Opportunistic retrospective assessment of HUAC, bone density, SFT and breast density on CT images and relationship with severity of COVID-19

Aim. To evaluate mean Hounsfield unit calculation (HUAC), bone density, subcutaneous fat thickness (SFT), breast density (constitutional imaging biomarkers) and age in symptomatic patients with COVID-19, to assess their correlation with pneumonia severity. Materials and Methods. Between 11 March and 30 May 2020, 272 consecutive symptomatic female patients with COVID-19 who underwent chest CT imaging at baseline were reviewed. HUAC, bone density, SFT and breast density were evaluated retrospectively and statistically compared in cases with negative/positive PCR test results, with/without pneumonia and with mild/moderate-severe pneumonia. Univariate/multivariate logistic regression analyses were applied for estimation of moderate/severe pneumonia. Results. The parameters of age, HUAC, bone density, SFT and breast density were significantly different between patients with/without pneumonia. Additionally, the patients with moderate-severe pneumonia were older, had lower bone density, lower HUAC values, greater SFT and mostly fatty breast density. ROC analysis showed the highest AUC values of 0.763 and 0.744 for age and HUAC, respectively. A combination of HUAC and age was the most accurate model for estimation of moderate/severe pneumonia on logistic regression. Good intraobserver and interobserver reliabilities were detected. Conclusions. The severity of COVID-19 pneumonia among adult females was associated with older age, lower bone density, a lower HUAC value, greater SFT and fatty breast parenchyma. All these factors can be responsible for 21.9% of the development of moderate/severe pneumonia

The benign mimickers of carcinoma on breast MRI

The similarity between benign and malignant pathologies on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and a wide-ranging variability of the lesions from benign proliferative changes to invasive breast carcinoma cause a lower and wide-ranging specificity of breast MRI relative to its surpass sensitivity. A wide range of tissue components such as the skin, the adipose tissue, vascular and neural tissues, connective tissues, glandular tissues, ducts, and muscle tissues are found here all together. This pictorial review was aimed at deliberating benign mimickers of breast carcinoma on MRI and trying to call attention to the overlapping and distinctive features

Artifacts in cranial MRI caused by extracranial foreign bodies and analysis of these foreign bodies

Subasi, Irmak Durur/0000-0003-3122-4499; ARSLAN, YUSUF KEMAL/0000-0003-1308-8569; Sirin, Murat/0000-0001-6864-752XWOS: 000502070700011PubMed: 31741599Purpose: the purpose of our study was to conduct a chemical analysis of extracranial foreign bodies (FBs) causing artifacts in cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and to investigate the association between chemical composition, magnetic susceptibility, and artifact size. Materials and Methods: A total of 12 patients were included in the study. the FBs responsible for the artifacts were visualized using cranial computed tomography (CT). Artifact-causing FBs were removed from the scalps of 10 patients and analyzed using scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (X-RD), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). the magnetic susceptibility of the samples was determined using the reference standard material MnCl2.6H(2)O. the volume of the MRI artifacts was measured in cubic centimeters (cm(3)). Results: EDS results demonstrated that the mean Fe ratio was 5.82% in the stone samples and 0.08% in the glass samples. Although no phase peaks were detected in the X-RD spectra of the glass samples, peaks of Fe2O3, Al2Ca (SiO4) were detected in the X-RD spectra of the stone samples. the FT-IR spectra revealed metal oxide peaks corresponding to Fe, Al, in the stone samples and peaks confirming Al2SiO5 and Na2SiO3 structures in the glass samples. the mean volumes of the MRI artifacts produced by the stone and glass samples were 5.9 cm(3) and 2.5 cm(3), respectively. Conclusions: Artifacts caused by extracranial FBs containing metal/metal oxide components are directly associated with their chemical composition and the artifact size are also related to element composition and magnetic susceptibility

A novel approach to contrast-induced nephrotoxicity: the melatonergic agent agomelatine

