EFFECTS OF ERYTHROPOIETIN ON THE SERUM AND LIVER TISSUE LEVELS OF COPPER AND ZINC IN RATS WITH OBSTRUCTIVE JAUNDICE EFEKTI ERITROPOETINA NA NIVOE BAKRA I CINKA U SERUMU I TKIVIMA JETRE KOD PACOVA SA OPSTRUKTIVNOM @UTICOM

Summary Background: Erythropoietin is an anti-apoptotic, anti-inflammatory, angiogenetic cytokine and has protective properties against oxidative stress. In this study we investigated the effects of erythropoietin on the le vels (serum and liver tissue) of copper and zinc in cholestatic rats. Methods: Thirty-two Wistar albino rats used in the study were divided into four groups -Group I: Sham; Group II: Erythropoietin; Group III: Obstruc tive Jaundice; Group IV: Obstructive Jaundice+Erythro poietin. After the first operation, rats were followed up for seven days and then operated for the second time. Rats were sacrificed by intracardiac blood taking, and the liver tissue samples were obtained immediately. Results: Erythropoietin reduces copper, and increases zinc levels in serum and liver tissues after obstructive jaundice (p<0.05). Furthermore, it has been shown that the levels of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, gamma glutamyl transferase, alkaline phosphatase and total bilirubin/direct bilirubin were significantly lower in Obstructive Jaundice+Erythropoietin group than Obstructive Jaundice group. Conclusions: Erythropoietin affects the changes in copper and zinc levels, thus decrea sing the liver damage biochemically in rats with obstructive jaundice. However, further investigations are needed to discover how erythropoietin therapy might reduce target organ damage in cholestatic liver cases by affecting copper and zinc levels

PAAm-Kappa Carrageenan Composites: Drying and Swelling with Various Kappa Carrageenan Contents

The purpose of this study is to discuss the role of kappa-carrageenan (kappa-car) in the drying and swelling of polyacrylamide (PAAm)-kappa-car composite. The fluorescence intensity of pyranine increased and decreased as drying and swelling time were increased respectively for all samples. The desorption coefficient, D-d, decreased as kappa-car contents were increased for a given temperature during drying. However, cooperative diffusion coefficient, D-s, increased as kappa-car contents were increased during swelling at a given temperature

Temperature Effect on the Swelling of PAAm-kappa-carrageenan Composites

The steady-state fluorescence (SSF) technique was used for studying swelling of disc-shaped polyacrylamide (PAAm)-kappa-carrageenan (kappa C) composites which were prepared by free-radical crosslinking copolymerization at 80 degrees C. Pyranine was introduced as a fluorescence probe during polymerization. Swelling experiments were performed in water at various temperatures by real-time monitoring of the pyranine (Py) fluorescence intensity, I which decreased as swelling proceeded. Stern-Volmer equation is modified for low quenching efficiencies to interpret the behavior of Py intensity during the swelling of PAAm-kappa C composites. The Li-Tanaka equation was used to determine the swelling time constants, tau(1), and cooperative diffusion coefficients, D(0), from fluorescence intensity, weight, and volume variations of the composites at various temperatures. It was observed that tau(1) first decreased up to 40 degrees C and then increased; naturally, D0 increased up to 40 degrees C and then decrease for all kappa C content gels. Swelling activation energies, DE, were measured for the swelling composites, which are found to be exothermic and endothermic in between 30-40 and 40-60 degrees C, respectively. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 123: 1746-1754, 201

Heavy metal deposition in moss samples from East and South Marmara Region, Turkey

A survey of atmospheric heavy metal deposition in the east and south Marmara region, Turkey was carried out in September 2004. For this purpose, moss samples (Hypnum cupressiforme) were collected in a systematic network of 125 sites. Concentrations of the elements (Al, B, Ba, Ca, Cd, Fe, Co, Cr, Cu, K, Li, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, Sr, Mg, Ti, and Zn) in the moss were used as an indication of the level of air pollution in the region. Significant differences in heavy metal concentrations, especially for Pb, Cd, Cu, and Zn, were recorded in the moss samples collected around industrialized and heavily populated cities (Istanbul, Bursa, BandA +/- rma, Kocaeli, Biga-Can) and in an abandoned lead-mining area (BalA +/- kesir-Balya). A map of the spatial distribution of each element in the region was plotted, and enrichment factors were calculated. VARIMAX principal component analysis was applied to the data obtained, and five different components were obtained. The results showed that Pb, Cu, Cd, and Zn derived from anthropogenic and industrial sources while other elements came mostly from natural sources

Fluid-CO2 injection impact in a geothermal reservoir: Evaluation with 3-D reactive transport modeling

Geothermal energy is commonly recognized as an environmentally friendly source of energy. However, geothermal fluids have unusually high CO2 content, particularly, in carbonated geothermal reservoirs. An efficient method to mitigate the CO2 emissions of geothermal power plants is to re-inject the captured CO2 with the effluent fluid to mineralize mainly into calcite under reservoir conditions (e.g., reservoir temperatures ranging from 200 to 220 degrees C). One of the major concerns about the re-injection of the captured CO2 is to predict the geochemical interaction between the injected fluid-CO2 and rock, and the corresponding alterations that occur due to the re-injection in the reservoir parameters. For this study, we have selected one of the largest geothermal fields, which is located in the western part of Turkey. A predictive 3-D reactive transport modeling is carried out using TOUGHREACT v1.2 for potential fluid-CO2 injection into deep metamorphic formation rocks consisting of marble, quartzite, and schist. Each rock type with different mineral constituents is examined in three different scenarios. Moreover, in each scenario, three annual injection rates, 500, 2000, and 4000 tons of CO2 for ten years of continuous injection are tested. The aims of the study are first the evaluation of the dynamic fluid-rock interactions with maximum possible CO2-charged fluid injection and second the identification of the mineralization process. The modeling results indicate that the maximum CO2-charged fluid mixture remains stable as a single-phase in all scenarios. The mineralization process of CO2 in the reservoir is limited due to the different mineral contents of the considered metamorphic rocks and the differences between the CO2 mass fraction of the injected fluid and the reservoir. In addition, the injected fluid temperature, the pH, the convective dispersive fluxes between the wells also affect the chemical process. These results show differences compared to the CarbFix project carried out in basaltic Icelandic geothermal reservoirs where the CO2 mineralization process was successful

Diurnal Enuresis Secondary to Aripiprazole in a Child with Autistic Disorder: A Case Report

[No Abstract Available

Monitoring the gelation of polyacrylamide-sodium alginate composite by fluorescence technique

Polyacrylamide (PAAm)-sodium alginate (SA) composite was prepared with different amounts of SA varying in the range between 0.06% and 2% (w/v). The PAAm-SA composite was characterized by the steady-state fluorescence technique. Pyranine was added as a fluoroprobe for monitoring the polymerization. It was observed that pyranine molecules bind to AAm and SA chains upon the initiation of the polymerization. Thus, the fluorescence spectra of the bonded pyranines shift to the shorter wavelengths. Fluorescence spectra from the bonded pyranines allowed us to monitor the sol-gel phase transition, and to test the universality of the sol-gel transition as a function of SA contents. Observations around the critical point show that the gel fraction exponent, beta, and the weight average degree of polymerization exponent, gamma, agreed with the percolation result for (<0.25% (w/v)) SA contents. However, classical results were produced at (<2% (w/v)) SA contents