The role of cinnamon as a modulator of the expression of genes related to antioxidant activity and lipid metabolism of laying quails

Since cinnamon has vitamins and minerals in addition to antioxidants compounds in its chemical composition studies have shown the potential of cinnamon supplementation on some important characteristics in the performance of birds. Thus, this study was conducted under the hypothesis that the inclusion of cinnamon in the laying quail diet could influence the performance of the birds through the expression of genes related to antioxidant activity and lipid metabolism. To test this hypothesis, 144 Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) with an initial age of 18 weeks and average weight of 133g were distributed in a completely randomized design with two treatments: no cinnamon supplementation (NCS—control group) and with supplementation of 9g/kg of cinnamon powder (CPS). The experiment lasted for 84 days. At the end of the experimental period, six animals from each treatment were euthanized by cervical dislocation, blood was collected and organs weighed. Liver tissue was collected for gene expression and biochemical analyses. We observed a significant effect of cinnamon inclusion on the weight of the pancreas (P = 0.0418), intestine (P = 0.0209) and ovary (P = 0.0389). Lower weights of the pancreas and intestine, and a higher ovary weight was observed in birds receiving the CPS diet. Quails fed with cinnamon supplementation also had better feed conversion per egg mass (2.426 g /g, P = 0.0126), and higher triglyceride (1516.60 mg/dL, P = 0.0207), uric acid (7.40 mg/dL, P = 0.0003) and VLDL (300.40 mg/dL, P = 0.0252) contents. A decreased content of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and lower catalase activity was observed in the liver of quails from the CPS diet (0.086 nmoles/mg PTN, and 2.304 H2O2/min/mg PTN, respectively). Quails from the CPS group presented significantly greater expression of FAS (fatty acid synthase, 36,03 AU), ACC (Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase, 31.33 AU), APOAI (apolipoprotein A-I, 803,9 AU), ESR2 (estrogen receptor 2, 0.73 AU) SOD (superoxide dismutase, 4,933.9 AU) and GPx7 (glutathione peroxidase 7, 9.756 AU) than quails from the control group. These results allow us to suggest that cinnamon powder supplementation in the diet of laying quails can promote balance in the metabolism and better performance through the modulation of antioxidant activity and the expression of genes related to lipid metabolism

The Value of Ensari’s Proposal in Evaluating the Mucosal Pathology of Childhood Celiac Disease: Old Classification versus New Version

Objective: Small intestinal biopsy remains the gold standard in diagnosing celiac disease (CD); however, the wide spectrum of histopathological states and differential diagnosis of CD is still a diagnostic problem for pathologists. Recently, Ensari reviewed the literature and proposed an update of the histopathological diagnosis and classification for CD. Materials and Methods: In this study, the histopathological materials of 54 children in whom CD was diagnosed at our hospital were reviewed to compare the previous Marsh and Modified Marsh-Oberhuber classifications with this new proposal. Results: In this study, we show that the Ensari classification is as accurate as the Marsh and Modified Marsh classifications in describing the consecutive states of mucosal damage seen in CD.Conclusions: Ensari’s classification is simple, practical and facilitative in diagnosing and subtyping of mucosal pathology of CD

Compact Size, and Highly Sensitive, Microwave Sensor for Non-Invasive Measurement of Blood Glucose Level

IEEENone-invasive blood glucose measurement enables effective diagnosis and treatment of diabetic patients. The existing microwave sensors suffer from low sensitivity and large size. This article presents a highly sensitive and compact size non-invasive microwave sensor for real-time blood glucose measurements. We have developed a new sensing technique using directly connected Branch Line Coupler and Split Ring Resonators. This technique significantly improves the sensitivity by mitigating the limited coupling between transmission lines and resonators. In addition, using Split Ring Resonators reduces the sensor size due to capacitive and inductive effects, which are loaded to the Branch Line Coupler. The proposed sensing function is based on shifting the transmission notch frequency in coupled arm of the Branch Line Coupler, which is caused by loading the Split Ring Resonators with varying glucose concentration. A prototype sensor is fabricated and successfully tested using several glucose concentrations in deionized water. Experimental results demonstrate 0.72 MHz/mgdL-1 measurement sensitivity, which is higher in comparison with available sensors in PCB technology. The prototype sensor size is 3.5×3.5×0.16 cm3

