A novel mutation in FK506 binding protein-like (FKBPL) causes male infertility

Aim To perform a mutation analysis of FK506 binding protein-like (FKBPL) in patients with azoospermia. Methods DNA samples were isolated from the peripheral blood of 30 azoospermic male patients with normal 46 XY karyotype and 10 healthy controls. Multiplex polymerase chain reaction assays were used to evaluate Y microdeletions, and the patients without deletions were further analyzed. Sanger sequencing was used for mutation analysis. Results A heterozygous adenine to guanine substitution was observed at position c.28 (c.28A>G) (one patient), guanine to adenine substitution at c.90 (c.90G>A) (three patients), and a novel insertion mutation of TCTCATAAGTCT at c. 229_240dup (two patients), all in FKBPL exon 2. Furthermore, four different benign variants were observed in the same gene. Conclusion Our study supports the literature on the etiologic effects of changes on autosomal chromosomes and highlights the importance of molecular analysis of all known and unknown genes that could be involved in male sexual development and functio

The protective role of selenium against dental amalgam-induced intracellular oxidative toxicity through the TRPV1 channel in DBTRG glioblastoma cells

Objective:  The exposure to mercury (Hg) from dental amalgams is a suspected causative factor in neurological diseases. This study investigated the toxic effects of two different amalgam compositions related to Hg and the protective effects of selenium against the toxic effects of Hg through the TRPV1 channel in the human DBTRG glioblastoma cell line. Methodology: Six groups of the cells were organized. Analyses of cell viability, apoptosis, caspase 3 and caspase 9 activities, mitochondrial membrane depolarization, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and Western Blotting for protein expression levels were performed. Results: Cell viability values were lower in amalgam with high copper (HCu) and low copper (LCu) groups independently of time but were increased by selenium and capsazepine (p<0.001 and p<0.05). Conversely, apoptosis rates, caspase 3 and caspase 9 expression, ROS formation, mitochondrial membrane depolarization, and protein expression levels were higher in the HCu and LCu groups but were decreased by selenium (p<0.001 and p<0.05). Conclusions: Selenium combined with an amalgam of either HCu or LCu decreases the toxic effects created by Hg in human DBTRG glioblastoma cells

Effects of Iodixanol on Respiratory Functions during Coronary Angiography and the Role of Body Composition

Purpose. The purposes of this study are to assess the acute effects of iodixanol, an iso-osmolar contrast media, on pulmonary functions and to evaluate the body composition in order to find out its role in causing this deterioration. Methods. 35 male and 25 female patients undergoing diagnostic coronary angiography (CA) were enrolled in the study. Before CA, all patients’ body compositions were evaluated by measuring their body mass indexes (BMIs) and waist-to-hip ratios (WHRs). Total body waters (TBWs), fat masses (FMs), fat-free masses (FFMs), and basal metabolism rates (BMRs) were measured via bioimpedance analysis. The CA was performed via radial artery route using iodixanol in every patient. The pulmonary function tests of these patients were performed before, during, and 2 hours after the CA. FEV1∆, FEF25–75%∆, and FVC∆ parameters were calculated by subtracting the measured baseline value from the measurement after the CA. Results. Angiography caused significant reduction in forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV1, from 94.17 ± 18.83 to 84.45 ± 18.31, p<0.0001), forced vital capacity (FVC, from 96.57 ± 15.82 to 88.31 ± 17.96, p<0.0001), and forced expiratory flow at 25–75% (FEF25–75% from 82.54 ± 24.26 to 72.11 ± 25.41, p=0.001) and remained lower after 2 h after CA in male patients, respectively. FEV1 values were 103.40 ± 17.79 to 94.96 ± 17.063 (p=0.004); FVC values were 107.20 ± 19.03 to 99.08 ± 20.56 (p=0.009); and FEF25–75% values were 83.92 ± 24.30 to 73.24 ± 20.45 (p=0.005) before and after CA and remained lower after 2 h after CA in female patients, respectively. FEV1/FVC ratio remained unchanged. FEF25–75%∆ was statistically correlated with FFM, TBW, and WHR (p<0.05; r=−0.344, r=−0.347, and r=0.357, resp.), and FVC∆ was correlated with WHR in male patients (p=0.018, r=397). Conclusions. Our data suggested that diagnostic CA using iodixanol, an iso-osmolar contrast media, leads significant impairment in respiratory functions. Due to the persistence of these reductions even 2 hours after CA, ventilatory functions should be considered especially in patients whose body compositions or hydration levels are not within the desired physiological range

An ant colony optimisation approach for optimising SPARQL queries by reordering triple patterns

© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Processing the excessive volumes of information on the Web is an important issue. The Semantic Web paradigm has been proposed as the solution. However, this approach generates several challenges, such as query processing and optimisation. This paper proposes a novel approach for optimising SPARQL queries with different graph shapes. This new method reorders the triple patterns using Ant Colony Optimisation (ACO) algorithms. Reordering the triple patterns is a way of decreasing the execution times of the SPARQL queries. The proposed approach is focused on in-memory models of RDF data, and it optimises the SPARQL queries by means of Ant System, Elitist Ant System and MAX-MIN Ant System algorithms. The approach is implemented in the Apache Jena ARQ query engine, which is used for the experimentation, and the new method is compared with Normal Execution, Jena Reorder Algorithms, and the Stocker et al. Algorithms. All of the experiments are performed using the LUBM dataset for various shapes of queries, such as chain, star, cyclic, and chain-star. The first contribution is the real-time optimisation of SPARQL query triple pattern orders using ACO algorithms, and the second contribution is the concrete implementation for the ARQ query engine, which is a component of the widely used Semantic Web framework Apache Jena. The experiments demonstrate that the proposed method reduces the execution time of the queries significantly

Novel imaging modalities in detection of cardiovascular involvement in ankylosing spondylitis

Objectives: The diagnosis of cardiovascular involvement in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is usually delayed since conventional echocardiography relies mainly on the morphological alterations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of echocardiographic methods such as tissue Doppler and strain imaging of left ventricle (LV) and proximal aorta; and concentrations of biomarkers of cardiac fibrosis such as galectin-3 (Gal-3) and soluble suppression-of-tumorogenicity-2 (sST2) in determining early cardiovascular impairment in AS. Design: In this prospective study of 75 AS and 30 healthy subjects (mean age 41.7 +/- 10.1 years; 37.3% female), we determined layer-specific strain and strain rates in longitudinal, circumferential and radial axes for LV as well as transverse and longitudinal strains of proximal aorta; central pulse wave velocity(cPWV); plasma high sensitivity C-reactive protein(hsCRP), Gal-3 and sST2 levels. Results: Patients with AS had increased levels of hsCRP and sST2 when compared to healthy controls. cPWV, E and e' velocities; longitudinal strain and strain rates at all myocardial layers; and transverse strains of both anterior and posterior aortic walls were reduced in AS patients. Gal-3 levels with strain and strain rates at circumferential and radial axes were similar between the groups. Among all echocardiographic and clinical parameters, AS was independently associated with LV dysfunction (expressed by longitudinal strain of LV) and aortic impairment (expressed by transverse strain of anterior wall). Conclusions: This study demonstrates that functional impairment in AS occurs early in the disease course and strain imaging is an effective tool in discriminating involvement. sST2 may represent the link between inflammation and fibrosis in AS

Novel imaging modalities in detection of cardiovascular involvement in ankylosing spondylitis

Objectives: The diagnosis of cardiovascular involvement in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is usually delayed since conventional echocardiography relies mainly on the morphological alterations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of echocardiographic methods such as tissue Doppler and strain imaging of left ventricle (LV) and proximal aorta; and concentrations of biomarkers of cardiac fibrosis such as galectin-3 (Gal-3) and soluble suppression-of-tumorogenicity-2 (sST2) in determining early cardiovascular impairment in AS. Design: In this prospective study of 75 AS and 30 healthy subjects (mean age 41.7 +/- 10.1 years; 37.3% female), we determined layer-specific strain and strain rates in longitudinal, circumferential and radial axes for LV as well as transverse and longitudinal strains of proximal aorta; central pulse wave velocity(cPWV); plasma high sensitivity C-reactive protein(hsCRP), Gal-3 and sST2 levels. Results: Patients with AS had increased levels of hsCRP and sST2 when compared to healthy controls. cPWV, E and e' velocities; longitudinal strain and strain rates at all myocardial layers; and transverse strains of both anterior and posterior aortic walls were reduced in AS patients. Gal-3 levels with strain and strain rates at circumferential and radial axes were similar between the groups. Among all echocardiographic and clinical parameters, AS was independently associated with LV dysfunction (expressed by longitudinal strain of LV) and aortic impairment (expressed by transverse strain of anterior wall). Conclusions: This study demonstrates that functional impairment in AS occurs early in the disease course and strain imaging is an effective tool in discriminating involvement. sST2 may represent the link between inflammation and fibrosis in AS

Effect of melatonin on trace element distribution in lung, kidney, brain, and testicular tissues in experimental type 1 diabetes

Objective: In this study, the levels of essential trace elements, namely copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), selenium (Se), and zinc (Zn), in the lung, kidney, brain, and testicular tissues of diabetic rats induced by streptozotocin (STZ) were compared, and the effect of melatonin on these levels was evaluated. Materials and methods: 40 male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four equal groups: control group (CONT), diabetes group (DM), melatonin group (MEL), and diabetes+melatonin group (DM+MEL). The control group was fed with standard rat feed and received no added treatment. The rats in the DM and DM+MEL groups were injected with STZ at a single dose of 60 mg/kg intraperitoneally (i.p.). The healthy animals in the DM+MEL group were given a 10 mg/kg/day dosage of melatonin (i.p.) for 6 weeks. The levels of trace elements in the lung, brain, kidney, and testicular tissues of the rats were evaluated by using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrophotometer (ICP-OES). Results: The Cu levels were found to have significantly increased in the kidney and testicular tissues of the rats in the DM and DM+MEL groups compared to the CONT group (p 0.05). Conclusion: As a result, it was observed that trace element levels in tissues affect diabetes, and melatonin application significantly increases trace element levels. It is thought that using melatonin as a supplement will decrease tissue damage in diseases with systemic effects such as diabetes