Mejora de stocks en el sudeste del Mar Negro, mediante la liberación de rodaballos, Psetta maxima, criados en cautividad: análisis de la captura, migración, crecimiento y dieta

In this study, the capture, growth, migration and diet of hatchery-released turbots (Psetta maxima) were examined in the southeastern Black Sea region for six years (2009-2014). A total of 9933 turbots were marked with individual serial-numbered T-bar anchor tags and released at Trabzon, Turkey. The mean TL and weight of the released turbots were 12.91 cm (±1.25) and 35.41 g (±12.38) and the same measurements for the captured turbots were 31.17±0.86 cm and 878.08±69.47 g, respectively. A total of 2.7% (270 fishes) of the tagged individuals were captured during the study period and the age of the captured tagged fishes was between 0+ and 5+ years. Growth of the captured turbots was analytically examined. Movements of the tagged turbots were expressed as “resident” and “migratory”. Three prey groups showed the majority of forage organisms; teleost fishes, crustaceans and mollusks in the stomach of the captured turbots. The hatchery-released turbots might be used for stock enhancement due to their high growth rate and commercial value, and their relatively limited migration range.En este estudio se examinaron datos de captura, crecimiento, migración y dieta, de rodaballos (Psetta maxima) criados en cautividad y liberados en zonas del sudeste del Mar Negro, durante seis años (2009-2014). Se marcaron individualmente un total de 9933 rodaballos, utilizando marcas numeradas en serie (marcas de plástico tipo T) y se liberaron en Trabzon (Turquía). Las medias de longitud total (TL) y peso total de los rodaballos liberados fueron de 12.91 cm (±1.25) y 35.41 g (±12.38), y las mismas medidas para los rodaballos capturados fueron de 31.17±0.86 cm y 878.08±69.47 g, respectivamente. Un 2.7% (270 peces) de los individuos marcados fue capturado durante el periodo de estudio y la edad de estos individuos osciló entre 0+ y 5+ años de edad. El crecimiento de los rodaballos capturados se examinó analíticamente. Los movimientos de los rodaballos marcados fueron expresados como “residentes” y “migratorios”. La mayoría de los organismos presentes en los estómagos de los rodaballos capturados pertenecían a tres grupos de presas: peces teleósteos, crustáceos y moluscos. Los rodaballos criados en cautividad y liberados podrían ser usados en la mejora de stocks debido a su elevada tasa de crecimiento, valor comercial, y su relativamente limitado rango de migración

Asymptomatic solitary pons metastasis in small cell lung cancer: a case report

Akciğer kanserli olguların %10-14'unda tanı esnasında merkezi sinir sistemi metastazı bulunmakta ve %80-85 supratentoriyel yerlesim göstermektedir. Merkezi sinir sistemi metastazlarında en sık semptom basagrısıdır ancak daha nadir olarak hemiparezi gibi fokal nörolojik bulgular, epilepsi, serebellar fonksiyonlarda bozulma saptanabilmektedir. Beyin metastazlarının gelistigi akciger tümörleri radyolojik olarak sıklıkla apikal ve periferik yerlesimlidir. Beyin metastazı taramalarında ve evrelendirmede beyin BT ve/veya MRG kullanılmaktadır. Ancak beyin BT bazen beyin sapındaki lezyonları çok iyi görüntüleyemeyebilir. Kontrastlı beyin MRG'si küçük metastatik lezyonları göstermede BT'den daha duyarlıdır. Bu yazıda küçük hücreli akciger kanseri tanısı alan ve herhangi bir klinik semptom göstermeyen 47 yasındaki bir erkek olguda nadir metastaz bölgesi olarak saptanan pons yerlesimli bir beyin metastazı sunulmaktadır.Central nervous system metastasis is seen 10-14% in lung cancers at initial diagnosis and usually located at supratentorial localisation. In central nervous system metastases, the most common symptom is headache, whilst focal neurological deficits like hemiparesia, epilepsy, and deterioration in cerebellar functions may also be seen. Lung cancers with brain metastasis is usually located at apex and periferal regions radiographically. In scanning and staging of brain metastases, brain CT and/or MRI is used. Lesions located at brain stem may not be seen by brain CT. Brain MRI with gadolinum is more sensitive than CT to detect small metastatic lesions. In this case report, we present a 47 years old man with small cell lung cancer who had no neurologic symptoms and with rarely seen pons metastasis of brain

Ramelteon Protects Intestinal Tissue Against Injury Caused by Methotrexate Via Showing Anti-apoptotic, Antiinflammatory and Antioxidant Properties

