Diagnosis and Treatment of Multiseptate Gallbladder with Recurrent Abdominal Pain

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is usually performed for gallstones or polyp of the gallbladder. Multiseptate gallbladder is a rare congenital malformation. Although several asymptomatic cases have been described, patient usually present with right upper abdominal pain. We present a 29-year-old female patient with multiseptate gallbladder, cholecystectomy was performed, and her abdominal pain and gastrointestinal complaints have resolved

Ozone Therapy and Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment in Lung Injury in Septic Rats

Various therapeutic protocols were used for the management of sepsis including hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy. It has been shown that ozone therapy (OT) reduced inflammation in several entities and exhibits some similarity with HBO in regard to mechanisms of action. We designed a study to evaluate the efficacy of OT in an experimental rat model of sepsis to compare with HBO. Male Wistar rats were divided into sham, sepsis+cefepime, sepsis+cefepime+HBO, and sepsis+cefepime+OT groups. Sepsis was induced by an intraperitoneal injection of Escherichia coli; HBO was administered twice daily; OT was set as intraperitoneal injections once a day. The treatments were continued for 5 days after the induction of sepsis. At the end of experiment, the lung tissues and blood samples were harvested for biochemical and histological analysis. Myeloperoxidase activities and oxidative stress parameters, and serum proinflammatory cytokine levels, IL-1β and TNF-α, were found to be ameliorated by the adjuvant use of HBO and OT in the lung tissue when compared with the antibiotherapy only group. Histologic evaluation of the lung tissue samples confirmed the biochemical outcome. Our data presented that both HBO and OT reduced inflammation and injury in the septic rats' lungs; a greater benefit was obtained for OT. The current study demonstrated that the administration of OT as well as HBO as adjuvant therapy may support antibiotherapy in protecting the lung against septic injury. HBO and OT reduced tissue oxidative stress, regulated the systemic inflammatory response, and abated cellular infiltration to the lung demonstrated by findings of MPO activity and histopathologic examination. These findings indicated that OT tended to be more effective than HBO, in particular regarding serum IL-1β, lung GSH-Px and histologic outcome

Epigenetic perturbations in the pathogenesis of mustard toxicity; hypothesis and preliminary results

Among the most readily available chemical warfare agents, sulfur mustard (SM), also known as mustard gas, has been the most widely used chemical weapon. SM causes debilitating effects that can leave an exposed individual incapacitated for days to months; therefore delayed SM toxicity is of much greater importance than its ability to cause lethality. Although not fully understood, acute toxicity of SM is related to reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, oxidative stress, DNA damage, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) activation and energy depletion within the affected cell. Therefore several antioxidants and PARP inhibitors show beneficial effects against acute SM toxicity. The delayed toxicity of SM however, currently has no clear mechanistic explanation. One third of the 100,000 Iranian casualties are still suffering from the detrimental effects of SM in spite of the extensive treatment. We, therefore, made an attempt whether epigenetic aberrations may contribute to pathogenesis of mustard poisoning. Preliminary evidence reveals that mechlorethamine (a nitrogen mustard derivative) exposure may not only cause oxidative stress, DNA damage, but epigenetic perturbations as well. Epigenetic refers to the study of changes that influence the phenotype without causing alteration of the genotype. It involves changes in the properties of a cell that are inherited but do not involve a change in DNA sequence. It is now known that in addition to mutations, epimutations contribute to a variety of human diseases. Under light of preliminary results, the current hypothesis will focus on epigenetic regulations to clarify mustard toxicity and the use of drugs to correct possible epigenetic defects

AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ENERGETIC PROPERTIES OF FUEL PELLETS MADE BY AGRICULTURAL WASTES

WOS: 000484814100001In this study, it is aimed to produce pellets for use as solid biofuel from corn production wastes. Palletization of the biomass material increases volumetric heat value, reduces transport and storage costs, improves combustion properties, reduces emissions of particulate emissions, and produces a biofuel of the same size and shape. For this purpose, corn stalks were milled with a hammer mill and pellets were produced in an automatic feed pelletizing machine. Pellets produced from corn waste; hardness resistance, water absorption resistance, moisture content, ash content, equivalent moisture content, gas emission values released in the combustion result and calorific values which are important indicators of energy content have been determined. The upper calorific value of maize pellets with an average length of 17.28 mm and a diameter of 6.26 mm was determined to be 18.11 MJ/kg. The CO2, NO and NOx emission values of pellets from corn stalks were measured as 4.7 ppm, 38 ppm and 40 ppm, respectively. The evaluation of corn waste as pelletized solid biofuel will contribute to the prevention of agricultural land damage and environmental pollution as a result of the burning of residual vegetable waste from corn production.Cukurova University Scientific Research Projects (BAP) Coordination UnitCukurova University [FBA-2015-4798]We would like to thank Cukurova University Scientific Research Projects (BAP) Coordination Unit for supporting this project with FBA-2015-4798 project number. We would like to thank the officials and staff of DOGAC Biomass Pellet Production Facility for biopellets made of peanut and hazelnut shells and STANDART Laboratories Ltd. for calorimetric tests of the biopellets

A bibliometric analysis of the 103 top-cited articles in endodontics

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify the 100 top-cited articles in endodontics and analyse their bibliometric characteristics. Material and methods: The Web of Science database was reviewed to identify the relevant articles. Results: One hundred and three articles were included because the last four articles had the same number of citations. The top-cited article received 2115 citations. The articles were published in 28 different journals, with the most popular publication being the Journal of Endodontics (n = 36). The most prolific country was the United States (n = 41), followed by Sweden (n = 17) and Switzerland (n = 8). The most prolific author and institution were M. Torabinejad (n = 12) and Umea University (n = 9), respectively. The majority of articles were of a basic science nature (n = 55), while endodontic microbiology (n = 24) was the most frequent subspecialty. The most common study design used in clinical articles was non-randomized experimental study (n = 5). Half of the clinical articles (n = 11) had a level III evidence score. Conclusions: The present citation analysis provides insights into the historical progress and current trends in endodontics

Can We Predict the Sites of the Recurrence of Ovarian Cancer by F-18 FDG PET/CT Depending on CA-125 Level?

