2,685 research outputs found
Insulin sensitivity indices: Fasting versus glucose-stimulated ýndices in pediatric non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
OBJECTIVE: We aimed to compare insulin sensitivity indices, fasting vs glucose stimulated, in children and adolescents with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Two hundredeleven obese children with median age of 11.24 ± 2.65 years were evaluated. After initial clinical and anthropometric examination, B-mode ultrasonography (USG) was performed and all subjects underwent Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT). Quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI), homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (Homa-IR), the insulinogenic index (IGI), the Matsuda index, and the oral glucose insulin sensitivity (OGIS) model were used to determine peripheral insulin sensitivity. RESULTS: 59.24% (68 boys, 57 girls) of obese children had NALFD. The prevalence of FLD in obese adolescents was significantly higher than in prepubertal children (65.8% vs. 51.5%). Fasting glucose, insulin, Homa-IR, QUICKI, and OGIS and Matsuda were significantly different between subjects with and without NALFD. Insulin and glucose indices were not found to be significantly different in the prepubertal group, whereas Homa-IR, QUICKI, Matsuda, and OGIS were significantly different in the pubertal group. Age, waist circumference, and OUICKI were found to be risk factors associated with the presence of NALFD in the logistic-regression analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Age, waist circumference, and OUICKI were found to be risk factors associated with NALFD. As the value of QUICKI decreases, the probability of having steatosis increases. Although OGTT results gave the information about the glucose tolerance of a subject, indices derived from OGTT were not found to be superior to the traditional surrogates such as Homa-IR or QUICKI
A novel thiazolidine compound induces caspase-9 dependent apoptosis in cancer cells
Cataloged from PDF version of article.The forward chemogenomics strategy allowed us to identify a potent cytotoxic thiazolidine compound as an apoptosis-inducing agent. Chemical structures were designed around a thiazolidine ring, a structure already noted for its anticancer properties. Initially, we evaluated these novel compounds on liver, breast, colon and endometrial cancer cell lines. The compound 3 (ALC67) showed the strongest cytotoxic activity (IC50 ∼5 μM). Cell cycle analysis with ALC67 on liver cells revealed SubG1/G1 arrest bearing apoptosis. Furthermore we demonstrated that cytotoxicity of this compound was due to the activation of caspase-9 involved apoptotic pathway, which is death receptor independent. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserve
Photonuclear reactions with Zinc: A case for clinical linacs
The use of bremsstrahlung photons produced by a linac to induce photonuclear
reactions is wide spread. However, using a clinical linac to produce the
photons is a new concept. We aimed to induce photonuclear reactions on zinc
isotopes and measure the subsequent transition energies and half-lives. For
this purpose, a bremsstrahlung photon beam of 18 MeV endpoint energy produced
by the Philips SLI-25 linac has been used. The subsequent decay has been
measured with a well-shielded single HPGe detector. The results obtained for
transition energies are in good agreement with the literature data and in many
cases surpass these in accuracy. For the half-lives, we are in agreement with
the literature data, but do not achieve their precision. The obtained accuracy
for the transition energies show what is achievable in an experiment such as
ours. We demonstrate the usefulness and benefits of employing clinical linacs
for nuclear physics experiments
Gravitational Energy in Quadratic Curvature Gravities
We define the notion of energy, and compute its values, for gravitational
systems involving terms quadratic in curvature. While our construction
parallels that of ordinary Einstein gravity, there are significant differences
both conceptually and concretely. In particular, for D=4, all purely quadratic
models admit vacua of arbitrary constant curvature. Their energies, including
that of conformal (Weyl) gravity, necessarily vanish in asymptotically flat
spaces. Instead, they are proportional to that of the Abbott-Deser (AD) energy
expression in constant curvature backgrounds and therefore also proportional to
the mass parameter in the corresponding Schwarzschild-(Anti) de Sitter
geometries. Combined Einstein-quadratic curvature systems reflect the above
results: Absent a cosmological constant term, the only vacuum is flat space,
with the usual (ADM) energy and no explicit contributions from the quadratic