Objective:Methotrexate (MTX), a drug used in the treatment of autoimmune diseases and cancers, is a folic acid antagonist, but it has toxic effects on the gastrointestinal system (GIS). In this study, we examined the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-apoptotic effects of Ramelteon (RAM), a melatonin receptor agonist, on the MTX-induced toxicity in the intestinal tissue of rats.Methods:Thirty-two male Wistar albino rats were randomly divided into 4 groups; Control group, MTX group, MTX + RAM group, and RAM group. Single-dose 0.1 mL 20 mg/kg MTX, saline or 0.1 mL 10 mg/kg RAM orally was administered for 7 days. Animals were sacrificed at the end of 7 days after the last drug administration. Then, intestinal tissues were collected for biochemical, histopathological and immunohistochemical analyses.Results:While normal histological findings and biochemical parameters were observed in the control and RAM groups, in the MTX group, mononuclear cell infiltrations, hemorrhagic areas, degenerations in the submucosa and Lieberkuhn crypts were observed in the intestinal sections. Caspase-3 (Cas-3) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) expressions, total oxidant status (TOS) and oxidative stress index (OSI) increased and total antioxidant status (TAS) decreased in the MTX group. RAM treatment decreased Cas-3 and TNF-α expressions, TOS, OSI levels and increased TAS levels.Conclusion:In this study, RAM showed anti-apoptotic, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects on MTX-induced toxicity in intestinal tissue. Therefore, it was suggested that RAM might be used in MTX-like toxicities to alleviate the side effects on the GIS

A Risk Score for Predicting Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) develops as a result of environmental influences on the genetically susceptible. Siblings of people with MS have an increased risk of both MS and demonstrating asymptomatic changes in keeping with MS. We set out to develop an MS risk score integrating both genetic and environmental risk factors. We used this score to identify siblings at extremes of MS risk and attempted to validate the score using brain MRI.78 probands with MS, 121 of their unaffected siblings and 103 healthy controls were studied. Personal history was taken, and serological and genetic analysis using the illumina immunochip was performed. Odds ratios for MS associated with each risk factor were derived from existing literature, and the log values of the odds ratios from each of the risk factors were combined in an additive model to provide an overall score. Scores were initially calculated using log odds ratio from the HLA-DRB1*1501 allele only, secondly using data from all MS-associated SNPs identified in the 2011 GWAS. Subjects with extreme risk scores underwent validation studies. MRI was performed on selected individuals.There was a significant difference in the both risk scores between people with MS, their unaffected siblings and healthy controls (p<0.0005). Unaffected siblings had a risk score intermediate to people with MS and controls (p<0.0005). The best performing risk score generated an AUC of 0.82 (95%CI 0.75–0.88).The risk score demonstrates an AUC on the threshold for clinical utility. Our score enables the identification of a high-risk sibling group to inform pre-symptomatic longitudinal studies

The association of anti-CCP antibodies with disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis

Antibodies to citrullinated proteins have been described in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and these appear to be the most specific markers of the disease. Our objective was to determine the frequency of antibodies to cyclic citrullinated peptides (CCPs) in patients with RA and the association of anti-CCP antibodies with disease activity, radiological erosions and HLA DR genotype. Forty patients with RA and 38 patients with fibromyalgia were included in this study. Serum samples were collected from both patient groups with RA and fibromyalgia. Anti-CCP was measured by the corresponding enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Additionally, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), rheumatoid factor (RF), disease activity score (DAS), visual analog scala (VAS), HLA genotype and radiographic information were determined in patients with RA. The rate of sensitivity and specificity of anti-CCP reactivity for the diagnosis RA were measured (sensitivity 50%, specificity100%). There is no significant difference between anti-CCP (+) and anti-CCP (−) RA patients for DAS28, VAS, ESR, CRP, disease duration, HLA genotype, and radiological assessment of hand. However, there was a significant difference between anti-CCP (+) and anti-CCP (−) RA patients for RF and the radiological assessment of left and right wrists (respectively, P < 0.05, P = 0.04, P = 0.01). There was no significant correlation between anti-CCP antibody and ESR, CRP, VAS, DAS 28 or radiological assessment. A small but significant correlation was found between RF and anti-CCP antibody (P = 0.02, r = 0.35)

A comparative ID migraine screener study in ophthalmology, ENT and neurology out-patient clinics

