Melatonin Attenuates LPS-Induced Acute Depressive-Like Behaviors and Microglial NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation Through the SIRT1/Nrf2 Pathway.

peer reviewedInflammation is a crucial component of various stress-induced responses that contributes to the pathogenesis of major depressive disorder (MDD). Depressive-like behavior (DLB) is characterized by decreased mobility and depressive behavior that occurs in systemic infection induced by Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in experimental animals and is considered as a model of exacerbation of MDD. We assessed the effects of melatonin on behavioral changes and inflammatory cytokine expression in hippocampus of mice in LPS-induced DLB, as well as its effects on NLR Family Pyrin Domain Containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation, oxidative stress and pyroptotic cell death in murine microglia in vitro. Intraperitoneal 5 mg/kg dose of LPS was used to mimic depressive-like behaviors and melatonin was given at a dose of 500 mg/kg for 4 times with 6 h intervals, starting at 2 h before LPS administration. Behavioral assessment was carried out at 24 h post-LPS injection by tail suspension and forced swimming tests. Additionally, hippocampal cytokine and NLRP3 protein levels were estimated. Melatonin increased mobility time of LPS-induced DLB mice and suppressed NLRP3 expression and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) cleavage in the hippocampus. Immunofluorescence staining of hippocampal tissue showed that NLRP3 is mainly expressed in ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1 (Iba1) -positive microglia. Our results show that melatonin prevents LPS and Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation in murine microglia in vitro, evidenced by inhibition of NLRP3 expression, Apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD (ASC) speck formation, caspase-1 cleavage and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) maturation and secretion. Additionally, melatonin inhibits pyroptosis, production of mitochondrial and cytosolic reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) signaling. The beneficial effects of melatonin on NLRP3 inflammasome activation were associated with nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and Silent information regulator 2 homolog 1 (SIRT1) activation, which were reversed by Nrf2 siRNA and SIRT1 inhibitor treatment

Rationale, design, and methodology of the MORCOR-TURK trial: predictors of in-hospital MORtality in CORonary care patients in Turkey

Background: Coronary care units are sophisticated clinics established to reduce deaths due to acute cardiovascular events. Current data on coronary care unit mortality rates and predictors of mortality in Turkey are very limited. The MORtality predictors in CORonary care units in TURKey (MORCOR-TURK) trial was designed to provide information on the mortality rates and predictors in patients followed in coronary care units in Turkey. Methods: The MORCOR-TURK trial will be a national, observational, multicenter, and noninterventional study conducted in Turkey. The study population will include coronary care unit patients from 50 centers selected from all regions in Turkey. All consecutive patients admitted to coronary care units with cardiovascular diagnoses between 1 and 30 September 2022 will be prospectively enrolled. All data will be collected at one point in time, and the current clinical practice will be evaluated (ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT05296694). In the first step of the study, admission diagnoses, demographic characteristics, basic clinical and laboratory data, and in-hospital management will be assessed. At the end of the first step, the predictors and rates of in-hospital mortality will be documented. The second step will be in cohort design, and discharged patients will be followed up till 1 year. Predictors of short- and long-term mortality will be assessed. Moreover, a new coronary care unit mortality score will be generated with data acquired from this cohort. Results: The short-term outcomes of the study are planned to be shared by early 2023. Conclusion: The MORCOR-TURK trial will be the largest and most comprehensive study in Turkey evaluating the rates and predictors of in-hospital mortality of patients admitted to coronary care units

Soft-tissue osteoma of the thenar eminence

The development of osteoma in soft tissues without a direct contact with the adjacent osseous and articular structures is a very rare event. The involvement of the hand is even rarer, with only two previous cases reported so far. A 25-year-old man presented with a painless solid mass in the thenar region of his right palm, which appeared almost 2 years ago and showed a progressive enlargement in the last months. Under regional anesthesia an excisional biopsy was performed and the histopathological evaluation of the lesion confirmed the diagnosis of soft tissue osteoma. The postoperative follow-up period was uneventful without any complication or recurrence. Following a brief period of hand physiotherapy the patient has returned to normal daily activities

What is the Ultimate Fate of Presented Abstracts? Conversion Rates of Presentations to International Publications from the 31st National Congress of Plastic, Reconstructive, and Aesthetic Surgery