parts. If there is a Lambda term, then the vacuum is also unique with that
Lambda value, and the energy is just the sum of the separate contributions from
Einstein and quadratic parts to the AD expression . Finally, we discuss the
effects on energy definition of both higher curvature terms and higher
dimension.Comment: 8 pages, minor style improvements, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
Effect of different segmentation methods using optical satellite imagery to estimate fuzzy clustering parameters for Sentinel-1A SAR images
Optical and SAR data are efficient data sources for shoreline monitoring. The processing of SAR data such as feature extraction is not an easy task since the images have totally different structure than optical imagery. Determination of threshold value is a challenging task for SAR data. In this study, SENTINEL-2A optical data was used as ancillary data to predict fuzzy membership parameters for segmentation of SENTINEL-1A SAR data to extract shoreline. SENTINEL-2A and SENTINEL-1A satellite images used were taken in September 9, 2016 and September 13, 2016 respectively. Three different segmentation algorithms which are selected from object, learning and pixel-based methods. They have been exploited to obtain land and water classes which have been used as an input data for parameter estimation. Thus, the performance of different segmentation algorithm has been investigated and analysed. In the first step of the study, Mean-Shift, Random Forest and Whale Optimization algorithms have been employed to obtain water and land classes from the SENTINEL-2A image. Water and land classes derived from each algorithm – are used as input data, and then the required parameters for the fuzzy clustering of SENTINEL-1A SAR image, were calculated. Lake Constance, Germany has been chosen as the study area. In this study, additionally an interface plugin has been developed and integrated into the open source Quantum GIS software platform. The developed interface allows non-experts to process and extract the shorelines without using any parameters. But, this system requires pre-segmented data as input. Thus, the batch process calculates the required parameters
Precision study of 6p 2Pj - 8s 2S1/2 relative transition matrix elements in atomic Cs
A combined experimental and theoretical study of transition matrix elements
of the 6p 2Pj - 8s 2S1/2 transition in atomic Cs is reported. Measurements of
the polarization-dependent two-photon excitation spectrum associated with the
transition were made in an approximately 200 cm-1 range on the low frequency
side of the 6s 2S1/2 - 6p 2P3/2 resonance. The measurements depend
parametrically on the relative transition matrix elements, but also are
sensitive to far-off-resonance 6s 2S1/2 - np 2Pj - 8s 2S1/2 transitions. In the
past, this dependence has yielded a generalized sum rule, the value of which is
dependent on sums of relative two-photon transition matrix elements. In the
present case, best available determinations from other experiments are combined
with theoretical matrix elements to extract the ratio of transition matrix
elements for the 6p 2Pj - 8s 2S1/2 (j = 1/2,3/2) transition. The resulting
experimental value of 1.423(2) is in excellent agreement with the theoretical
value, calculated using a relativistic all-order method, of 1.425(2)
Myeloperoxidase enzyme levels and oxidative stress in bipolar disorders
Oxidative stress and generalized inflammatory state are features of bipolar disorders (BD). The objective of this study was to compare the levels of products of inflammatory reaction and oxidative stress markers in patients with bipolar disorders and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and to determine the relationship between oxidative stress and inflammation in bipolar disorders. ADHD+BD (n = 30) and BD (n = 30) and healthy controls (n = 30) were enrolled. A clinical evaluation andmeasurements of malondialdehyde (MDA), high sensitive C reactive protein (hsCRP) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) were performed. Patients with BD+ADHD comorbidity had significantly higher mean MPO levels than BD. Patients with BD had significantly higher mean hsCRP levels than healthy controls. However, there was no significant difference in mean serum hsCRP levels between patients with BD+ADHD and healthy controls. Patients with BD and BD+ADHD had significantly higher mean MDA levels than healthy controls. Our data showed that there is an increased susceptibility to oxidative stress which is strongly related to the serum levels of MDA produced in the serum. hsCRP levels were higher in BD patients than in BD+ADHD and this is suggestive of a higher degree of inflammatory activity in BD patients. ADHD+BD comorbidity seems to augment oxidative stress which is expressed as increased MPO level in the present study. Further large scale studies are needed to extend ourresults
