Diagnostic value of combined serum biomarkers for the evaluation of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C infection: A multicenter, noninterventional, observational study

Background/Aims: The hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is important cause of chronic hepatitis. Liver biopsy is considered the gold standard for assessment of fibrosis but this procedure is an invasive procedure. We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency of non-invasive serum biomarkers, separately and in combinations, on liver fibrosis in treatment-naive chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients. Materials and Methods: Two hundred and sixteen treatment-naive CHC patients were enrolled from 32 locations across Turkey in this open-labelled, non-interventional prospective observational study. FibroTest®, aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index(APRI), aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase ratio (AAR), fibrosis index based on four factors (FIB-4), Age-platelet(AP) index and Forns index were measured and compared with Metavir scores got from liver biopsies. Results: Data from 182 patients with baseline liver biopsy were suitable for analysis. One hundred and twenty patients (65.9%) had F0-F1 fibrosis and 62 patients (34.1%) had F2-F4 fibrosis. APRI 0.732 area under the curve(AUC) indicated advanced fibrosis with 69% sensitivity and 77% specificity. FIB-4 0.732 AUC and FibroTest 0.715 AUC indicated advanced fibrosis with 69% and 78.4% sensitivity, and 75% and 71.4% specificity, respectively. The combined use of tests also led to an increase in AUC and specificity. Combinations of FibroTest with APRI and/or FIB-4, and FIB-4 with APRI were optimal for the evaluation of liver fibrosis. Conclusion: Fibrotest, FIB-4, APRI, AP index and Forns index exhibit good diagnostic performance for determining liver fibrosis in CHC patients, and the use of at least two tests together will increase their diagnostic value still further. © Copyright 2018 by The Turkish Society of Gastroenterology

Ecce homo – społeczna natura człowieka

Autorka dokonuje analizy wybranej literatury naukowej pod kątem charak-terystyki neurobiologicznej mózgu społecznego, teorii umysłu, a także różnic anato-micznych pomiędzy mózgiem osoby z autyzmem a mózgiem osoby neurotypowej w celu określenia najistotniejszego komponentu spektrum zaburzeń autystycznych. Dysfunkcja teorii umysłu jest charakterystyczna wyłącznie dla zaburzeń ze spektrum autyzmu. Pogląd o istnieniu teorii umysłu został potwierdzony w badaniach opartych na obrazowaniu mózgu. Następnie poszerzono go o kolejne pojęcie, jakim jest „szlak neuronalny”, odpowiedzialny z relacje społeczne. Artykuł przywołuje badania, które obrazują regiony anatomiczne mózgu człowieka odpowiadające za komunikację społeczną – szlak neuronalny, a także wzorzec spostrzegania społecznego osoby z autyzmem

Preliminary study on antimicrobial activities of skin mucus from by-catch of Elasmobranch species

Skates and rays, which are widely encountered in the by-catch of fisheries activities from the Sea of Marmara and banned for sale by regulation, are species that are discarded if caught. For this reason, in our study, we aimed to determine the bioactive potentials of these species, considered fishing waste, by investigating the skin secretions and microbial flora. In our study, both the skin flora and mucus contents of the discarded species Dasyatis pastinaca (Linnaeus, 1758), Myliobatis aquila (Linnaeus, 1758), and Raja clavata (Linnaeus, 1758) caught in the Sea of Marmara were investigated to determine their potential antimicrobial activities. A total of 164 bacteria were isolated from the epidermal mucus of the three batoid species. Antibacterial activity was observed from three isolated bacteria against Escherichia coli, Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium, E. faecalis, and Bacillus subtilis. Additionally, the highest antibacterial activity was observed for skin mucus of R. clavata. Mouse fibroblast cell viability was challenged with mucus secretions. M. aquila and R. clavata mucus secretions exhibited no observable change after 24 and 48 hours. The assays indicated that both the isolates and the skin mucus have potential antimicrobial activity against opportunistic pathogens

Rings and modules characterized by opposites of injectivity

In a recent paper, Aydoǧdu and López-Permouth have defined a module M to be N-subinjective if every homomorphism N→M extends to some E(N)→M, where E(N) is the injective hull of N. Clearly, every module is subinjective relative to any injective module. Their work raises the following question: What is the structure of a ring over which every module is injective or subinjective relative only to the smallest possible family of modules, namely injectives? We show, using a dual opposite injectivity condition, that such a ring R is isomorphic to the direct product of a semisimple Artinian ring and an indecomposable ring which is (i) a hereditary Artinian serial ring with J2 = 0; or (ii) a QF-ring isomorphic to a matrix ring over a local ring. Each case is viable and, conversely, (i) is sufficient for the said property, and a partial converse is proved for a ring satisfying (ii). Using the above mentioned classification, it is also shown that such rings coincide with the fully saturated rings of Trlifaj except, possibly, when von Neumann regularity is assumed. Furthermore, rings and abelian groups which satisfy these opposite injectivity conditions are characterized.TUBITA