Evaluation of the relationship between serumsVisfatin and Resistin levels with BMI in PCOS young women

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine / metabolic disorder in women of reproductive age .Abdominal adiposity and obesity are frequently present in PCOS. It now appears that, obesity is associated with a low-grade inflammation of white adipose tissue.Adipokines play a significant role in the pathogenesis of a low-grade inflammation associated with obesity. Among variety of adipokines, resistin and visfatin are proposed as important pro inflammatory mediators and they have recently been suggested to be associated with obesity related diseases.The aim of this study is to evaluate the correlation of visfatin and resistin serum levels and the ratio of these two adipokines with BMI in PCOS women under age of 35 years old. Twenty eight young women with clinically confirmed PCOS disease (14 lean and 14 obese), and 12 young, healthy and lean women with stable weight and BMI<25 were enrolled. Blood was obtained from the included persons, and visfatin and resistin were assessed by ELISA method. We did not observe any significant differences in serum visfatin and resistin concentrations and also in the Visfatin/Resistin ratio between PCOS and control group. Also we did not found a significant correlation between visfatin and resistin with BMI. This study demonstrated that serum resistin and visfatin levels do not seem to be directly involved in the pathology of PCOS

Comparison of heavy metals contamination and ecological risk between soils enriched with compost and chemical fertilizers in the North of Iran and ecological risk assessment

Abstract Background: Nowadays, uncontrolled use of chemical fertilizers in agriculture is one of the reasons for the entry of heavy metals into the environment. In this study, the heavy metals contamination of the soils enriched with compost and chemical fertilizers in the North of Iran and its ecological risk assessment were evaluated. Methods: In this study, 108 soil samples were collected from agricultural soils of some places of Babol in Mazandaran province. An atomic absorption spectrophotometer (PG-990) was used to determine the concentrations of lead, cadmium, and zinc in the soil samples. The assessment of soil contamination was performed by the contamination factor, degree of contamination indices, and the potential ecological risk of the heavy metals. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22. Descriptive and chi-square tests were used to compare the mean with existing standards. Significant level was considered at P < 0.05. Results: The highest lead concentration (35.7 ± 9.5 mg/kg) was observed at 5-cm depth, and the maximum cadmium (1.1 ± 0.2 mg/kg) and zinc (88 ± 22.6 mg/kg) concentrations were observed at 15-cm depth. The results showed that lead, cadmium, and zinc concentrations in the agricultural soils enriched with compost fertilizers were acceptable, but agricultural soils enriched with chemical fertilizers indicated higher content than those enriched with compost fertilizers and higher than the maximum allowable concentration. The maximum contamination degree, pollution index, and potential ecological risk in the agricultural soils enriched with the chemical fertilizers were 15.77, 1.97, and 293.48, respectively, and these soils had low potential pollution and moderate ecological risks. Conclusion: According to the results, it is necessary to use compost fertilizers for the agricultural soils enrichment. Keywords: Heavy metals, Ecological risk assessment, Agricultural soils, Compost and chemical fertilizer