Epidemiology of American Football Injuries at Universities in the United Kingdom
Background:College-level American football injury data are routinely collected; however, data relating to American football injuries at universities in the United Kingdom have never been reported.Purpose:To describe the epidemiology of UK university American football injuries.Study Design:Descriptive epidemiology study.Methods:An online survey tool was used to collect the injury data of 410 players from 56 UK university teams who participated in the 2014-2015 British Universities and College Sports American football season. Survey data were collected from January to February 2016 and were analyzed to determine the incidence and patterns of injury.Results:Overall, 710 injuries and 204 concussions were self-reported among the 410 participants, of which 334 (81.5%) were injured and 131 (32.0%) experienced concussion symptoms. The rate of injury per 100 athlete-seasons was greater in defensive players (195.3) than offensive players (155.1). The most common injuries were knee and ankle ligament injuries. Most injuries were classified as severe (time loss of >4 weeks).Conclusion:UK university American football injuries differ markedly from those reported for US colleges. UK university players appear to have less playing experience, greater concussion risks, more severe injuries, and a greater proportion of injuries in defensive players versus offensive players
Turner syndrome and associated problems in turkish children: A multicenter study
Objective: Turner syndrome (TS) is a chromosomal disorder caused by complete or partial X chromosome monosomy that manifests various clinical features depending on the karyotype and on the genetic background of affected girls. This study aimed to systematically investigate the key clinical features of TS in relationship to karyotype in a large pediatric Turkish patient population. Methods: Our retrospective study included 842 karyotype-proven TS patients aged 0-18 years who were evaluated in 35 different centers in Turkey in the years 2013-2014. Results: The most common karyotype was 45,X (50.7%), followed by 45,X/46,XX (10.8%), 46,X,i(Xq) (10.1%) and 45,X/46,X,i(Xq) (9.5%). Mean age at diagnosis was 10.2±4.4 years. The most common presenting complaints were short stature and delayed puberty. Among patients diagnosed before age one year, the ratio of karyotype 45,X was significantly higher than that of other karyotype groups. Cardiac defects (bicuspid aortic valve, coarctation of the aorta and aortic stenosi) were the most common congenital anomalies, occurring in 25% of the TS cases. This was followed by urinary system anomalies (horseshoe kidney, double collector duct system and renal rotation) detected in 16.3%. Hashimoto’s thyroiditis was found in 11.1% of patients, gastrointestinal abnormalities in 8.9%, ear nose and throat problems in 22.6%, dermatologic problems in 21.8% and osteoporosis in 15.3%. Learning difficulties and/or psychosocial problems were encountered in 39.1%. Insulin resistance and impaired fasting glucose were detected in 3.4% and 2.2%, respectively. Dyslipidemia prevalence was 11.4%. Conclusion: This comprehensive study systematically evaluated the largest group of karyotype-proven TS girls to date. The karyotype distribution, congenital anomaly and comorbidity profile closely parallel that from other countries and support the need for close medical surveillance of these complex patients throughout their lifespan. © Journal of Clinical Research in Pediatric Endocrinology
Evaluation of Two Different Hand Hygiene Procedures during Routine Patient Care
In this study, the antimicrobial efficacy of hand washing (HW) and hand washing plus rubbing with an alcohol-based solution (HWR) on numbers of total and transient flora colonies on the hands of healthcare workers (HCWs) during routine patient care was assessed. Samples were collected, using a standard bag broth technique, from the hands of 154 HCWs, before and immediately after carrying out a hand hygiene procedure. The numbers of total and transient flora colonies per plate were counted and transient pathogens were identified. A significant statistical difference between ward speciality was detected with respect to the isolation rate of transient flora. Transient hand flora were recovered from 25.3% of HCWs before carrying out the hand hygiene procedure. With respect to the disappearance and prevention of regrowth of transient flora after hand hygiene, the HWR technique was significantly more effective than HW. In conclusion, a disinfectant should be added to the hand washing process to achieve optimum protection against nosocomial infections in routine hospital practice
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