Badanie prospektywne zale˝noÊci pomi´dzy poziomem wolnego insulinopodobnego czynnika wzrostu (IGF-1) w surowicy krwi a zaawansowaniem nowotworu u pacjentek z rakiem endometrium

Abstract Introduction: Endometrial carcinoma is a common malignancy of the female genital tract. There is a strong correlation between myometrial invasion and clinical prognosis. Increasing myometrial penetration is associated with an increasing risk of pelvic and para-aortic lymph node metastasis, adnexal metastasis, positive peritoneal cytology, local vault recurrence, and hematogenous spread. The causal role for Insulin-like growth factor-1 and insulin in endometrial carcinogenesis is well supported and insulin and IGF system have mitogenic and antiapoptotic activity. Endometrial cancer cell lines express high-affinity insulin receptors, consistent with there being a direct biological effect of insulin and IGF system on the growth and myometrial invasion of endometrial cancer cells. Material and methods: Patients with endometrial carcinoma have been divided into three groups: tumor confined to the endometrium (stage IA, n:24), endometrial carcinoma with a minimal invasion (less than 50% of the myometrium; stage IB, n:32), and the control group (n:40). Demographic factors, estradiol and free IGF-1 plasma levels have been compared in all groups. Results: Lower Free IGF-1 plasma levels were found in patients with myometrial invasion when compared to the patients without myometrial invasion. Conclusions: In the following work we have presented the current understanding of endometrial carcinoma, association between free IGF-1 plasma levels and myometrial invasion in patients with endometrial adenocarcinoma in terms of management and survival.Streszczenie Wstęp: Rak trzonu macicy jest częstym nowotworem narządu rodnego. Istnieje zależność pomiędzy stopniem naciekania macicy a rokowaniem. Wraz z zaawansowaniem nacieku na ścianę mięśniową macicy wzrasta ryzyko wystąpienia przerzutów do węzłów chłonnych miednicy i okołoaortalych, nacieku na przydatki, wznów w obrębie sklepienia pochwy, obecności komórek nowotworowych w badaniach cytologicznych płynu z jamy otrzewnowej oraz rozsiewu komórek nowotworowych za pośrednictwem krwi. Insulina i insulinopodobny czynnik wzrostu (IGF-1) pobudzają komórki do rozrostu, mają właściwości antyapoptotyczne oraz są znanymi czynnikami ryzyka raka trzonu macicy. Jednocześnie komórki nowotworowe wywodzące się z endometrium wykazują wysoką ekspresję receptorów o silnym powinowactwie wobec insuliny. Materiał i metodyka: Pacjentki z rakiem endometrium podzielono na 3 grupy: chore z rakiem ograniczonym do endometrium (n:24), następnie pacjentki, u których naciek nie przekraczał 1 grubości ściany mięśniowej (n:32) i grupę kontrolną (n:40). U pacjentek analizowano czynniki demograficzne, badano poziom estradiolu i IGF-1 w surowicy krwi. Wyniki: Poziomy IGF-1 w surowicy krwi były niższe u pacjentek z obecnym naciekiem ściany mięśniowej w porównaniu z chorymi z naciekiem ograniczonym do endometrium. Wnioski: Przedstawiliśmy obecną wiedzę na temat raka trzonu macicy, zależności pomiędzy poziomem wolnego IGF-1 w surowicy krwi a stopniem naciekania na ścianę endometrium u pacjentek z rakiem endometrium, pod kątem postępowania i przeżycia chorych

PECULIARITIES OF MESENCHYMAL STEM CELLS AND THE LEVEL OF GDF 15 IN THE BONE MARROW OF PATIENTS WITH HIGH THALASSEMIA

Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) are the important component of the microenvironment of the bone marrow and. Playing an active role in case of ineffective erythropoiesis they take part in regulation of erythropoiesis through the synthesis of cytokines. In the present study proliferative characteristics, morphology, phenotype and differentiation capacity of MSCs were examined. In addition, culture supernatants and bone marrow plasmas were analyzed for GDF 15

The Effect of Social Media on Employees’ Job Performance: The mediating Role of Organizational Structure

