Evaluation and comparison of DNA alkylation and oxidative damage in e-cigarette and heated tobacco users.

Objectives: This study, aimed to determine and compare DNA damage in e-cigarette and HTP (IQOS) users by assessing DNA-adducts, which are biomarkers of various DNA alkylation and oxidation.

Methods: For the evaluation of DNA alkylation, N-Ethyladenine (N-EtA) and N-Methyladenine (N-MeA) adducts were used. DNA oxidation was assessed using, 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine(8-OHdG).

Assessment of Preschool Children's Exposure Levels to Organophosphate and Pyrethroid Pesticide: A Human Biomonitoring Study in Two Turkish Provinces.

Pesticides are products developed to prevent, destroy, repel or control certain forms of plant or animal life that are considered to be pests. However, now they are one of the critical risk factors threatening the environment, and they create a significant threat to the health of children. Organophosphate (OP) and pyrethroid (PYR) pesticides are widely used in Turkey as well as all over the world.

Biomonitoring of bisphenol A, 4-nonylphenol, and 4-t-octylphenol in Turkish population: exposure and risk assessment.

Biomonitoring studies are important tools to understand the effects of endocrine-disrupting compounds on human health. Up to now, there have been no biomonitoring and risk assessment studies conducted in Turkish population in which urinary bisphenol A (BPA), 4-nonylphenol (4-NP), and 4-t-octylphenol (4-t-OP) levels were measured simultaneously. The aim of this study is to measure urinary BPA, 4-NP, and 4-t-OP on Turkish population and conduct a risk assessment using urinary levels of chemicals of interest.

Establishment of rapid, sensitive, and quantitative liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry method coupled with liquid-liquid extraction for measurement of urinary bisphenol A, 4-t-octylphenol, and 4-nonylphenol.

Rationale: Bisphenol A (BPA), 4-t-octylphenol (4-t-OP), and 4-nonylphenol (4-NP) are ubiquitous manufactured chemicals classified as endocrine disruptors. Now these substances are prevalent and found in a wide range of biological and environmental matrices globally. Acting as xenoestrogens, their target is to bind estrogen receptors and compete against natural hormones.

Psychoactive Bath Salts and Neurotoxicity Risk.

Synthetic cathinones are new designer drugs that possess hallucinogenic and psychostimulant properties, and are designed to mimic the effects of illegal substances such as cocaine, amphetamines, and 3.4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy) and to produce rewarding effects, circumventing existing laws and penalties. Synthetic cathinones, also referred to as 'bath salts', have become popular particularly among young people since the mid-2000s.

Assessment of Bisphenol A Levels in Preschool Children: Results of a Human Biomonitoring Study in Ankara, Turkey.

Objective: There is general concern regarding environmental chemical exposure and the impact it may have on human health. This is particularly important for vulnerable populations such as infants and children during critical periods of development. Bisphenol A (BPA) is an endocrine disrupting chemical used worldwide over the last 30 years in many consumer products.

New psychoactive substances in Turkey: Narcotics cases assessed by the Council of Forensic Medicine between 2016 and 2017 in Ankara, Turkey.

New psychoactive substances (NPS) are synthetic compounds launched within the last decade as legal alternatives to common drugs of abuse. Despite the rapid growth of the NPS market and associated concerns of widespread use, narcotics departments are struggling with many unknown issues including substance diversity and analysis problems. This study provides the first information about NPS-related substance diversity in Turkey.

The role of DENND1A and CYP19A1 gene variants in individual susceptibility to obesity in Turkish population-a preliminary study.

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), the most common genetic variations in human genome, can manage the predisposition of certain complex diseases or situations such as obesity. Genetic polymorphisms also play an important role as they can impact a population's susceptibility to being overweight or obese and developing related chronic complications such as hypertension, coronary heart disease, diabetes and cancer. The present study comprised of 193 unrelated healthy volunteers (120 females and 73 males) with Turkish origin.

Assessment of types of synthetic cannabinoids in narcotic cases assessed by the Council of Forensic Medicine between 2011-2015, Ankara, Turkey.

