Fungal diversity and ex vitro symbiotic germination of Serapias vomeracea (Orchidaceae)

Conservation of orchids can be possible with effective seed germination and seedling growth methods. In this context, ex vitro symbiotic seed germination and seedling growth of orchid seeds may be convenient and advantageous. In this study, both the diversity of the root endophytic fungi in Serapias vomeracea (Burm.f.) Briq. and the ex vitro effects of these fungi on seed germination, seedling development and tuber formation were revealed. The fungi were isolated monthly for two years from S. vomeracea roots and the isolates were identified based on morphological characters and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of nuclear ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequences. All of the Rhizoctonia-like isolates that joined the mycorrhizal association were closely related to Tulasnella calospora (thirty isolates). Non-Rhizoctonia isolates are closely related to Fusarium tricinctum (two isolates), Aspergillus spelaeus (one isolate) and Talaromyces pinophilus (Pezizales) (one isolate). The viability rate of the seeds was 90.32%. The seed packs were placed in soils containing fungus and the germination process was followed. All isolates associated with Tulasnella calospora promoted germination and seedling development. Isolate Svl 21 (Tulasnella sp.) was found to have the highest germination rate (98%) but isolate Svl 4 developed seedlings with advanced leaves (stage 4 (S4): seedlings with advanced leaves and/or rooted, 13.67%). All seedlings at S4 were transferred to the natural environment; the first tubers were observed seven months after. In this study, for the first time, a tuberous European orchid, S. vomeracea developed from seed to adult plant in a natural environment

5-Fluorouracil, epirubicin and cisplatin in the treatment of metastatic gastric carcinoma: A retrospective analysis of 68 patients

BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer is one of the most common types of cancer and one of the most frequent causes of cancer-related death. The majority of gastric cancers show distant metastasis at the time of diagnosis. At present, there is no general agreement over one standard chemotherapy regimen for metastatic gastric cancer. AIMS: We evaluated the activity and toxicity of the combination of 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU), epirubicin and cisplatin (FEP) in previously untreated patients with metastatic gastric cancer. SETTING AND DESIGN: Medical Oncology Department of Uludag University Faculty of Medicine, Bursa; retrospective study. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sixty-eight patients received 5-FU 300 mg/m2 on Days 1-5, epirubicin 50 mg/m2 on Day 1 and cisplatin 60 mg/m2 on Day 1, every 4 weeks. A median of 3.5 cycles was administered. The response rate, time to disease progression, survival and toxic effects were analyzed. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Overall survival and time to progression were estimated using Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: There were 4 partial responses and 1 complete response (overall response rate 7.3%); 16 patients had stable disease. Median progression-free and overall survival rates were 3.1 months (95% CI 1.9-4) and 6 months (95% CI 4.2-7), respectively. The principal toxicity was myelosupression. Grade 3-4 neutropenia occurred in 27.9%, anemia in 17.6%, and thrombocytopenia in 11.7% of patients. Non-hematological toxicity was mild and manageable. CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that FEP combination as used at the doses and schedules in this study has inferior activity against metastatic gastric cancer

The impact of hybrid capture-based comprehensive genomic profiling on treatment strategies in patients with solid tumors

Objective: The development of bioinformatics and comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) has provided insights into the ap-plicability and functionality of the genomic alterations (GA). In this study, we evaluated the impact of CGP on the treatment plan and outcomes in a significant number of patients. Material and Methods: We carried out a retrospective case-control study on 164 adult patients with advanced solid tumors from 15 oncology centers in Türkiye. Results: In all cases, CGP was performed within 23.8 [standard deviation (SD)±32.1] months of initial diagnosis. Non-small cell lung carcinoma, breast cancer, unknown primary carcinoma, colorectal carcinoma, and sarcoma were among the most common tumor types, accounting for 61.5% of all cases. CGP was performed immediately after the diagnosis of advanced cancer in 13 patients (7.9%). In 158 patients (96.4%), at least one GA was found as per the CGP report. Also, in the reports, the average tumor mutational burden (TMB) and GAs were 7.3 (SD±8.7) mut/Mb and 3.5 (SD±2.0), respectively. According to CGP reports, 58 patients had 79 evidence-based drug suggestions for their particular tumor type, whereas 97 patients had 153 evidence-based drug suggestions for another tumor type. After the primary oncologist interpreted the CGP reports, significant changes were made to the treatment of 35 (21.3%) patients. Conclusion: We strongly believe that in the future, high-TMB or other tumor-agnostic biomarkers will become much more afford-able, and CGP will serve as one of the major decision-making tools for the treatment of patients along with pathological, radiological or lab-oratory tests

Can Curcumin be Employed to Promote the Integration of Oncology and Natural Products?