Migraine is more likely to be misdiagnosed in patients with comorbid diseases. Not only primary care physicians, but also specialists might misdiagnose it due to the lack of diagnostic criteria awareness. The ID migraine test is a reliable screening instrument that may facilitate and accelerate migraine recognition. This study aimed to compare the prevalence and characteristics of migraine in a large sample of patients admitted to clinics of ophthalmology (OC), ear, nose and throat diseases (ENTC) and neurology (NC), as well as to validate the use of the ID migraine test in OC and ENTC settings. This was a multicentre (11 cites) study of out-patients admitting either to NC, ENTC or OC of the study sites during five consecutive working days within 1 week. From each of the clinics, 100 patients were planned to be recruited. All recruited patients were interviewed and those having a headache complaint received an ID migraine test and were examined for headache diagnosis by a neurologist, blinded to the ID migraine test result. A total of 2625 subjects were recruited. Only 1.3% of OC patients and 5.4% of ENTC patients have been admitted with a primary complaint of headache, whereas the percentage of NC patients suffering from headache was 37.6%. Whereas 138 patients (19.3%) in OC, 154 (17.3%) in ENTC and 347 (34%) in NC were found to be ID migraine test positive, 149 patients (20.8%) in OC, 142 (16%) in ENTC and 338 (33.1%) in NC were diagnosed with migraine. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive ratios of the ID migraine test were found to be similar in all clinics. An important fraction of the patients admitted to NC, as well as to OC and ENTC, for headache and/or other complaints were found out to have migraine by means of a simple screening test. This study validated the ID migraine test as a sensitive and specific tool in OC and ENTC, encouraging its use as a screening instrument.Pfizer-Türkiy

Natural products in drug discovery: advances and opportunities

Natural products and their structural analogues have historically made a major contribution to pharmacotherapy, especially for cancer and infectious diseases. Nevertheless, natural products also present challenges for drug discovery, such as technical barriers to screening, isolation, characterization and optimization, which contributed to a decline in their pursuit by the pharmaceutical industry from the 1990s onwards. In recent years, several technological and scientific developments — including improved analytical tools, genome mining and engineering strategies, and microbial culturing advances — are addressing such challenges and opening up new opportunities. Consequently, interest in natural products as drug leads is being revitalized, particularly for tackling antimicrobial resistance. Here, we summarize recent technological developments that are enabling natural product-based drug discovery, highlight selected applications and discuss key opportunities

Post-operative atrial fibrillation: a maze of mechanisms

Post-operative atrial fibrillation (POAF) is one of the most frequent complications of cardiac surgery and an important predictor of patient morbidity as well as of prolonged hospitalization. It significantly increases costs for hospitalization. Insights into the pathophysiological factors causing POAF have been provided by both experimental and clinical investigations and show that POAF is ‘multi-factorial’. Facilitating factors in the mechanism of the arrhythmia can be classified as acute factors caused by the surgical intervention and chronic factors related to structural heart disease and ageing of the heart. Furthermore, some proarrhythmic mechanisms specifically occur in the setting of POAF. For example, inflammation and beta-adrenergic activation have been shown to play a prominent role in POAF, while these mechanisms are less important in non-surgical AF. More recently, it has been shown that atrial fibrosis and the presence of an electrophysiological substrate capable of maintaining AF also promote the arrhythmia, indicating that POAF has some proarrhythmic mechanisms in common with other forms of AF. The clinical setting of POAF offers numerous opportunities to study its mechanisms. During cardiac surgery, biopsies can be taken and detailed electrophysiological measurements can be performed. Furthermore, the specific time course of POAF, with the delayed onset and the transient character of the arrhythmia, also provides important insight into its mechanisms

Current trends in cannulation and neuroprotection during surgery of the aortic arch in Europe†‡

OBJECTIVES To conduct a survey across European cardiac centres to evaluate the methods used for cerebral protection during aortic surgery involving the aortic arch. METHODS All European centres were contacted and surgeons were requested to fill out a short, comprehensive questionnaire on an internet-based platform. One-third of more than 400 contacted centres completed the survey correctly. RESULTS The most preferred site for arterial cannulation is the subclavian-axillary, both in acute and chronic presentation. The femoral artery is still frequently used in the acute condition, while the ascending aorta is a frequent second choice in the case of chronic presentation. Bilateral antegrade brain perfusion is chosen by the majority of centres (2/3 of cases), while retrograde perfusion or circulatory arrest is very seldom used and almost exclusively in acute clinical presentation. The same pumping system of the cardio pulmonary bypass is most of the time used for selective cerebral perfusion, and the perfusate temperature is usually maintained between 22 and 26°C. One-third of the centres use lower temperatures. Perfusate flow and pressure are fairly consistent among centres in the range of 10-15 ml/kg and 60 mmHg, respectively. In 60% of cases, barbiturates are added for cerebral protection, while visceral perfusion still receives little attention. Regarding cerebral monitoring, there is a general tendency to use near-infrared spectroscopy associated with bilateral radial pressure measurement. CONCLUSIONS These data represent a snapshot of the strategies used for cerebral protection during major aortic surgery in current practice, and may serve as a reference for standardization and refinement of different approache