Synthetic cannabinoids mimic the effects of cannabis and are the largest and fastest growing class of newly appearing designer drugs. Reports have revealed that various types of synthetic cannabinoids are mixed with herbal substances. The present study investigated the herbal substance cases involving synthetic cannabinoids in Ankara and nearby cities in Turkey.

Evaluation of the endocrine-disrupting effects of homosalate (HMS) and 2-ethylhexyl 4-dimethylaminobenzoate (OD-PABA) in rat pups during the prenatal, lactation, and early postnatal periods.

Homosalate (HMS) and 2-ethylhexyl 4-dimethylaminobenzoate (OD-PABA) are ultraviolet filters. We aimed to investigate the effects of dermal exposure to HMS and OD-PABA during the prenatal, lactation, and early infancy periods on pubertal development and thyroid function in male and female rats. The thyroid glands, uteri, testes, prostate glands, and seminal vesicles were excised and weighed, the reproductive organs were analyzed histologically, and the serum hormone levels were measured.

An investigation of the mutagenic activity of salamide - a major impurity of hydrochlorothiazide.

Hydrochlorothiazide is a widely used antihypertensive agent and one of its major impurities, salamide (4-amino-6-chlorobenzene-1,3-disulphonamide), has a chemical structure containing a primary amino group, a functional group that has previously been reported to be associated with carcinogenic activity. It is known that hydrochlorothiazide purity is a challenging problem for the pharmaceutical industry. As there were no prior mutagenicity data for the impurity salamide, the aim was to investigate its mutagenicity in this study.

Urinary cotinine levels of electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) users.

The popularity of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) is rapidly increasing in many countries. These devices are designed to imitate regular cigarettes, delivering nicotine via inhalation without combusting tobacco but currently, there is a lack of scientific evidence on the presence or absence of nicotine exposure. Such research relies on evidence from e-cigarette users urine samples.

Blood concentrations and risk assessment of persistent organochlorine compounds in newborn boys in Turkey. A pilot study.

Even early life in utero cannot provide a safe place for newborns. The first acquaintance with chemicals takes place in utero and/or with mother's milk after delivery. Besides legislations and bans to persistent organic pollutants (POPs), these chemicals are still affecting the general population especially the children as they are one of the populations most susceptible to chemicals, and also the health problems may arise in the future.

Determination of the impurities in drug products containing montelukast and in silico/in vitro genotoxicological assessments of sulfoxide impurity.

Impurities affecting safety, efficacy, and quality of pharmaceuticals are of increasing concern for regulatory agencies and pharmaceutical industries, since genotoxic impurities are understood to play important role in carcinogenesis. The study aimed to analyse impurities of montelukast chronically used in asthma theraphy and perform genotoxicological assessment considering regulatory approaches. Impurities (sulfoxide, cis-isomer, Michael adducts-I&II, methylketone, methylstyrene) were quantified using RP-HPLC analysis on commercial products available in Turkish market.

Blood levels of polychlorinated biphenlys and organochlorinated pesticides in women from Istanbul, Turkey.

The human body is not a chemically uncontaminated system. Every simple action that humans undertake, such as drinking water, eating, nursing, and even breathing air, puts the system under environmental xenobiotic exposure stress. Environmental chemicals have been shown to produce unwanted effects on health and remove the right to healthy living, starting from the first encounter in utero to geriatrics, throughout the lifespan.

Determination of urinary levels of Bisphenol A in a Turkish population.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is one of the environmental endocrine disrupting chemicals that is widely used in common consumer products. The aim of this study was to report the total urinary BPA concentrations (free plus conjugated) in 200 urine samples (children: 57; male: 74; female: 69) obtained from residents of a Mediterranean city, Mersin. Analyses were performed by high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) and for assessing environmental exposure to free BPA and its major metabolite bisphenol A glucuronide (BPAG) in human urine were determinated.

CombiSimilarity, an innovative method to compare environmental and health data sets with different attribute sizes example: eighteen Organochlorine Pesticides in soil and human breast milk samples.

Human health and the health of the environment have entwined. In this paper we underpin this position by presenting a modeling approach named CombiSimilarity, which has been developed by the first author in the software tool PyHasse comprising a wide variety of partial ordering tools. A case study of 18 Organochlorine Pesticides (OCPs) detected in soil as well as in human breast milk samples in the Taurus Mountains in Turkey is carried out.