Nuclear Factor-Kappa B (NF-kB) is a key inflammatory transcription factor expressed frequently in tumors which, has an important role in proliferation, apoptosis, inflammatory and immune response. Several recent preclinical and clinical studies have shown that significant NF-kB expression is associated with chemoradiation resistance and poor outcome in several human cancers. It has been shown that curcumin inhibits NF-kB activation pathway at a step before inhibitor kappa B alfa (IKBα) phosphorylation. Preclinical in vivo and in vitro trials that combine curcumin with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have shown that this combination shows better results than each treatment alone. Retrospectively evaluated seventeen NF-kB overexpressed cancer patients were treated with i.v. and oral bioavailable formulation of curcumin and appropriate TKIs. TKIs decision was made according to genetic profiling (FoundationOne®). Toxicities and response was evaluated according to RECIST and common toxicities criteria. All patients are stage IV and heavily pretreated. Our longest experience comes from adenoid cystic carcinoma and he has treated for 72 months by oral curcumin and 8 months by i.v curcumin. Disease control rate was 89.3% (15/17) and no any grade III-IV toxicities was observed related to curcumin. Curcumin is multitargeted molecule with pleotrophic nature. Curcumin inhibits NF-κB and related proteins which promotes effectiveness of TKIs. And might be considered as long as we have to use chemotherapy, radiotherapy and TKI

A Realistic View on “The Essential Medicinal Chemistry of Curcumin”

A Realistic View on “The Essential Medicinal Chemistry of Curcumin

Successful treatment of c-kit-positive metastatic Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma (ACC) with a combination of curcumin plus imatinib: A case report

WOS: 000382408400016PubMed ID: 27515884Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) is an aggressive malignant neoplasm of the secretory glands. Conventional chemotherapy has poor effectiveness against metastatic ACC. Thus, a novel effective therapy is needed against metastatic ACC. A majority of ACCs (up to 94%) express c-kit. Imatinib is monoclonal antibody with specific activity against c-kit but has not been found to be effective in treating patients with ACC in which c-kit is overexpressed and activated. The NF-kappa B and mTOR pathways have been shown that ubiquitously and concurrently activated, indicating that the inhibition of these pathways may represent a novel treatment approach for patients with ACC. Curcumin has been shown to inhibit NF-kappa B and NF-kappa B-related pathways. 43-year-old patient was diagnosed ACC from submandibular salivary gland. After complete resection of tumor adjuvant radiotherapy was initiated. Seven years later multiple lung metastases were detected and ACC was confirmed by re-biopsy. First-line chemotherapy failed. NF-kappa B and c-kit were over expressed in the metastatic specimens. Therefore, we treated the patient with metastatic chemoresistant ACC with imatinib 400 mg/day and intravenous curcumin 225 mg/m(2) twice a week plus oral bioavailable curcumin Arantal((R)) 2 x 84 mg/day. At 24 months, we observed near complete anatomic and complete metabolic response. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a patient with a c-kit-positive ACC that is successfully treated with the combination of imatinib and curcumin in an integrative approach

THE DEVELOPMENT OF PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS' TECHNOLOGICAL PEDAGOGICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE IN MATHEMATICS INSTRUCTION