Social media is creating a drastic change at workplaces, and organizations are increasingly interested in adaption of it for their business processes. The aim of social media usage at workplace may differ but ultimate objective is to build social networks and sharing. This empirical research examined the effect of use of social media on employees’ job performance and the mediating effect of an organizational structure. Survey data gathered from 205 valid responses and analyzed by structural equation modelling technique. Results revealed that “use of social media” is positively correlated with “employees’ job performance”, while organizational structure has positive mediating effect

Levels of Malondialdehyde and Superoxide Dismutase in Subclinical Hyperthyroidism

We aimed to determine whether patients with subclinical hyperthyroidism (SH) are subject to oxidative stress. Twenty-two women and 8 men having endogenous subclinical hyperthyroidism for a duration of at least 6 months, and 21 women and 9 men healthy controls were included in this study. We measured the level of plasma malondialdehyde, as one of the lipid peroxidation markers, and the activity of erythrocyte superoxide dismutase, which is an antioxidant enzyme. The activity of erythrocyte superoxide dismutase and plasma malondialdehyde levels were found to be significantly higher in subjects with subclinical hyperthyroidism than the control group (P < .01). The results of this study suggest that oxidative stress and antioxidative response could be increased in patients having subclinical hyperthyroidism

Effect of Dual Blockade of Renin-Angiotensin Aldosterone System on Proteinuria in Patients with Diabetic Nephropathy and Advanced Azotemia

Purpose: To investigate the dual effect of angiotensin blockade by irbesartan and enalapril on proteinuria in diabetic patients with azotemia.Methods: Patients with diabetes of &gt; 5 years duration, proteinuria at a nephrotic level and serum creatinine &gt; 1.5 mg/dL were enrolled in the study. Forty-five enrolled patients were divided into three groups, those receiving enalapril , irbesartan, or enalapril plus irbesartan, respectively, over a period of 24 weeks. Urinary protein excretion and serum level of albumin, creatinine, potassium were measured before and after treatmentResults: In patients receiving enalapril, irbesartan, and both drugs concomitantly, mean urinary protein excretion level decreased significantly at the end of 6 months from 6.46 ± 4.66 to 3.36 ± 1.60, 5.89 ± 5.34 to 3.22 ± 1.72 and 5.99 ± 3.77 to 2.10 ± 2.22 g/day, respectively (p = 0.001). Decrease in proteinuria in the group receiving the combined therapy was more significant than the other two groups (p = 0.025). During the period of therapy, serum albumin increased and mean arterial pressure decreased significantly (p = 0.02 and p = 0.002, respectively) but serum creatinine and potassium and creatinine clearance values showed insignificant increases (p = 0.28 and p = 0.57, respectively).Conclusion: The combined use of enalapril and irbesartan, in patients with diabetic nephropathy associated with azotemia, is more effective in decreasing proteinuria without causing any substantial increase in serum potassium levels. The combined use of these two drugs shows a more pronounced anti-proteinuric effect.Keywords: Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, Angiotensin receptor blocker, Diabetic nephropathy, Azotemia, Proteinuria, Aldosterone, Renin, Blood pressur

CLUSTERnGO: a user-defined modelling platform for two-stage clustering of time-series data.