Objectives: The purpose of the study is predicting the sites of the recurrence with PET/CT by serum CA-125 level and detecting the cut-off value of CA-125 for metastatic ovarian cancer (OC) in comparison with Fluorine-18 FDG PET/CT. Materials & Methods: For 38 patients with histological stage III-IV OC, F-18 FDG PET/CT studies (n=59) referred for suspicion of relapsing of OC were conducted. PET/CT images were assessed as positive/negative in 4 categories based on similar location as local recurrence, peritoneal metastasis, lymph node metastases and distant metastases. Patients were divided into five groups according to the levels of CA-125. The results of PET/CT imaging were compared with the level of CA-125. Results: Recurrence was confirmed in all FDG-PET/CT studies. In 7 of them (11.9%) CA-125 levels were normal (mean: 18.9 +/- 5.9) whereas in 52 of them (88%) were high (mean: 433.9 +/- 798.3). Moderate but highly significant positive correlation between CA-125 level and the number of metastatic foci detected by PET/CT was found. There was no statistically significant difference between CA-125 level subgroups and metastatic sites. However, the difference between CA-125 levels and location of metastasis was statistically significant only for distant metastasis and peritoneal metastasis with moderate accuracy (71% and %66, respectively). Conclusion: Since CA-125 has moderate but highly significant positive correlation with the number of metastatic foci, it is important in clinical management of OC patients. However, it may not predict the localization of the recurrence. When suspicious findings were reported at radiodiagnostic techniques in OC patients, FDG-PET is a useful technique for detecting recurrent ovarian carcer regardless of CA-125 level

Possible predictive markers in surgical decision making in patients with degenerative or isthmic lumbar spondylolisthesis

Background: Although age, comorbidity, duration and severity of symptoms, slippage degree, and flexion-extension slipping stability during X-ray imaging are effective in making a surgical decision in patients with spondylolisthesis, these factors are rarely based on definitive evidence. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of clinical, radiological and biochemical findings in surgical decision making in these patients. Materials and Methods: Patients’ data including age, gender, degree and type (i.e. degenerative or isthmic) of the spondylolisthesis, urinary incontinence, neurogenic claudication were recorded. Radiological imaging studies (lumbar dynamic X-ray, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging), serum glucose, C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate values of the patients obtained during hospital admissions were evaluated. Results: Forty patients were followed conservatively and 12 patients were treated surgically. Degenerative spondylolisthesis was seen in 22 patients. Nine patients had neurogenic urinary incontinence and 19 patients had neurogenic claudication. When the patients were divided into two groups with and without surgical treatment, the presence of the pars defect, slipping distance in a neutral position and slipping distance in flexion position was significantly different between groups. A positive correlation was found between pars defect and surgical treatment. Likelihood ratio test results revealed that the presence of pars defect, neurogenic claudication and neurogenic urinary incontinence could be the best parameters in decision making the surgical treatment. Conclusion: The presence of pars defect, neurogenic claudication and urinary incontinence could be the best parameters that may help the surgeon to make the surgical treatment decision

Diagnostic importance of F-18-FDG PET/CT parameters and total lesion glycolysis in differentiating between benign and malignant adrenal lesions

PurposeBenign adrenal lesions are prevalent in oncologic imaging and make metastatic disease diagnoses difficult. This study evaluates the diagnostic importance of metabolic, volumetric, and metabolovolumetric parameters measured by fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (F-18-FDG) PET/CT in differentiating between benign and malignant adrenal lesions in cancer patients.Patients and methodsIn this retrospective study, we evaluated F-18-FDG PET/CT parameters of adrenal lesions of follow-up cancer patients referred to our clinic between January 2012 and November 2016. The diagnosis of adrenal malignant lesions was made on the basis of interval growth or reduction after chemotherapy. Patient demographics, analysis of metabolic parameters such as maximum standard uptake value (SUVmax), tumor SUVmax/liver SUVmean ratio (T/LR), morphologic parameters such as size, Hounsfield Units, and computed tomography (CT) volume, and metabolovolumetric parameters such as metabolic tumor volume and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) of adrenal lesions were calculated. PET/CT parameters were assessed using the Mann-Whitney U-test and receiving operating characteristic analysis.ResultsIn total, 186 adrenal lesions in 163 cancer patients (108 men/54 women; meanSD age: 64 +/- 10.9 years) were subjected to F-18-FDG PET/CT for tumor evaluation. SUVmax values (mean +/- SD) were 2.8 +/- 0.8 and 10.6 +/- 6; TLG were 10.8 +/- 9.2 and 124.4 +/- 347.9; and T/LR were 1 +/- 0.3 and 4.1 +/- 2.6 in benign and malignant adrenal lesions, respectively. On the basis of the area under the curve, adrenal lesion SUVmax and T/LR had similar highest diagnostic performance for predicting malignant lesions (area under the curve: 0.993 and 0.991, respectively, P<0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that T/LR, adrenal lesion SUVmax, and Hounsfield Units were independent predictive factors for malignancy rather than TLG.ConclusionIrrespective of whether TLG was statistically highly significant for differentiating benign from malignant adrenal lesions, it did not reach the expected performance with a low negative predictive value. This may be because of the malignant but small and benign but large lesions on metabolovolumetric calculation