A review of biochemical structures of Urtica dioica metabolites and their pharmaceutical effects

Phytochemicals are chemical compounds produced by plants during the natural metabolic processes to resisting them fungi, bacteria and plant virus infections, and also consumption by insects and other animals. Phytochemicals is generally used to describe plant compounds that are under research and are often referred to as secondary metabolites. Some phytochemicals have been used as poisons and some others as traditional medicine and Nutrition. The aim of present study was to update a comprehensive review published on Urtica dioica which includes phytochemical and pharmacological synthesis. Urtica dioica or stinging nettle which is Urticaceae family herbaceous perennial, usually grows in temperate regions such as Europe, some places of Asia and western North Africa, New Zealand and North America. Its stem and leaves covered with hairs called trichomes which act like hypodermic needles and inject histamine and some other chemicals. Burning sensation during contact and contact urticaria (contact dermatitis) is visible because of it. A lot of bioactive phytochemical compounds have been identified in the methanolic extract of it

Regulatory NK cells in autoimmune disease

NK cells are defined as the major components of the immunological network which exerts defense against tumors and viral infections as well as regulation of innate and adaptive immunity, shaped through interaction with other cells like T cells. According to the surface markers, NK cells can be divided into CD56dim NK and CD56bright NK subsets. CD56bright NK cells usually are known as regulatory NK cells. Once the immune system loses its self-tolerance, autoimmune diseases develop. NK cells and their subsets can be altered during autoimmune diseases, indicative of their prominent regulatory roles and even pathological and protective functions in autoimmune disorders. In this regard, activation of CD56bright NK cells can suppress activated autologous CD4+ T cells and subsequently prevent the initiation of autoimmunity. In this review article, we summarize the roles of regulatory NK cells in autoimmune disease occurrence which needs more research to uncover their exact related mechanism. It seems that targeting NK cells can be a promising therapeutic platform against autoimmune diseases

Analysis of serum lipid profile in adult female smokers in Erbil city, Kurdistan region of Iraq

Background: There are few studies demonstrated the association between smoking and lipid profile in female adult smokers. Materials and Methods: This study conducted to determine and compare the serum lipid profile of female adult smokers with non-female smokers, known as controls. In 180 female subjects, the level of serum lipid profile measured. Results: Of these, 110 were smokers and 70 non-smokers (control) aged between 25 and 50 years. The study involved only smokers who had smoked for more than 5 years. Our result revealed that mean serum of total cholesterol (275.2 ± 32.6 mg/dl), triacylglycerol (188.4 ± 56.42 mg/dl), very low density lipoprotein (36.6 ± 14.2 mg/dl), low density lipoprotein (133.21 ± 9.81 mg/dl) were significantly higher in female smokers as compared to non-female smokers with mean of serum total cholesterol (172.3 ± 18.6 mg/dl), very low density lipoprotein (21.8 ± 9.6 mg/dl), triglyceride (108 ± 8.84 mg/dl), low density lipoprotein (94.54 ± 8.5 mg/dl). However, the mean of serum value for high density lipoprotein cholesterol in chronic female smokers was lower (44.6 ± 4.6 mg/dl) than in non-female smokers (55.3 ± 8.2 mg/dl). Conclusion: This study indicated that smoking cigarettes in female cause’s dyslipidemia, resulting in increased risk of cardiovascular disease among smokers

Assessment of COVID-19 vaccination among healthcare workers in Iraq; adverse effects and hesitancy

Several messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) and inactivated COVID-19 vaccines are available to the global population as of 2022. The acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine will play a key role in combating the worldwide pandemic. Public confidence in this vaccine is largely based on its safety and effectiveness. This study was designed to provide independent evidence of the adverse effects associated with COVID-19 vaccines among healthcare workers in Iraq and to identify the attitudes of healthcare workers who rejected the vaccination. We conducted a cross-sectional study to collect data on the adverse effects of the Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Sinopharm vaccines. Data were collected between October 2021 and February 2022. A total of 2,202 participants were enrolled in the study: (89.97%) received injections of the COVID-19 vaccines and (10.03%) were hesitant to receive the vaccination. Participants received either the Pfizer vaccine (62.9%), AstraZeneca vaccine (23.5%) or Sinopharm vaccine (13.6%). Most adverse effects were significantly less prevalent in the second dose than in the first dose. Notably, the adverse effects associated with the Pfizer vaccine were significantly more prevalent in females than in males. Following the first dose, the participants experienced more adverse effects with the AstraZeneca vaccine. Following the second dose, more adverse effects were associated with the Pfizer vaccine. Interestingly, the prevalence of COVID-19 infection in participants who received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine was significantly reduced compared to those who received two doses of either the AstraZeneca or Sinopharm vaccines. According to vaccine-hesitated participants, insufficient knowledge (29.9%), expeditious development (27.6%) and lack of trust in the vaccines (27.1%) were the three major reasons for refusing the vaccines. The results of our study indicated that these adverse effects do not present a significant problem and should not prevent successful control of the COVID-19 pandemic