Subasi, Irmak Durur/0000-0003-3122-4499; Alper, Fatih/0000-0002-9483-8861; DURUR-KARAKAYA, Afak/0000-0003-3604-6791; Karaman, Adem/0000-0002-3091-0609; Gundogdu, Cemal/0000-0003-2857-923X; Ozbek bilgin, Asli/0000-0001-9027-4299WOS: 000376488500007PubMed: 26886874Objective: To study the potential nephroprotective role of agomelatine in rat renal tissue in cases of contrast-induced nephrotoxicity (CIN). the drug's action on the antioxidant system and proinflammatory cytokines, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, levels of glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) and the gene expression of interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappa B) was measured. Tubular necrosis and hyaline and haemorrhagic casts were also histopathologically evaluated. Methods: the institutional ethics and local animal care committees approved the study. Eight groups of six rats were put on the following drug regimens: Group 1: healthy controls, Group 2: GLY (glycerol), Group 3: CM (contrast media-iohexol 10 ml kg(-1)), Group 4: GLY+CM, Group 5: CM+AGO20 (agomelatine 20 mg kg(-1)), Group 6: GLY+CM1AGO20, Group 7: CM1AGO40 (agomelatine 40 mg kg(-1)) and Group 8: GLY+CM+AGO40. the groups were evaluated by one-way analysis of variance and Duncan's multiple comparison test. Results: Agomelatine administration significantly improved the serum levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine, SOD activity, GSH and MDA. the use of agomelatine had substantial downregulatory consequences on TNF-alpha, NF-kappa B and IL-6 messenger RNA levels. Mild-to-severe hyaline and haemorrhagic casts and tubular necrosis were observed in all groups, except in the healthy group. the histopathological scores were better in the agomelatine treatment groups. Conclusion: Agomelatine has nephroprotective effects against CIN in rats. This effect can be attributed to its properties of reducing oxidative stress and inhibiting the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines (NF-kappa B, TNF-alpha and IL-6). Advances in knowledge: CIN is one of the most important adverse effects of radiological procedures. Renal failure, diabetes, malignancy, old age and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use pose the risk of CIN in patients. Several clinical studies have investigated ways to avoid CIN. Theophylline/aminophylline, statins, ascorbic acid and iloprost have been suggested for this purpose. Agomelatine is one of the melatonin ligands and is used for affective disorders and has antioxidant features. in this study, we hypothesized that agomelatine could have nephroprotective, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects against CIN in rats

Correlation of diffusion MRI with the Ki-67 index in non-small cell lung cancer

Background. The primary objective of the study was to evaluate the association between the minimum apparent diffusion coefficient (ADCmin) and Ki-67, an index for cellular proliferation, in non-small cell lung cancers. Also, we aimed to assess whether ADCmin values differ between tumour subtypes and tissue sampling method