Development and validation of an LC-MS/MS method for simultaneous quantitative analysis of free and conjugated bisphenol A in human urine.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an environmental endocrine-disrupting chemicals that is widely used in common consumer products. There is an increasing concern regarding human exposure to BPA owing to the potential adverse effects associated with its estrogenic activity. For assessing environmental exposure to BPA, it is essential to have a sensitive, accurate and selective analytical method, especially one that can detect low BPA levels in complex sample matrices.

Effects of smoking during pregnancy on DNA damage and ROS level consequences in maternal and newborns’ blood.

Some of the genotoxic/carcinogenic substances or metabolites in cigarette smoke are capable of passing through the placenta and harming a newborn’s health. Smoking is also known as a factor in the formation of oxidative damage and the main mechanism involved in the carcinogenic process. Predetermining this genotoxic risk can be successfully achieved by measuring certain parameters of oxidative stress.

Evaluation of organochlorine pesticides in breast milk samples in Turkey applying features of the partial order technique.

Exposure data to organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) of mothers' breast milk samples were measured in different locations in the Taurus Mountains/Turkey. Villages at five altitudes were looked upon. The data analysis method applied is the Hasse diagram technique, based on Discrete Mathematics.

Analysis of human milk to assess exposure to PAHs, PCBs and organochlorine pesticides in the vicinity Mediterranean city Mersin, Turkey.

Assessment of human exposure to environmental persistent organic pollutants such as organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans (PCDD/Fs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) based on the levels in human breast milk provides a reasonable tool not only to assess the contaminant burden in mothers but also to assess potential exposure of breast-fed neonates. There are limited data on levels of PCBs and OCPs in humans but no previous reports from Turkey on chemically determined levels PAHs in human milk. The aim of this study was to report the levels and accumulation profiles of OCPs, PCBs and PAHs in 47 breast milk samples obtained from a Mediterranean city, Mersin.

Evaluation of DNA damage in common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) by comet assay for determination of possible pollution in Lake Mogan (Ankara).

Contamination of the aquatic environment with various concentrations of pollutants results in unexpected threats to humans and wildlife. The consequences of exposure and metabolism of pollutants/xenobiotics, especially carcinogens and mutagens, can be suitably assessed by investigating severe events, such as DNA damage; for example, DNA adducts and DNA strand breaks. One of the commonly used techniques to detect DNA damage in aquatic organisms is single-cell gel electrophoresis (comet assay).

Polychlorinated biphenyl and organochlorine pesticide levels in human breast milk from the Mediterranean city Antalya, Turkey.

In this study, organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) levels were determined in 100 human milk samples from the city of Antalya. The levels of seven major PCB congeners; 28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153, 180 and nine OCPs, α-HCH, β-HCH, γ-HCH, HCB, heptachlor epoxide, p.p'-DDT, p,p'-DDE, endosulfan-α and endosulfan-β were determined by gas chromatography with ECD detection.

An in vivo assessment of the genotoxic potential of bisphenol A and 4-tert-octylphenol in rats.

Bisphenol A (BPA) and octylphenol (OP) are industrial chemicals used in the manufacture of polycarbonate plastics, epoxy resins, and non-ionic surfactants. In the present study, we investigated the possible in vivo genotoxic effects of these compounds in rats using single-cell gel electrophoresis, the so-called comet assay. Adult male Wistar albino rats were divided randomly into six groups as follows: BPA125 (received 125 mg/kg bw BPA; n = 6), OP125 (received 125 mg/kg bw OP; n = 6), BPA250 (received 250 mg/kg BPA; n = 6), OP250 (received 250 mg/kg bw OP; n = 6), control (n = 5), and MMS (positive control group that received methyl methanesulfonate; n = 3).

Genotoxicity of anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

Objective: To assess the possible effects of both inflammation and the anti-tumor necrosis factor agents (anti-TNF) on DNA damage with a specific assay, and their effects on the repair capacity of DNA.

Methods: From a group of 20 children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), 16 patients who completed the study and 16 control subjects were evaluated. DNA damage and repair capacity were analyzed by the comet assay at the level of peripheral lymphocytes before anti-TNF (etanercept) injections and on the 15th, 90th, and 180th days after the first injection.