Is there any genetic predisposition of MMP-9 gene C1562T and MTHFR gene C677T polymorphisms with essential hypertension?

The current study was conducted to determine whether there is a relation between hypertension and two different polymorphisms, including C1562T of the Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) gene and C677T of the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene. Genomic DNA obtained from 224 persons (125 patients with hypertension and 99 healthy controls) were used in the study. Polymorphisms were determined by using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism and electrophoresis. The results were statistically analyzed and were found to be statistically significant. The frequencies of the C1562T genotypes were found to be, in controls CC 75.8 % and CT 24.2 % and in patients CC 71.2 %, and CT 28.8 %. The frequencies of C677T genotype were found to be, in controls CC 56.6 %, CT 38.4 and TT 5.1 % in controls and in patients CC 52 %, CT 30.4 % and TT 17.6 %. In conclusion, we may suggest that there is no relation between the essential hypertension and C1562T polymorphism of MMP-9 gene; on the other hand C677T polymorphism (genotype TT) of MTHFR gene can be regarded as a genetic indicator for the development of essential hypertension.Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan (MEXT), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI): 2450132

Frequency of angiotensin II type 1 receptor gene polymorphism in Turkish acute stroke patients

This study was performed in acute stroke patients in the Turkish population to determine the frequency of the A1166C polymorphism in the AT1 gene and to examine the role of this polymorphism in acute stroke development. In this study, 257 genomic DNA samples were analysed (from 206 acute stroke patients and 51 healthy individuals). Genomic DNA was prepared from peripheral blood using the salt-extraction method. The presence of the A1166C polymorphism in the AT1 gene was determined using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method. PCR products were separated by 2% agarose gel electrophoresis and visualized by a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera. In this study, the allele frequency at the A1166C position was 92% A and 8% C for control and 97% A and 3% C for patients. This difference in allele frequency between the control group and the patient group was not statistically significant. However, genotype and allele frequencies showed a significant difference (P<0.001) in the control and the patient groups. The results of this study show no relationship between the A1166C polymorphism in the AT1 gene and acute stroke in the Turkish population

The quality of life and dyadic adjustment of couples receiving infertility treatment

The aim of this study was to determine the factors that affect the dyadic adjustment and quality of life of individuals receiving infertility treatment and to evaluate the effect of dyadic adjustment on their quality of life. This study was conducted as a descriptive and cross-sectional study with 209 males and 213 females. The study data was collected using an introductory information form about socio-demographic characteristics, the Dyadic Adjustment Scale and the FertiQol Scale. The main findings of the study were that gender and marital status influenced dyadic adjustment and quality of life (p&lt;0.05), and that income status affected only dyadic adjustment (p&lt;0.05). There was a statistically significant relationship (37%) between scores for dyadic adjustment and scores for quality of life (p&lt;0.001). It was determined that females in infertility treatment had lower dyadic adjustment and quality of life than men.Keywords: Infertility, female and male, dyadic adjustment, quality of life, Turkey Le but de cette étude était de déterminer les facteurs qui affectent l‘adaptation dyadique et la qualité de vie des individus qui suivent un traitement pour l'infertilité et d'évaluer l'effet de l'adaptation dyadique sur leur qualité de vie. Cette étude a été menée comme une étude descriptive et transversale avec 209 hommes et 213 femmes. Les données de l‘étude ont été recueillies à l‘aide d‘un formulaire d‘introduction sur les caractéristiques sociodémographiques, l‘échelle d‘adaptation dyadique et l‘échelle FertiQol. Les conclusions importantes de l‘étude étaient que le sexe et l‘état civil influençaient l‘adaptation dyadique et la qualité de vie (p &lt;0,05), et que le statut de revenu n‘affectait que l‘adaptation dyadique (p &lt;0,05). Il y avait un rapport statistiquement significatif (37%) entre les points d'adaptation dyadique et les points de qualité de vie (p &lt;0,001). Il a été déterminé que les femmes sous traitement contre l'infertilité présentaient une adaptation dyadique et une qualité de vie inférieures à celles des hommes. Mots-clés: Infertilité, homme et femme, adaptation dyadique, qualité de vie, Turquie

