Screening of some white cabbage lines for resistance to clubroot (Plasmodiophora brassicae Wor.)

Clubroot caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae is serious soil-borne disease of cruciferous crops in the world. Yield reductions due to disease may be up to 100% if soil is heavily infested with clubroot. Clubroot is extremely difficult to control as there is no chemical treatment against clubroot in practice. Preventing the introduction of clubroot to clean fields, combining cultural practices with using resistant cultivars is the best method to control clubroot. A total of 114 white cabbage breeding lines were evaluated reaction to clubroot disease in this study. Ten plants of each cabbage breeding lines were inoculated with ECD 16/31/31 race of P. brassicae and all plants evaluated according to 0-3 scale. Results showed that all cabbage breeding lines and resistant control cultivars (Tekila F1, Kilaton F1 and Clapton F1) were susceptible to ECD 16/31/31 race of P. brassicae

Continuous review inventory control in the presence of fuzzy costs

This paper presents new models of continuous review inventory control with or without backorder in the presence of uncertainty. Fuzzy set concepts are used to treat imprecision regarding the costs of continuous review inventory control, while probability theory is used to treat uncertainty regarding customer demand. Fuzzy total annual cost functions, which involve fuzzy arithmetic operations, are defined using the function principle. The optimal order quantity and the optimal reorder point are found in such a way as to minimize the fuzzy costs. Furthermore, a decision support system has been developed, which can be used for efficient evaluation of continuous review inventory systems with both crisp and fuzzy costs, incorporating a simulation analysis tool.

Role of Dyslipidemia in Early Vascular Aging Syndrome.

Background/aim: Arterial stiffness, known as a predictor of early vascular aging, was defined as the main determinant of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. However, the relationship between lipid profile and increased arterial stiffness is not clear. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between lipid profiles and increased arterial stiffness in patients with early vascular aging syndrome. Materials and methods: A total of 1582 participants -504 (31.8%) of were male and the mean age was 52.8 +/- 14.2 years- were included in the study . Patients who applied to the hospital for various reasons and who had undergone 24-h blood pressure Holter monitoring were included in this study. Patients were divided into four groups according to pulse wave velocity (PWV) quartiles (Q1 (8.8)). Results: We found that in the highest PWV group, patients had higher systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), glucose, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, urinary albumin excretion (UAE), uric acid(UA), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein ( LDL-C), triglycerid (TG), and non-high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C ) levels. Additionally, diabetes mellitus (dm), age, non-HDL-C, and TG/ HDL-C levels were detected as independent risk factors of increased PWV in ordinal logistic regression analysis. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that lipid parameters are strongly correlated with increased PWVvalue and early vascular aging. In daily clinical practice, TG\HDL-C ratio, known as atherogenic index, might be used routinely for predicted of early vascular aging and subclinical atherosclerosis

Genetic and Clinical Characterization of Patients with Maturity-Onset of Diabetes of the Young (MODY): Identification of Novel Variations

Background: Maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) is a rare monogenic type of diabetes, and accounts for 2-5% of all diabetes cases. An early age of onset, a family history supporting autosomal-dominant inheritance, insulin resistance, and the absence of autoimmunity are the major characteristics of MODY. However, genetic testing is crucial for diagnosis. Aims: To investigate the 7 MODY-related genes and clinical findings of patients with a preliminary clinical diagnosis of MODY. Study Design: Retrospective cross-sectional study. Methods: In this study, 7 genes (KCNJ11, ABCC8, INS, GCK, HNF4A, HNF1A, and HNF1B) related to MODY were screened via targeted sequencing in 182 cases with a confirmed pre-diagnosis of MODY. The clinical characteristics of the patients were evaluated retrospectively. Results: A total of 182 patients, 48% of whom were women, between the ages of 18-62 were included in the study. In 30 cases (16.4%), 28 different pathogenic variations were found, of which 20 were previously reported and 8 were novel variations segregated by disease within the family. Pathogenic variations were detected in the following genes in order of mutation frequency; GCK, HNF1A, ABCC8, HNF4A, HNF1B and KCNJ11. Interestingly, six of the 30 cases (20%) carried a pathogenic variation in the ABCC8 gene. No mutation was detected in the INS gene. A family history of vertically transmitted diabetes and elevated HbA1C at the time of diagnosis were found in 20 (66%) and 16 (52%) cases, respectively. Conclusion: In this series, 28 different pathogenic variations are identified, 8 of which are novel. The rate of pathogenic variation in the ABCC8 gene is unexpectedly high. Two-thirds of cases have a family history of vertically transmitted diabetes

