In recent studies, the vomeronasal organ (VNO), although vestigial and with unknown function in humans, was reported to be present in almost every person examined. In rabbits, it is a well-developed organ, one lying on each side of the nasal septum. Histologically it was found to contain neuroepithelium which is considered an accessory olfactory system taking charge of an olfactory discrimination different from that of olfactory epithelium. Experimental removal of the VNO in male animals reduces reproductive performance and aggression. In this study, the effects of prolonged exposure to ammonia vapor on the histological pattern and enzymatic activity of the olfactory epithelium and the VNO neuroepithelium of 30 adult male rabbits were investigated and compared with a control group. In the exposed animals, the supporting cells in both types of epithelia showed hyperplasia which was more marked in the olfactory epithelium. Manifestations of cytotoxicity were found more in the bipolar cells of the olfactory epithelium than in the VNO neuroepithelium. The enzymatic activity in the exposed group supported the histological results. The presence of the VNO neuroepithelium of the rabbit in a narrow duct with a minute nasal orifice could have some protective effects on the cells.

This work aims to detect the associations of C-peptide and the homeostasis model assessment of beta-cells function (HOMA2-B%) with inflammatory biomarkers in pregnant-women in comparison with non-pregnant women. Sera of 28 normal pregnant women at late pregnancy versus 27 matched age nonpregnant women (control), were used to estimate C-peptide, triiodothyronine (T3), and thyroxin (T4) by Enzyme-linked-immunosorbent assay (ELISA), fasting blood sugar (FBS) by automatic analyzer Biolis 24i, hematology-tests by hematology analyzer and the calculation of HOMA2-B% and homeostasis model assessment of insulin sensitivity (HOMA2-S%) by using C-peptide values instead of insulin. The comparisons, correlations, regression analysis tests were performed by the software of statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS). In pregnant women group, HOMA2-B%, T3, T4, white blood cell (WBC), MID cells, granulocytes (GRAN) increased significantly (p-values˂0.05), while C-peptide level raised about 11% compared to control. Lymphocytes, red blood cells (RBC), platelets (PLT) and hemoglobin (HGB) decreased significantly (p-values˂0.05). Lymphocytes predicted both HOMA2-B% and C-peptide level during pregnancy (R2 =0.516, p ˂0.0004; R2=0.31, p ˂0.009 respectively). Prediction of HOMA2-B% and Cpeptide levels by lymphocytes account clarifies that the adaptation in beta-cells might be a part of the defense system mechanism of the body against oxidative stress, and this highlights new insight on the proliferation of beta-cells during pregnancy and insulin sensitivity.

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Worry, anxiety through Study and preparative to exam may lead to mental stress. Mental stress may contribute to oxidative stress in the body which is the change in balance between oxidants and antioxidants. In this study a concentration of Malondialdehyde (MDA) as a lipid oxidation biomarker, lipid profile and some blood parameters like Minmum Inhibitory dilution (MID) were estimated in twenty chemistry and biology students at the day of exam as Stress Condition (SC) compared with the same parameters which obtained from the same students during the university vacation after a month of doing the latest exam as non-Stress Condition (nSC). A significant increase in MDA (p=0.0019), Total Cholesterol (p<0.05), Triglyceride (p<0.05), Low Density Lipoprotein LDL-Cholesterol (p<0.05), Very Low density lipoprotein VLDL-cholesterol (p<0.05) and A significant decrease in High-Density Lipoprotein HDL-Cholesterol (p<0.05), HDL-Cholesterol to total cholesterol ratio(p=0.0012) in stress condition were observed when compared with "non-stress" conditions. Also there were high significant decreases in lymphocyte and minimum inhibitory dilution (MID) (p=0.0001, p<0.0001 respectively) and significant increases in granulocyte and platelets (PLT) (P=0.0113, P=0.0031 respectively) in stress condition compared to non-stress condition. Whereas no significant changes in total WBCs and RBCs in stress and non-stress conditions. These results suggested that during university examinations when students are under mental stress or psychiatric disorder may put them at risk of developing inflammatory disorders like atherosclerosis and/or coronary arteries disorders.

In the present study, the inhibition effect of some heavy metal ions on glutathione reductase (GR) enzyme which has important functions in metabolism, was investigated. For this purpose, GR enzyme was purified with 19.33 EU/mg specific activity, a yield of 14.06% and 128.8-fold from quail liver by using ammonium sulphate precipitation and 2ʹ, 5ʹ-ADP Sepharose 4B affinity chromatography. To check the purity of GR enzyme, sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrilamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was performed and single band was observed. The activity of the GR enzyme was measured spectrophotometrically at 340 nm according to the method of Carlberg and Mannervik. Then, the inhibitory effects of different heavy metal ions (Co 2+ , Zn 2+ , Pb 2+ , Fe 2+ , Cd 2+ , Al 3+ and Fe 3+ ) on the activity of GR enzyme were examined under in vitro conditions. For the GR enzyme from quail liver tissue, heavy metal concentrations (IC 50 ) were obtained in which 50% of GR enzyme activity was inhibited in vitro conditions. Finally, K i values for these metal ions were calculated from the Lineweaver-Burk plots.