Bu çalışmanın amacı, ilköğretim matematik öğretmen adaylarının teknolojik pedagojik alan bilgilerinin (TPAB), TPAB öz güvenlerinin ve teknoloji kullanımına ilişkin algılarının gelişimini incelemektir. Bu amaç doğrultusunda, ilköğretim matematik öğretmenliği programı son sınıfında öğrenim gören öğretmen adaylarına haftada üç saatlik "Bilgisayar Destekli Matematik Öğretimi" dersi kapsamında bir öğretim programı uygulanmıştır. Matematik eğitiminde kullanılan dinamik geometri yazılımlarından Cabri 2D ve 3D, GeoGebra, GSP ve Drive programlarının matematik eğitiminde nasıl kullanılması gerektiği öğretmen adaylarına araştırmacılar tarafından anlatılmıştır. Çalışmanın amaçları doğrultusunda Teknolojik Pedagojik Alan Bilgisi Ölçeği, Teknolojik Pedagojik Alan Bilgisi Öz güven Ölçeği, Teknoloji Kullanıma Yönelik Algı Ölçeği araştırmanın başında ve sonunda 30 öğretmen adayına uygulanmıştır. Ölçeklerden elde edilen veriler nitel ve nicel olarak analiz edilmiştir. Uygulanan öğretim programının öğretmen adaylarının teknolojik pedagojik alan bilgilerinde ve özgüvenlerinde olumlu yönde gelişme olurken teknoloji kullanımına ilişkin algılarında değişim olmadığı sonucuna ulaşılmıştır.The purpose of this study is to investigate the development of pre-service elementary mathematics teachers' technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK), TPACK self-confidence and perceptions related to use of technology. Considering this purpose, an education program, which is covered in the course "Computer-assisted Mathematics Teaching" as three hours in a week, was administered to the fourth year students of mathematics education program.Within the scope of the study, Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Scale, Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Confidence Scale, and Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Perception Scale were conducted to 30 pre-service teachers before and after the study. Data gathered from the questionnaires were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. Results show that the teaching program resulted with no changes on perceptions of pre-service teachers towards technology use while it affected the technological pedagogical content knowledge and self-confidence of pre-service teachers positively

HBsAg, anti-HCV, anti-HIV 1/2, and syphilis seroprevalence in blood donors in Eastern Marmara Region, Turkey and an overview of transfusion transmitted infections in Turkey

Introduction: Blood transfusion and component therapies are life-saving medical practices. However these therapies, are not without risks and may lead to the transmission of infectious agents from donor to recipient. Screening of blood donations for infectious agents is necessary to achieve transfusion safety. The aim of the study was to determine the six-years seroprevalence of HBV (hepatitis B virus), HCV (hepatitis C virus), HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), and syphilis in blood donors and to present an overview of transfusion transmitted infections in Turkey. Material and methods: A total of 150,787 volunteer blood donors who admitted to blood centers located in Eastern Marmara Region, Turkey between January 2009 and October 2014 were included in this study. HBsAg (hepatitis B surface antigen), anti-HCV (hepatitis C virus antibody), and HIV-1/2 antibody were detected by using Chemiluminescent Microparticle Enzyme Immunoassay (CMIA) method. Syphilis screening was performed by using VDRL (Venereal Disease Research Laboratory) test in the first three years and by CMIA-based treponemal test in the last three years. Results: Among the blood donors, 140,536 (93.2%) were male and 10,251 (6.8%) female. Out of all donors, 2,019 (1.33%) donors were positive for at least one screening test. The seroprevalence of HBV, HCV, HIV, and syphilis were 0.8 % (n=1340), 0.38% (n=578), 0,0025% (n=38) and 0,004 % (n=63), respectively. A significant decrease was observed in HBV seroprevalence by years (p < 0.005) Conclusion: The risk of transfusion-transmitted infections can be decreased by effectively using questionnaires and screening tests in blood donation centers, HBV vaccination programs, and awareness-raising activities. It is necessary to use improved screening methods for detection of transfusion-transmitted infection agents

5-Fluorouracil, epirubicin and cisplatin in the treatment of metastatic gastric carcinoma: A retrospective analysis of 68 patients

BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer is one of the most common types of cancer and one of the most frequent causes of cancer-related death. The majority of gastric cancers show distant metastasis at the time of diagnosis. At present, there is no general agreement over one standard chemotherapy regimen for metastatic gastric cancer. AIMS: We evaluated the activity and toxicity of the combination of 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU), epirubicin and cisplatin (FEP) in previously untreated patients with metastatic gastric cancer. SETTING AND DESIGN: Medical Oncology Department of Uludag University Faculty of Medicine, Bursa; retrospective study. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sixty-eight patients received 5-FU 300 mg/m2 on Days 1-5, epirubicin 50 mg/m2 on Day 1 and cisplatin 60 mg/m2 on Day 1, every 4 weeks. A median of 3.5 cycles was administered. The response rate, time to disease progression, survival and toxic effects were analyzed. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Overall survival and time to progression were estimated using Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: There were 4 partial responses and 1 complete response (overall response rate 7.3%); 16 patients had stable disease. Median progression-free and overall survival rates were 3.1 months (95% CI 1.9-4) and 6 months (95% CI 4.2-7), respectively. The principal toxicity was myelosupression. Grade 3-4 neutropenia occurred in 27.9%, anemia in 17.6%, and thrombocytopenia in 11.7% of patients. Non-hematological toxicity was mild and manageable. CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that FEP combination as used at the doses and schedules in this study has inferior activity against metastatic gastric cancer