Laparoscopic repair of an internal supravesical hernia - A rare hernia causing small bowel obstruction

The application of diagnostic laparoscopy in emergency surgery has facilitated a wide range of endoscopic operative procedures. We report an extremely rare case of a patient who had a bowel obstruction caused by an internal supravesical hernia that was repaired via a minimally invasive technique. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) showed signs of small bowel obstruction: the cause was thought to be an invagination due to a small bowel tumor. Laparoscopic exploration of the dilated small bowel segments allowed the diagnosis of supravesical hernia. Reduction was performed with slight traction, and the hernial. orifice was closed with intracorporeal sutures. To our knowledge this is the first repair:of an, internal supravesical hernia ever to receive herniorraphy based on laparoscopic techniques. The mean starting time for bowel-function and mean hospital stay-following the laparoscopic release of the intestinal obstruction were significantly shorter than is typically seen with standard techniques

Genetic and Clinical Characterization of Patients with Maturity-Onset of Diabetes of the Young (MODY): Identification of Novel Variations

Background: Maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) is a rare monogenic type of diabetes, and accounts for 2-5% of all diabetes cases. An early age of onset, a family history supporting autosomal-dominant inheritance, insulin resistance, and the absence of autoimmunity are the major characteristics of MODY. However, genetic testing is crucial for diagnosis

Understanding Vascular Age: Are Clinical scoring systems useful for Early Vascular Aging Syndrome Prediction ?

Introduction Early vascular aging syndrome (EVAS) is defined as increased arterial stiffness compared to age and sex matched patients, EVAS is measured by pulse wave velocity (PWV). Aim In our study we aim to identify in patients with high risk of EVAS using the CHADS2, CHA2DS2-VASc, and CHA2DS2-VASc-HS scores. Methods The CHADS2, CHA2DS2-VASc-HS and CHADS2VASC scoring systems are advised to determine management strategies in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. As they contain similar risk factors for the development or presence of EVAS, we believed that this risk scoring system could also be used to predict EVAS. This study was designed as a retrospective observational study. 2108 consecutive patients who had undergone 24-h blood pressure monitoring and measured PWV levels were included in the study. The patients were divided into the two groups according to corrected Pwv values. Results CHADS2, CHA2DS2-VASc, and CHA2DS2-VASc-HS scores were positively correlated with PWV values (r =0.251, p = 1.5 with a sensitivity of 49% and a specificity of 50 % (AUC 0.605; 95% [CI] 0.58-0.63) in the ROC curve analyses. Conclusions The CHA2DS2-VASc-HS scoring system might be used in daily clinical practice to calculate the total risk assessment of EVAS. This score is relatively simple to use and time-saving technique

Interferon-γ drives macrophage reprogramming, cerebrovascular remodeling, and cognitive dysfunction in a zebrafish and a mouse model of ion imbalance and pressure overload

