Morphology of the atrioventricular valves and related intraventricular structures in the wild pig (Sus scrofa)

Morphology of the atrioventricular valves and the intraventricular related structures of 7 hearts of the wild pigs (Sus scrota) were observed by applying macroscopic and microscopic techniques and the findings were compared broadly to the literature. In all hearts examined, the tricuspid and mitral valves were normal and composed of 3 and 2 cusps, respectively. The papillary muscles observed in mammalian heart in general were found in both the ventricles; additionally, there were small unnamed papillary muscles in the left ventricle of the three samples. The sept marginal trabecula and false chords were present in the right ventricles, microscopically possessing myocardial fibres, connective tissue and Purkinje cells; while the false chords were located in all the left ventricles, but the sept marginal trabecula was found in the 3 samples only. Both the connective tissue and Purkinje cells were present in these two structures, but the myocardial fibres were not. Presence of the myocardial fibres in the right ventricle may have an effect on the ventricle geometry

The next step of the word problem over monoids

It is known that a group presentation P can be regarded as a 2-complex with a single 0-cell. Thus we can consider a 3-complex with a single 0-cell which is known as a 3-presentation. Similarly, we can also consider 3-presentations for monoids. In this paper, by using spher- ical monoid pictures, we show that there exists a finite 3-monoid-presentation which has unsolvable ‘‘generalized identity problem’’ that can be thought as the next step (or one- dimension higher) of the word problem for monoids. We note that the method used in this paper has chemical and physical applications

PTPN22 gene polymorphism in Takayasu's arteritis

Objective. Takayasu's arteritis (TA) is a chronic, rare granulomatous panarteritis of unknown aetiology involving mainly the aorta and its major branches. In this study, genetic susceptibility to TA has been investigated by screening the functional single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of PTPN22 gene encoding the lymphoid-specific protein tyrosine phosphatase. Methods. Totally, 181 patients with TA and 177 healthy controls are genotyped by PCR-RFLP method for the SNP rs2476601 (A/G) of PTPN22 gene. Polymorphic region was amplified by PCR and digested with Xcm I enzyme. Results. Detected frequencies of heterozygous genotype (AG) were 5.1% (9/177) in control group and 3.8% (7/181) in TA group (P = 0.61, odds ratio: 0.75, 95% CI: 0.3, 2.0). No association with angiographic type, vascular involvement or prognosis of TA was observed either. Conclusion. The distribution of PTPN22 polymorphism did not reveal any association with TA in Turkey. © The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology. All rights reserved

CA-125/CEA ratio as a prognostic factor in type II endometrial cancer: a single institute experience

Objective: Type II (non-endometrioid) endometrial cancer is less common with an incidence of 10%-20%. It has an aggressive clinical course with heterogeneous clinic pathological features. The aim of this study is to evaluate prognostic factors and survival outcomes in type II endometrial cancer. Patients and Methods: Patients aged over 18 years with diagnosis of Stage IA-IVB type II endometrial cancer were included to the study. Between 2013 and 2019, a total of 76 patients were evaluated retrospectively. Results: Median overall survival (OS) was 25 months while median disease-free survival (DFS) was 22 months. Median DFS was 25 months (95% CI: 14.71-35.28) in patients with negative lymph nodes while it was 10 months (95% CI: 6.88-13.11) in patients with positive lymph nodes (p=0.017). Median OS was 28 months (95% CI: 23.05-32.95) in patients with a ratio of CA-125/CEA<25 while it was 16 months (95% CI: 5.19-26.80) in those with a ratio of CA-125/CEA≥25 (p=0.02). Patients with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance score (ECOG PS) <2 at the time of diagnosis had a significantly longer OS than ECOG PS≥2 [median 29 months (95% CI: 22.99-35.94) vs. 15 months (95% CI: 0.33-29.66); p=0.024]. In multivariate Cox regression analysis CA-125/CEA (HR:1.70, 95% CI: 1.01-2.83, p=0.042) was independent risk factor for OS. Conclusions: CA-125/CEA ratio may have prognostic significance in type 2 endometrial cancer, but it needs to be supported by randomized clinical trials

The impact of pretreatment with simvastatin on kidney tissue of rats with acute sepsis

It has been reported that changes in cytokine levels affect mitochondrial functions, levels of hypoxia-inducible factor α (HIF-1α), and tissue damage during sepsis. We aimed to investigate the effects of simvastatin pretreatment on mitochondrial enzyme activities, and on levels of ghrelin, HIF-1α, and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) in kidney tissue during sepsis. Rats were separated into four groups, namely, control, lipopolysaccharides (LPS) (20 mg/kg), simvastatin (20 mg/kg), and simvastatin + LPS. We measured the levels of mitochondrial enzyme activities and TBARS in the kidney using spectrophotometry. The histological structure of the kidney sections was examined after staining with hematoxylin and eosin. Tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), IL-10, HIF-1α, and ghrelin immunoreactivity were examined using proper antibodies. In tissue, TNF-α (p  0.05). Ghrelin immunoreactivity was lower in the LPS group (p  0.05). We observed that pretreatment of simvastatin caused favorable changes on ghrelin and TBARS levels in rats with sepsis