MOTIVATION: Simple bioinformatic tools are frequently used to analyse time-series datasets regardless of their ability to deal with transient phenomena, limiting the meaningful information that may be extracted from them. This situation requires the development and exploitation of tailor-made, easy-to-use and flexible tools designed specifically for the analysis of time-series datasets. RESULTS: We present a novel statistical application called CLUSTERnGO, which uses a model-based clustering algorithm that fulfils this need. This algorithm involves two components of operation. Component 1 constructs a Bayesian non-parametric model (Infinite Mixture of Piecewise Linear Sequences) and Component 2, which applies a novel clustering methodology (Two-Stage Clustering). The software can also assign biological meaning to the identified clusters using an appropriate ontology. It applies multiple hypothesis testing to report the significance of these enrichments. The algorithm has a four-phase pipeline. The application can be executed using either command-line tools or a user-friendly Graphical User Interface. The latter has been developed to address the needs of both specialist and non-specialist users. We use three diverse test cases to demonstrate the flexibility of the proposed strategy. In all cases, CLUSTERnGO not only outperformed existing algorithms in assigning unique GO term enrichments to the identified clusters, but also revealed novel insights regarding the biological systems examined, which were not uncovered in the original publications. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: The C++ and QT source codes, the GUI applications for Windows, OS X and Linux operating systems and user manual are freely available for download under the GNU GPL v3 license at http://www.cmpe.boun.edu.tr/content/CnG. CONTACT: [email protected] SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.This work was supported by the Turkish State Planning Organization [DPT09K120520 to B.K.]; the Bogazici University Research Fund [10A05D4 to B.K., 08A506 to B.K., 6882-12A01D5 to A.T.C.]; TUBITAK [106M444 to B.K., 110E292 to A.T.C.], Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council [BRIC2.2 grant BB/K011138/1 to S.G.O.]; and EU 7th Framework Programme [BIOLEDGE Contract No: 289126 to S.G.O.].This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Oxford University Press via http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/btv53

Bringing Packed Red Blood Cells to the Point of Combat Injury: Are We There Yet?

INTRODUCTION: Hemorrhage is the leading cause of injury related pre-hospital mortality. We investigated worst case scenarios and possible requirements of Turkish Military. As we plan to use blood resources during casualty transport, the impact of transport related mechanical stress on PRBC (packed red blood cell) were analyzed. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The in vitro experiment was performed in the environmental test laboratories of ASELSAN(R). Operational vibrations of potential casualty transport mediums such as Sikorsky Helicopters, Kirpi(R) Armoured Vehicle and NATO vibration standardsoftware MIL-STD-810G were recorded. The most powerful mechanical stress, which was created by the NATO standard, was applied to 15 units of fresh (7 day) PRBC in a blood cooler box. The vibrations were simulated by TDS v895 Medium-Force Shaker Device. On site blood samples were analyzed at 0, 6th and 24th hours for biochemical and biomechanical analyses. RESULTS: The mean age of fresh and old PRBCs was 4.9 (SD +/- 2.2) and 32.8 (SD +/- 11.8) days, respectively. Six-hour mechanical damage of fresh PRBC was demonstrated by increased erythrocyte fragmentation rates (p=0.015), hemolysis rates (p=0.003), supernatant potassium levels (p=0.003) and decreased hematocrit levels (p=0.015). Old PRBC hemolysis rates (p=0.015), supernatant potassium levels (p=0.015), supernatant Hb (p=0.015) were increased and Htc levels were decreased (p=0.015) within 6 hours. Two (%13) units of fresh and none of the old PRBC were eligible for transfusion after 6 hours of mechanical stress. CONCLUSION: When the austere combat environment was simulated for 24 hours, fresh and old PRBC hemolysis rates were above the quality criteria. Currently, a technology to overcome this mechanical damage does not seem to exist. In the light of the above data, a new national project is being performed

Interrupting dissociation of players through real-time digital tasks during online gambling

Online gambling is relatively easier to access compared to traditional one, so it can pose specific risks to individuals such as causing isolation, lack of interruption and dissociation. Intermittent interactions that require cognitive process can interrupt a task and capture the attentional focus which can help to break the dissociative state of players while playing. This study proposes an approach of using digital tasks to interrupt the dissociation of players during online gambling. We investigated the effectiveness of the approach through mixed methods where participants (N = 50) were invited to the computerised lab experiment and randomised to five conditions. Participants received digital tasks as an interruption while playing online slot gambling and their response time to the interruptions was measured. After the play, participants completed the Jacob’s Dissociation Questionnaire, and the Acceptability Questionnaire (both Likert scale and open-ended questions). The analysis revealed that there was a significant main effect of the interruptions in terms of response times, and a significant interaction between the interruptions and the digital tasks. Five main themes were generated after Thematic Analysis of the qualitative data: (1) Distraction, (2) Awareness, (3) User experience, (4) Considerations for design and (5) Considerations for technology. Digital tasks could be potentially useful tools to interrupt players’ dissociation during online gambling and support behavioural awareness and change towards more conscious and responsible gambling