Objective: Oral and poster presentations held at national congresses are regarded as important means for sharing of latest scientific data and personal experiences. However, many ideas shared at annual conferences fail to be published. The objective of this study was to examine the publication rate of presentations held at the 31st National Congress of the Turkish Society of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons and to analyze various factors associated with publication. Material and Methods: The PubMed database was searched for peer-reviewed publications, corresponding to abstracts presented at the 2009 congress. For all abstracts, parameters including presentation type, topic, institution, author details, publication time, journal name, and impact factor were recorded. Collected data were analyzed using chi-square, Mann–Whitney U, and Kruskal–Wallis tests for statistical significance. Results: In five years 16.8% of 569 proceedings were published in international peer-reviewed journals. The mean time to publication following the congress was 22 months (1–57 months) for 75 presentations, whereas 21 proceedings had been published prior to the congress. Compared with posters, the publication rate for oral presentations was significantly greater (30.5% vs. 13.3%; p<0.001). The type of institution had no significant effect on the publication rate. Conclusion: The overall publication rate for the 31st National Plastic Surgery Congress was found to be similar with other Turkish-based studies, but was somewhat lower than that of international counterparts. The significant difference found between the publication rates of oral and poster presentations was interpretted as a positive sign demonstrating a relatively higher level of scientific value and appeal

AB üyeliğinin Türkiye'ye doğrudan yabancı sermaye girişleri üzerindeki muhtemel etkileri:İrlanda, İspanya ve Polonya'nın deneyimlerinin sonuçları.

This thesis aims to analyse the implications of European Union (EU) membership on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows to Turkey by applying a comparative methodology. The effects of EU accession on FDI inflows to three present member states, Ireland, Spain and Poland, is investigated in order to draw conclusions for Turkish case. The attractiveness of each country in terms of locational determinants of FDI are evaluated. Application of our findings in Ireland, Spain and Poland on Turkish case signifies implications of these determinants on attractiveness of Turkey in terms of FDI inflows. The results of the comparative analysis indicated that “distance” and “market size” are going to be essential determinants together with the other four determinants, namely “infrastructure and human resources”, “macroeconomic stability”, “openness and business environment” and “incentive schemes”, which will have positive consequences on FDI inflows on the condition that appropriate policies are implemented. EU membership is found to have positive implications on FDI inflows by indirectly affecting the other determinants. In general, it is concluded that sustainability of FDI inflows in the long-term is again related to the improvements in the other determinants of FDI rather than EU membership.M.S. - Master of Scienc

Knowledge temple: a collaborative knowledge sharing technique for agile software development

"A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Computer Science."Despite the productive, flexible, and adaptive nature of agile development, it may suffer from knowledge sharing limitations. This includes knowledge loss due to retirement or high turnover rates of skilled professionals and knowledge hoarding due to interpersonal or organizational climate. The objective of this work is to build a knowledge sharing culture and collaboration norm in the workplace for small agile development teams with high turnover rates, where organizational success is not only maintained but also enhanced. The Knowledge Temple, the proposed approach, is hybrid, incorporating knowledge sharing and building models, such as cognitive apprenticeship, on-the-job-training, solo programming, pair programming, parallel peer programming, pair rotation, and knowledge repository creation. This hierarchical approach is designed as an iterative and incremental solution to share and create knowledge in a collaborative and cooperative fashion. A single-blind experiment was performed with the Innovation in Computing Research (iCORE) at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, where the Knowledge Temple technique was administered in three different projects with ten varied Temples. To evaluate this empirical experiment, Temple members' development contributions, a Knowledge Temple questionnaire, and observational outcomes were utilized. Consequently, the results of the Knowledge Temple experiment showed great potential for an impactful approach. The results indicate novice-novice inspiration to solve motivation issues. They also show development flexibility for expert developers that may increase the individual and collaborative productivity. Moreover, this new technique offers schedule flexibility for all the team members, hands-on knowledge sharing for agile learners both master and apprentice supported, and good use of new knowledge sharing technologies to allow cooperative knowledge transformation and development.Computing SciencesCollege of Science and Engineerin