Novel Echocardiographic Biomarkers in the Management of Atrial Fibrillation

Purpose of Review: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in adults. The number of patients with AF is anticipated to increase annually, mainly due to the aging population alongside improved arrhythmia detection. AF is associated with a significantly elevated risk of hospitalization, stroke, thromboembolism, heart failure, and all-cause mortality. Echocardiography is one of the key components of routine assessment and management of AF. Therefore, the aim of this review is to briefly summarize current knowledge on “novel” echocardiographic parameters that may be of value in the management of AF patients. Recent Findings: Novel echocardiographic biomarkers and their clinical application related to the management of AF have been taken into consideration. Both standard parameters such as atrial size and volume but also novels like atrial strain and tissue Doppler techniques have been analyzed. Summary: A number of novel echocardiographic parameters have been proven to enable early detection of left atrial dysfunction along with increased diagnosis accuracy. This concerns particularly experienced echocardiographers. Hence, these techniques might improve the prediction of stroke and thromboembolic events among AF patients and need to be further developed and disseminated. Nonetheless, even the standard imaging parameters could be of significant value and should not be discontinued in everyday clinical practice. © 2019, The Author(s)

CORRELATION BETWEEN MELT QUALITY AND FLUIDITY OF A356

Aluminium and its alloys are prefer choice of automotive parts due to their low density and high strength ratios. These critical applications requires high quality castings to be produced. Melt quality can be measured by bifilm index using reduced pressure test. This index is a numerical indication of bifilm quantity of the melt. It has been shown that these bifilms affect many of the properties significantly. One of the limiting factor of casting methods is the fluidity of the liquid metal. The aim of the study is to investigate the effect of bifilms (i.e. melt quality) over the fluidity of A356 by using spiral test mould. Different mould temperatures were studied and it was found that as the bifilm index was increased, the scatter of the test results was increased

Comparison of Inflammatory Reactions Following Two Different Cesarean Section Techniques: The Modified Misgav-Ladach Versus the Pfannenstiel-Kerr; A Prospective Randomized Trial

Objectives: There is not yet a consensus on the optimal surgical technique for cesarean section. This is the first study comparing two different (Cesarean Section) with respect to the following inflammatory reaction in means of changes in inflammatory marker levels. To evaluate the differences in inflammatory reactions following two different (Cesarean Section) techniques, the modified Misgav-Ladach versus the Pfannenstiel-Kerr technique. Study Desıgn: The study population included 88 pregnant women who met the inclusion criteria. These women were randomized into two groups according to Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials guidelines: Group 1 (Misgav-Ladach group) and Group 2 (Pfannenstiel Kerr group). To compare the inflammatory reactions following surgery, Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α) levels were measured in venous blood samples drawn from the patients just before (0 hour) and 24 hours (24th hour) after the surgery. In 5 women from Group 1 and 2 women from Group 2, the 24th hour blood samples could not be obtained or were lost. Thus, a total of 81 women, 39 women from Group 1 and 42 women from Group 2, comprised the population of study. The differences in inflammatory reactions between the 0 and 24th hours were analyzed by calculating the percent change in IL-6 and TNF-α levels, and these percentages were then compared between the groups. Results: There was a statistically significant difference between Group 1 and Group 2 regarding the serum IL-6 level change between 0 and 24th hour (530±653% and 196±168%, respectively, p=0.022. The difference in TNF-α was also higher in Group 2, but the difference was not statistically significant (229±306% vs. 571±824%, p=0.12). The mean operation time was significantly shorter in Group 1 (9.44 min. vs. 16.86 min, p=0.0001). Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that the modified Misgav-Ladach technique has a weaker inflammatory reaction, which indicates fewer short- and long-term surgical complications

A Novel Atraumatic Tourniquet Technique for Excessive Bleeding during Cesarean Sections

Objective. Controlling excessive bleeding in cesarean sections which may cause a life-threatening event even under well-prepared conditions. We used a novel atraumatic tourniquet technique to temporary arrest blood flow through the uterine and ovarian vessels and compare with other techniques. Toothless vascular clamps were used as clamp. Methods. Tourniquet technique performed postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) cases (19 out of 37) were compared with 18 other cases with PPH. Results. The difference between preoperative and postoperative hemoglobin values was significantly lower in the study group as well as the number of blood products needed during and after surgery. Conclusions. This technique not only prevented massive bleeding from the uterus but also allowed physicians time to consider the necessity of further interventions

Prediction of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome via pulmonary artery Doppler examination