Flexible quadrature spatial pulse amplitude modulation for VLC systems

Quadrature-spatial modulation (QSM) offers high spectral efficiency (SE) without interchannel interference for both radio frequency and visible light communication (VLC) systems. In this article, a new QSM scheme called flexible quadrature spatial pulse amplitude modulation (FQSPAM) is proposed for VLC systems. In space modulation techniques (SMTs), the data bit stream is divided into two groups as the index bits and the signal bits. These grouped bits are mapped independently to modulation symbols and indices of light-emitting diodes (LEDs). However, this mapping strategy puts a constraint on the number of LEDs and the size of the signal constellation. FQSPAM jointly designs the signal and spatial components of the constellation to overcome these limitations. This approach removes the constraint on the number of LEDs and the size of the signal constellation. The constellation design problem is formulated as a convex optimization problem to identify power-efficient constellations with different $M$ values. A dimming-controlled optimization algorithm has also been proposed to take into account both illumination and communication at the same time. Analytical and numerical results show the improved bit error rate performance of the proposed FQSPAM compared to spatial pulse amplitude modulation and channel adaptive bit mapping

Does plateletpheresis induce a hypercoagulable state? A global assessment of donor’s hemostatic system by ROTEM

Since there is still debate on the effects of plateletpheresis on coagulation system, we aimed to perform a global assessment of donor’s hemostatic function undergoing plateletpheresis by rotation thromboelastometry (ROTEM) analysis and to clarify if plateletpheresis procedure induces a hypercoagulable state. Thirty male plateletpheresis donors were included in the study. Four blood samples were drawn at different time intervals: before the beginning of the apheresis procedure; immediately after the completion of the apheresis procedure; 24 h and 7 days after the apheresis procedure. “Hypercoagulability” was diagnosed readily by having an accelerated clot formation, as evidenced by shortening of CFT and an increase of the clot strength, as evidenced by increasing of MCF. In INTEM assay, CFT value after apheresis was significantly prolonged compared with baseline value while CFT value 7 days after apheresis was significantly shortened compared with values immediately and 24 h after apheresis (p < 0.001). However, CFT-INTEM still did not show any shortening in any of the measurements when compared to pre-apheresis value. MCF value after apheresis was significantly shortened compared with baseline value while MCF value 7 days after apheresis was significantly prolonged compared with values immediately and 24 h after apheresis (p < 0.001). However, MCF-INTEM still did not show any increase in any of the measurements when compared to pre-apheresis value. There was no significant difference in CT value between four measurements (p = 0.064). In EXTEM assay, CFT value after apheresis was significantly prolonged compared with baseline value while CFT value 7 days after apheresis was significantly shortened compared with values immediately and 24 h after apheresis (p < 0.001). However, CFT-EXTEM still did not show any shortening in any of the measurements when compared to pre-apheresis value. MCF values immediately and 24 h after apheresis were significantly shortened compared with baseline value while MCF value 7 days after apheresis was significantly prolonged compared with values immediately and 24 h after apheresis (p < 0.001). However, MCF-EXTEM still did not show any increase in any of the measurements when compared to pre-apheresis value. We found no differences in CT value between four measurements (p = 0.208). Since ROTEM tracings on both INTEM and EXTEM assays did not reveal any significant shortening of CFT and increasing of MCF in any of the measurements after apheresis procedure, we concluded that plateletpheresis does not induce a hypercoagulable state in healthy donors

Estrogen and Androgen Hormone Levels Modulate the Expression of PIWI Interacting RNA in Prostate and Breast Cancer.

PIWI interacting RNAs (piRNAs), a member of non-coding RNA, originate from intergenic repetitive regions of the genome. piRNA expressions increase in various cancers and it is thought that this increase could be caused by hormones. We aimed to determine the effects of hormones on piRNA expression in breast and prostate cancer. High viability and a decrease in adhesion were observed at the concentrations of the highest proliferation. Furthermore, an increase in adhesion was also observed in MDA-MB-231 cells. After hormone treatment, while piR-651 expression had increased both breast and prostate cancer cell lines, piR-823 expressions increased in prostate cancer cell lines and only in the breast cancer cell line which was malignant. Thus, it was determined that piR-823 might show different expressions in different type of cancers

Comparison of Goldmann applanation tonometry,, rebound tonometry and dynamic contour tonometry in normal and glaucomatous eyes

AIM: To compare the intraocular pressure (IOP) measurements obtained with the rebound tonometry (RT), dynamic contour tonometry (DCT) and Goldmann applanation tonometry (GAT) in normal and glaucomatous eyes and investigate the effects of central corneal thickness (CCT) and corneal curvature (CC) on IOP measurements