Dysregulated immune response contributes to inefficiency of treatment strategies to control hypertension and reduce the risk of end-organ damage. Uncovering the immune pathways driving the transition from the onset of hypertensive stimulus to the manifestation of multi-organ dysfunction are much-needed insights for immune targeted therapy.; To aid visualization of cellular events orchestrating multi-organ pathogenesis, we modeled hypertensive cardiovascular remodeling in zebrafish. Zebrafish larvae exposed to ion-poor environment exhibited rapid angiotensinogen upregulation, followed by manifestation of arterial hypertension and cardiac remodeling that recapitulates key characteristics of incipient Heart Failure with preserved Ejection Fraction. In the brain, time-lapse imaging revealed the occurrence of cerebrovascular regression through endothelial retraction and migration in response to the ion-poor treatment. This phenomenon is associated with macrophage/microglia-endothelial contacts and endothelial junctional retraction. Cytokine and transcriptomic profiling identified systemic upregulation of interferon-γ and interleukin 1β, and revealed altered macrophage/microglia transcriptional program characterized by suppression of innate immunity and vasculo/neuroprotective gene expression. Both zebrafish and a murine model of pressure overload-induced brain damage demonstrated that the brain pathology and macrophage/microglia phenotypic alteration are dependent on interferon-γ signaling. In zebrafish, interferon-γ receptor 1 mutation prevents cerebrovascular remodeling and dysregulation of macrophage/microglia transcriptomic profile. Supplementation of bone morphogenetic protein 5, identified from the transcriptomic approach as a downregulated gene in ion-poor-treated macrophages/microglia that is rescued by interferon-γ blockage, mitigated cerebral microvessel loss. In mice subjected to transverse aortic constriction-induced pressure overload, typically developing cerebrovascular injury, neuroinflammation and cognitive dysfunction, interferon-γ neutralization protected them from blood-brain-barrier disruption, cerebrovascular rarefaction, and cognitive decline.; These findings uncover cellular and molecular players of an immune pathway communicating hypertensive stimulus to structural and functional remodeling of the brain and identify anti-interferon-γ treatment as a promising intervention strategy capable of preventing pressure overload-induced damage of the cerebrovascular and nervous systems.; Hypertension is a major risk factor for damages of the vasculature, heart, and brain, and thereby a major healthcare burden. Inadequate cerebral blood supply due to altered cerebrovascular structure and vasoregulatory disruption upon hypertension render the brain highly susceptible to stroke and cognitive decline. We envision that the cellular and molecular mechanisms uncovered here linking immune dysregulation to cerebrovascular remodeling and functional impairment of the brain will inform future development of immunomodulatory therapeutic strategies for counteracting derangement of macrophage/microglia activation and their vasculo/neuroprotective function in response to systemic inflammation in hypertension

Mechanical bowel preparation with different solutions in rats with selective left colonic ischemia and reperfusion injury

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of preoperative mechanical bowel preparation (MBP) on colonic ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. METHODS: Seventy adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided randomly into 7 equal groups of 10 rats each. Groups were assigned as follows: group I = sham surgery; group II = I/R of left colon (control group); group III = intravenous heparin and metronidazole followed by I/R of the left colon; groups IV through VII = before I/R of the left colon, heparin and metronidazole and MBP were performed with sodium chloride (NaCl), Na phosphate, polyethylene glycol, and mannitol, respectively. Histopathogic and biochemical parameters were evaluated. RESULTS: According to the histopathologic changes, the groups least affected by I/R injury were groups V and VII. Catalase activity was significantly higher in groups V and VII, and copper-zinc superoxide dismutase activity was significantly higher in group VII compared with the control group (P <.002). CONCLUSIONS: MBP with sodium phosphate and mannitol appears to be more protective against I/R injury. (c) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Prevention of atherosclerosis by bioactive palmitoleate through suppression of organelle stress and inflammasome activation

De novo lipogenesis (DNL), the conversion of glucose and other substrates to lipids, is often associated with ectopic lipid accumulation, metabolic stress, and insulin resistance, especially in the liver. However, organ-specific DNL can also generate distinct lipids with beneficial metabolic bioactivity, prompting a great interest in their use for the treatment of metabolic diseases. Palmitoleate (PAO), one such bioactive lipid, regulates lipid metabolism in liver and improves glucose utilization in skeletal muscle when it is generated de novo from the obese adipose tissue. We show that PAO treatment evokes an overall lipidomic remodeling of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membranes in macrophages and mouse tissues, which is associated with resistance of the ER to hyperlipidemic stress. By preventing ER stress, PAO blocks lipid-induced inflammasome activation in mouse and human macrophages. Chronic PAO supplementation also lowers systemic interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) and IL-18 concentrations in vivo in hyperlipidemic mice. Moreover, PAO prevents macrophage ER stress and IL-1 beta production in atherosclerotic plaques in vivo, resulting in a marked reduction in plaque macrophages and protection against atherosclerosis in mice. These findings demonstrate that oral supplementation with a product of DNL such as PAO can promote membrane remodeling associated with metabolic resilience of intracellular organelles to lipid stress and limit the progression of atherosclerosis. These findings support therapeutic PAO supplementation as a potential preventive approach against complex metabolic and inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis, which warrants further studies in humans