Cytological Diagnosis of Small Cell Carcinoma of Urinary Bladder in a Patient with CLL

Small cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder (SCCUB) is an extremely rare bladder malignancy characterized by an aggressive clinical behavior. So, it is important to diagnose this high grade disease by urinary cytology. We report a case of SCCUB in an old man with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in remission, while bladder tumor was diagnosed by cytology. With this article, we aimed to review and to update the literature concerning this tumor

A Case of Etanercept Induced Palmoplantar Pustular Psoriasis

Abstract Observations: Etanercept is a human recombinant soluble tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) receptor fusion protein. Etanercept has been used successfully to treat a wide range of inflammatory disorders including psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis resistant to classical disease-modifying treatments. The widespread use of TNF-α antagonists led to the recognition of adverse effects. Herein, we report a case of palmoplantar pustular psoriasis in a 37-year-old man during the etanercept therapy

Comparison of the efficiency of subconjunctival aflibercept ranibizumab and bevacizumab in corneal neovascularization in a rat model

Background: Corneal neovascularization (CN) might be a sight-threatening condition via reducing the corneal transparency. One of the most significant proangiogenic factors is vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) that is shown to be upregulated in CN. Accordingly, we aimed to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of aflibercept, ranibizumab, and bevacizumab in CN in a rat model. Material and methods: Twenty-eight male Wistar-Albino rats were administered general anesthesia. 2-mm-diameter central burns were formed on the corneas. Rats were divided into four groups randomly, and one group was administered subconjunctival saline solution as the control group. Subconjunctival aflibercept, bevacizumab, and ranibizumab were applied to the other three groups, respectively. Three rats from each group were randomly selected, and digital photographs of the corneas were taken under general anesthesia. Then, rats were euthanized, and eyes were enucleated one week and one month after the corneal injury. Three enucleated eyes from each group were prepared for histological evaluation with hematoxylin and eosin. Results: According to the first week results, there was no central CN in all groups except the control group. There was no statistically significant difference in total CN among the groups according to the Kruskal-Wallis test (p = 0.09). The control group had a higher inflammation score than the other groups in the central cornea. On the other hand, the control group had less intense fibrosis than the other groups in the central cornea. In the first month, there was a spontaneous regression in central CN in the control group. There was again no statistical difference among the groups regarding the CN (p = 0.46). There was no inflammation in the central cornea in any groups. Conclusion: single-dose subconjunctival injection of aflibercept, ranibizumab, and bevacizumab prevents thecentral CN and reduces the inflammation

The expression of GST isoenzymes in acinar adenocarcinoma, intraepithelial neoplasia, and benign prostate tissue: Correlation of clinical parameters with GST isoenzymes

This study investigated the immunohistochemical staining characteristics of glutathione-S-transferase (GST) alpha, pi, mu, and theta in prostatic acinar adenocarcinoma (PCA), prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN), and benign prostatic tissues from 19 patients. Relationships between GST isoenzyme expression in benign, PIN, and PCA tissue were examined by the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and clinicopathological data were examined by the Spearman correlation rank test. When the benign, PIN, and PCA tissues from these cases were compared according to their staining intensity, GST alpha, pi, mu, and theta expressions in tumor cells were significantly lower than in benign epithelial cells (P 0.05). The GST alpha class displayed the lowest level of expression in PIN and PCA. Expression of GST pi was lower in PCA tissue than in PIN and benign epithelial tissue (P 0.05). We hypothesize that carcinogenesis in the prostate results from impaired cellular handling of mutagenic agents owing to reduction or loss of expression of multiple GST isoenzymes and other detoxifying and antimutagenesis agents. This study confirms the down-regulation of GST isoenzymes in PCA of the prostate and shows that the loss of GST isoenzyme expression is a phenotype associated with malignant transformation. There was no statistical relationship between GST isoenzyme expression and the clinicopathological data (age, Gleason score, and total serum prostate-specific antigen levels) (P > 0.05). © TÜBİTAK