, 95% CI: 1.80-51.73), bedridden (AHR=9.5, 95% CI: 4.49-18.66), opportunistic infections (AHR=4.58, 95% CI: 1.20-5.65), weight <60kg (AHR=2.48, 95% CI:1.59, 10.38), WHO stage III (AHR=3.56, 95% CI: 1.71-17.89), WHO stage IV (AHR=4.42, 95% CI:1.75-25.93) were predictors of poor survival time. Conclusion: The Kaplan-Meier result showed that the estimated median survival time of patients after ART initiation in Kombolcha town was higher (32 months) as compared to other studies. Poor drug adherence, WHO stage III & IV, Lower baseline CD4 count, presence of opportunistic infections, weight <60kg, and being bedridden were predictors of poor survival time. Thus, early initiation of ART ought to be encouraged among HIV-infected patients and good patient counseling on the level of adherence should be strengthened.

Profiling of seasonal variation in and cancer risk assessment of benzo(a)pyrene and heavy metals in drinking water from Kirkuk city, Iraq.

Water samples at 13 sites were analyzed to evaluate heavy metals (cobalt, lead, manganese, copper) and benzo(a)pyrene using 2 methods of analysis (high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits). The Lesser Zap River is the main tributary of the Tigris and is used as a main source of drinking water in Kirkuk city through the General Kirkuk project. Risk evaluation for benzo(a)pyrene and lead in water samples was accomplished by Monte Carlo simulation. The highest concentrations of B(a)P were recorded at sites S7 and S5, with levels of 0.192 and 0.122 µg L-1 detected by HPLC and ELISA, respectively. The WHO guidelines for benzo[a]pyrene in drinking water recommend 0.7 µg L -1, and none of the samples surpassed this level; moreover, B(a)P levels exceeded EPA standards in 2014 (0.01 µg L-1), particularly when the liquid-liquid extraction method with HPLC was used. Carcinogenic risks for human adults and children exist and are highest during the rainy season as compared with the carcinogenic risk during the dry season and risks for children exceed those of adults. This indicates that the 2nd round of sampling (winter season) harbors more carcinogenic risk than the 1st round of sampling (dry season).