Close up of a Flower, 2017

Colour photograph of a flower. Submitted for the 'What makes the University Special' Category, Student Life Photograph Competition, 2016-2017. Entered with the caption 'Flower as a symbol of new life, love, hope and purity. Wide range of tiny flowers with lovely colours making my days more than perfect at the University of Leicester from the sunrise to the sunset.

Red and Yellow Flower, 2017

Colour photograph of a red and yellow flower. Submitted for the 'What makes the University Special' Category, Student Life Photograph Competition, 2016-2017. Entered with the caption 'Flower as a symbol of new life, love, hope and purity. Wide range of tiny flowers with lovely colours making my days more than perfect at the University of Leicester from the sunrise to the sunset.

Small Pink Flowers, 2017

Colour photograph of some small pink flowers. Submitted for the 'What makes the University Special' Category, Student Life Photograph Competition, 2016-2017. Entered with the caption 'Flower as a symbol of new life, love, hope and purity. Wide range of tiny flowers with lovely colours making my days more than perfect at the University of Leicester from the sunrise to the sunset.

Yellow Flowers, 2017

Colour photograph of yellow flowers. Submitted for the 'What makes the University Special' Category, Student Life Photograph Competition, 2016-2017. Entered with the caption 'Flower as a symbol of new life, love, hope and purity. Wide range of tiny flowers with lovely colours making my days more than perfect at the University of Leicester from the sunrise to the sunset.

Regulation of cardiometabolic risk factors by dietary Toll-like receptor stimulants

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the arteries, although the causative agents for inducing inflammatory processes related to atherosclerosis remain unclear. Dietary patterns may play a role in the commencement of inflammation, which may contribute to the progression of the disease. This PhD project aimed to investigate potential mechanisms by which processed foods may induce inflammatory responses (in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo) and may increase cardiometabolic risk factors, with an emphasis on the potential roles of Toll-like receptor (TLR)-2 and TLR4 signaling. The present findings establish that TLR2 and TLR4 stimulants present in food are critical mediators of the capacity of food extracts to induce inflammatory signaling in human primary monocytes. Also, chronic dietary PAMP intake in healthy volunteers revealed that a low PAMP diet decreases cardiometabolic markers (leukocyte count, body weight, abdominal circumference, LDL-C level, thrombocyte counts and plasma leptin concentrations) significantly and these effects are rapidly reversed by a high PAMP diet. In addition, murine studies suggested that Kupffer cells, rather than hepatocytes, are the main sensors of dietary TLR2- and TLR4-stimulants, and that IL-1β signaling plays a key role in the expression of the APR and metabolic phenotypes induced by ingested lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in mice. Moreover, food additives may have an adverse role in changing gut barrier function which may results in the increased translocation of dietary TLR-stimulants into the circulation. In conclusion, these findings suggest that dietary TLR2- and TLR4-stimulants may be considered as a new possible risk factor for coronary artery disease. For the prevention of atherosclerosis, novel therapies could be developed to target the mechanisms of cross-talk between the TLR2/4 receptors, inflammatory responses and lipid regulatory pathways recognised by the current project

Host defences against metabolic endotoxaemia and their impact on lipopolysaccharide detection

Bacterial endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, LPS), is one of the most potent inducers of inflammatory signalling, yet it is abundant in the human gut and the modern diet. Small quantities of LPS routinely translocate from the gut lumen to the circulation (so-called ‘metabolic endotoxaemia’), and elevated plasma LPS concentrations are reported in a variety of chronic non-communicable diseases, including obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, atherosclerosis and type II diabetes. Murine models of experimentally-induced endotoxaemia and Toll-like receptor-4 deficiency suggest that endotoxin may promote the metabolic disturbances that underpin these diseases. However, as bioactive LPS is cleared rapidly from the circulation, and reported levels of endotoxin in human plasma vary widely, the potential relevance of metabolic endotoxaemia to human disease remains unclear. We here review insight into these questions gained from human and murine models of experimental endotoxaemia, focussing on the kinetics of LPS neutralisation and its clearance from blood, the limitations of the widely used limulus assay and alternative methods for LPS quantitation. We conclude that although new methods for LPS measurement will be required to definitively quantify the extent of metabolic endotoxaemia in man, evidence from numerous approaches suggests that this molecule may play a key role in the development of diverse metabolic diseases