###EgeUn###Objective: We aimed with this study to evaluate the role of pulmonary artery acceleration time to ejection time ratio (PATET) in the prediction of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in preterm neonates. Materials and methods: In this prospective cohort study, 105 singleton pregnant women with no congenital abnormalities and pregnancy complications who delivered before 37 weeks of gestational age were included. All the patients underwent ultrasound examination to obtain fetal pulmonary artery Doppler. 15 patients were excluded from the study as they did not give birth within 3 days subsequent to ultrasound examination, or inadequate Doppler measurements. After delivery the neonates were grouped according to diagnosis of RDS as RDS + and RDS-. Results: One hundred five women met the inclusion criteria. Regarding the Doppler findings; only the PATET ratio was significantly different between the groups (0.2965 +/- 0.042 versus 0.386 +/- 0.068 p < .001, Z = -5.206). There was an inverse correlation between the diagnosis of RDS in the neonates and the PATET values, even after adjusted for gestational age estimated fetal weight and fetal gender (r = -0.52 and p = .0017). A cut-off value of 0.327 provided optimal specificity of 77.1%, a sensitivity of 90.9%, a negative predictive value of 95.4%, and a positive predictive value 52.7%. Conclusions: In consideration of these results fetal PATET ratio is a promising noninvasive tool to predict RDS in cases of preterm deliveries

In Turkish wheat cultivars the resistance allele of LR34 is ineffective against leaf rust

Rust and powdery mildew diseases of wheat are among the oldest and most harmful diseases confining the yield of wheat worldwide. Development of resistant wheat cultivars with durable or race-nonspecific resistance genes is the main objective for many breeding programs. One of these genes, Lr34/Yr18/Pm38, was found to confer partial and durable resistance against rust pathogens as well as powdery mildew. This multiple disease resistant locus was recently found to comprise a single gene, which encodes an adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette transporter (ABC-transporter) of the pleiotropic drug resistance (PDR) subfamily. Differences in the alleles of resistant and susceptible cultivars enabled to develop six allele-specific markers. In this study, 46 different Turkish bread wheat cultivars were screened using these specific markers, which indicated that 13 cultivars carry the resistance allele of that gene. To compare this molecular finding with phenotypic observations, a field trial with artificial inoculation of Puccinia recondita was performed. Interestingly, all cultivars having the resistance allele were found to be susceptible. Although Lr34 has mediated resistance against leaf rust for over 40 years and has been used globally as an effective component of rust resistance in many breeding programs, this adult plant resistance is ineffective in the studied Turkish bread wheat cultivars

Effect of nisin-EDTA combinations and modified atmosphere packaging on the survival of Salmonella enteritidis in Turkish type meatballs

Meatballs are widely consumed ready-to-cook meat products due to their favourable tastes and flavours. They can be contaminated with several saprophyte and pathogenic bacteria due to their ingredients. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of nisin and EDTA treatments in combination with modified atmosphere packaging (ambient air, 80:20:0/O2:CO2:N2 and 0.4:30:69.60/CO:CO2:N2 gas mixtures) on the survival of Salmonella Enteritidis in Turkish type meatballs stored at 4°C. Shelf-life of meatballs containing nisin and/or EDTA was extended compared to control. The efficient inhibition of Salmonella Enteritidis was enhanced with increasing concentrations of EDTA when applied together with nisin (1000 µg/g nisin and 50 mM EDTA). In conclusion, combined effects of nisin and EDTA incorporation with low level of CO packaging appears to be an important strategy to increase food safety; thus, this application can contribute to minimize the incidence of foodborne diseases originated from Salmonella spp

Evaluation of thiol/disulphide homeostasis as a novel predictor testing tool of early pregnancy viability

Objective: To evaluate serum dynamic thiol/disulphide concentrations in patients with suspected missed abortion (MA) and to determine whether this ratio has a predictive role in the viability in these pregnancies

Evaluation of fetal serum thiol/disulphide homeostasis in deliveries complicated by nuchal cord

Aim: To investigate the serum thiol/disulphide homeostasis in deliveries complicated by nuchal cord (NC) and to compare the results with healthy deliveries (without NC). Methods: This prospective controlled study included 48 pregnant women complicated by NC and 48 similar gestational aged healthy pregnant women during labor. Fetal umbilical cord serum samples were collected during labor and the thiol/disulphide homeostasis was measured by using an automated assay method. The patients were followed up until end of the delivery and perinatal outcomes were recorded. Results: Fetal umbilical cord native thiol, total thiol, and disulphide levels as well as disulphide/native thiol and disulphide/total thiol ratios are impaired in labor with the presence of NC. There were no statistically significant differences in terms of maternal and gestational age at delivery and maternal number of gravida and parity, fetal gender, fifth Apgar scores <7, mode of delivery and fetal birth weight between groups. The group of patients with NC had higher emergency C/S numbers indicated for fetal distress and lower first Apgar scores Conclusions: Maternal serum thiol/disulphide homeostasis reflect transient effects of NC during labor regardless of labor type. Vaginal delivery can be safely and successfully performed in pregnancies complicated with NC

Characterisation and antibiotic susceptibility profile of Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile isolated from chicken carcasses

Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile is a Gram+, anaerobic, spore-forming, rod-shaped bacterium that can produce toxins, and it is mainly because its virulence is attributed. The objective of this study was to evaluate the presence of C. difficile and hyper virulent ribotypes in chicken carcasses and the antibiotic susceptibility of isolated strains