Socıal Transformatıon In Safevıd Admınıstratıon

On altıncı yüzyılın başlarından on sekizinci yüzyılın ortalarına kadar tarih sahnesinde kalan Safevî Devleti, Balkanlar’dan Orta Asya’ya, Kafkaslardan Hürmüz Boğazı’na kadar çok geniş bir coğrafyada bugün de etkileri devam eden değerli bir tarihsel figürdür. Bu nedenle İran, Türkiye, Avrupa, Japonya ve Amerika’da Safevîler üzerine dikkat çekici bir akademik ilgiden söz edilebilir. Çünkü tarih sahnesinde dinî bir tarikatın çekirdeğini oluşturduğu bu denli güçlü bir siyasi yapı sıkça karşılaşılabilecek bir olgu olmadığı gibi görmezden gelinebilecek bir durum da değildir. Gerçeği söylemek gerekirse Safevî araştırmalarının asıl zorluğu da sözü edilen mistik ve cezbedici çekirdek ile bunun tarihsel yansımalarından kaynaklanmaktadır. Tarihî Azerbaycan ve günümüz İran’ında geçerli olan Safevîlerle halef selef ilişkisi, Türkiye için Osmanlı mirasından ve mezhepsel yapıdan kaynaklanan kadim ötekilik durumu ve son olarak Müslüman olmayan ülkelerde -özellikle Batı’da- İslâm’ın heterodoks yüzünün siyasi temsilcisi olması vasfı, Safevî çalışmalarını çok katmanlı ve ideolojik önyargılara açık bir zemine kaydırabilmektedir. Bu nedenle Safevîlerle ilgili çalışmalar, ya kronolojik bir siyasi tarih düzleminde ya da söz konusu ideolojik bakışların yönlendirmesinde belirli bir güzergâha mahkûm gibidir. Çalışmamızda bizden öncekileri tekrar etmemek adına Safevî tarihinin kronolojik boyutu ana hatlarıyla sınırlı tutulmuştur. Araştırmanın merkezine Safevî Devleti’nin, Karakoyunlular ve Akkoyunlular gibi kendilerinden önceki Türk devletleriyle etkileşimleri, idari yapılanma, ordu yapısı, etnik, kültürel ve ekonomik yapılar açısından sebep sonuç ilişkisi gözetilerek v yerleştirilmiştir. Böylelikle Safevîlerin varoluş süreci bir devamlılık iddiasına oturtulmuştur. Böylece Karakoyunlular ve Akkoyunluların askerî, idarî, etnik ve ekonomik özelliklerinin Safevîler’deki yansımaları somut verilere dayandırılmıştır. Bahsedilen iki Türkmen devleti ile Safevîler arasındaki temel farklılık olan Safevî Tarikatı’nın devlet içindeki konumu -devletleşme öncesi ve sonrasıyla birlikte- tarihsel gelişimi içinde ele alınmıştır. Safevî Devleti tarihi, Şah İsmail’den Tahmasb’ın birinci dönemine kadar I. Dönem olarak adlandırılmış ve bu adlandırmanın idari, etnik ve dinî sebepleri ortaya konmuştur. Erdebil Tekkesi etrafında örgütlenen Kızılbaş Türkmenler tarafından kurulan devletin Tahmasb’la başlayan değişimi açıklanmış, bu değişimin hem devlete hem de inanç sitemine nüfuz ediş süreci izah edilmiştir. Bu süreç, yalnızca bölgedeki demografik yapının değil; Hazar’ın Batısından Anadolu içlerine, Kafkasların eteklerinden Arap Yarımadası kapılarına kadar bölgenin inanç haritasının da değişimine etki etmiştir. Bu gerçeklik sözü edilen bölgenin siyasi, etnik ve inanç tarihinin aydınlatılması adına hayatidir. Safevîler hakkındaki bu çalışma, başta İran olmak üzere Osmanlı ve Cumhuriyet’in, başta Türkmenler olmak üzere ilgili tüm etnik yapıların, en çok da Kızılbaşlık ve Şia’nın daha iyi anlaşılmasına hizmet edecektir.Remained on the stage of history from the early of 14th century to the middle of 18th century, Safavid Empire is a valuable historical figure of which effects are also continuing today on a too wide geography from the Balkans to Middle Asia, the Caucasus to the Strait of Hormuz. For this reason, a remarkable academic interest in the Safavids can be mentioned in Iran, Turkey, Europe, Japan and USA. Because, on the stage of history, such a strong political structure of which core is constituted by a religious sect is neither a fact that would be able to be encountered frequently, nor a situation that would be able to be neglected. To be truthful, the real difficulty of Safavian studies is due to the said mystic and charming core and the historical reflections of this. Successor-predecessor relationship with the Safavids, which is current in the historical Azerbaijan and today’s Iran; state of the old otherness arising from Ottoman heritage and denominational (sect) structure, for Turkey; and finally, feature of its being political representative of heterodox face of Islam in the non-muslim countries ̶ particularly in the West; can slide Safavian studies to a platform that is vulnerable to multi-layer and ideological prejudices. Therefore, studies on the Safavids are like the doomed to a certain course either on a chronological plane of political history or in directing the said ideological points of view. In our study, we confined chronological dimension of Safavid Empire to broad strokes in order not to repeat those before us. We put interactions of Safavid Empire with Turkish states such as the Qara-Qoyunlus and Aq-Qoyunlus who came before the Safavids, into the center of the study, by paying regard to the cause and effect relationship in terms of administrative structuring, army structure, and ethnical, cultural and economical structures. vii Thus, we placed existence process of the Safavids into a claim of continuity. So, reflections of military, administrative, ethnical and economical features of the Qara-Qoyunlus and Aq-Qoyunlus on the Safavids were based on tangible data. We addressed position, within the the state, of Safavid Sect which is essential difference between the said two Turkmen states and the Safavids ̶ together with before and after state formation ̶ within its historical development. We named the history of the Safavid Empire as ‘First Period’ from Shah Ismail I to the first period of Shah Tahmasb I and put forward administrative, ethnical and religious reasons of this naming. We explained the change which began with Shah Tahmasb I in the state that was founded by the Qizilbash Turkmen who were organized around Ardabil Lodge, and we showed forth penetration process of this change into both the state and belief system. This process had an effect on the change not only in demographic structure in the region, but also in belief map of the region, from Western Part of Khazar into the inlands of Anatolia, mountain foots of the Caucasus to the gates of Arabian Peninsula. This reality is vital to enlighten political, ethnical and belief-related history of the above-mentioned region. This study which is about the Safavid Empire, will help to understand better the Ottoman and the Republic of Turkey, in particular to Iran, the relevant all ethnical structures, including the Turkmen, and Qizilbashness and the Shi’a none more so than