• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.9
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• pp.4249-4253
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• 2012

While associations between trace elements and heavy metals with prostate cancer are still debatable, they have been considered as risk factors for prostate cancer. Thus, this study aimed to detect any links between selected minerals and heavy metals including Se, Zn, Cu, Mn and Fe with prostate cancer. A case control study was carried out among 100 subjects (case n=50, control n=50), matched for age and ethnicity. Trace elements and heavy metals level in hair and nail samples were determined by ICP-MS. Mean selenium levels in hair and nail of the cases were significantly lower as compared to controls. A similar trend was noted for zinc in both hair and nail samples, whereas the mean level of copper was significantly higher in cases than controls. Similar elevation was noted for iron and manganese (p<0.05 for all parameters). Low levels of selenium and zinc and high levels of copper, iron and manganese appear to be associated with the risk of prostate cancer. Further studies to elucidate the causal mechanisms and appropriate chemopreventive measures are needed.

• Mycobiology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.180-184
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• 2006

The mycobiota of 160 hair and nail samples collected from 4 different governorates in upper Egypt were estimated using soil plate method for isolating keratinophilic and dermatophytic fungi. Twenty-three fungi were recorded on both hair and nail samples collected from the four governorates. Highest fungal diversity (20) was collected from Red Sea samples followed by Qena (18) and Aswan (17) while lowest fungal diversity was recorded from Sohage samples. The common genera were Aphanoascus, Aspergillus, Penicillium, Paecilomyces and Chrysosporium. The most prevalent species belonging to these genera were: A. fulvescens, Aphanoascus sp. A. flavus link, A. flavus var. columnaris, P. chrysogenium. P. lilacinus and C. sulfureum. True dermatophytes such as Nannizzia fulva appeared in $20{\sim}30%$ of the male samples.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.33-41
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• 2012

An effective, environmentally friendly analytic methods using gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detector (GC-MSD) have been developed for the quantitative analysis of trace phthalate levels in cosmetics such as nail lacquer and hair spray. Since such cosmetics are largely comprised of organic solvents, conventional clean-up methods that have been widely used for phthalate analyses are in adequate. In addition, analysis of trace phthalate levels is notorious for its sensitivity to contamination, which causes high analytical values. A direct sample dilution method using an organic solvent was adopted to the sample preparation process to determine the exact amounts of phthalates and simultaneously avoid the high risk of secondary contamination. The method has many advantages including high accuracy, sensitivity, and simplicity in sample preparation. Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) were selected for analysis because they have been frequently detected in cosmetics and consistently reported as endocrine disruptors in humans and animals. Internal standard method using two deuterium substitutes (DBP-$d_4$, DEHP-$d_4$) as the internal standard was also used. The results of 'Method validation' showed the capabilities of this method for the routine analysis of phthalates at the ppm level. The recovery ranges were between 95 % and 106.1 %, and relative standards deviations (RSD) were less than 3.9 % in fortified nail lacquer and hair spray samples at the concentration of $25{\mu}g/g$.