Effect of gallic acid on liver injury during obstructive cholestasis after bile duct ligation in rat

Aim: To investigate the hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of gallic acid (GA) against obstructive cholestasis (OC) -induced liver damage in rats. Methods: Thirty female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three groups. Group 1 (n=10) was the sham-operated group. In group 2 and group 3, hepatoduodenal ligament dissection was performed after laparotomy. Once the common bile duct was made apparent, it was ligated with 4/0 silk surgical suture and cut between both sutures. Group 2 (n=10) was the control group. Group 3 (n=10) was the GA group. GA (50 mg/kg) was administered by oral gavage daily for 10 days. At the end of the experiment on day 10, the rats were anesthetized. Fibrosis, inflammation, ductal proliferation and necrosis were evaluated histopathologically. Serum levels of AST, ALT, TBIL, DBIL, LDH and GGT levels were determined. In the serum and liver, TAS, TOS, MDA, TNF-α, IL-1, IL-6, and IL 10 levels were evaluated.         Results:  When group 2 and group 3 were compared histopathologically, fibrosis and inflammation were significantly lower in group 3. In group 3, all LFTs (except DBIL), liver and serum IL-6, IL-1, TOS, MDA, and TNF-α levels were significantly lower than group 2, whereas IL-10 and TAS values were increased. Conclusion: Findings of this research indicate that GA may be effective against OC-induced liver damage in a rat model. We presume that the beneficial effects of GA are closely associated with its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Therefore, we think that using GA   can save us time before resorting to the surgical method

Comparison of IMA, YKL-40, EN-RAGE, and AIM levels in maternal blood and cord blood in patients with preeclampsia

Aim: Preeclampsia and severe preeclampsia are among the most significant causes of maternal mortality. Preeclampsia’s pathogenesis is not fully understood, and it is a disease with early diagnosis and treatment possibilities. In this study, we aimed to investigate the levels of IMA, YKL-40, EN-RAGE, and AIM in maternal and cord blood. The results will ideally shed light on preeclampsia’s pathogenesis and early diagnosis. Methods: The study was conducted with the following three groups: a severe preeclampsia group (group 1), a preeclampsia group (group 2), and a control group (group 3). IMA, YKL-40, EN-RAGE, and AIM levels were measured in all patients across the groups using blood taken from the mothers before delivery and from the cords during delivery. Statistically descriptive analyses were performed. Specifically, a one-way analysis of variance was performed on group variables, and a Tukey test was used to determine the differences between the groups. Results: The mean age was similar across all groups. The gestational week at delivery was low for the severe preeclampsia group (p=0.001). The IMA and YKL-40 levels in the maternal and cord blood were the same between the groups. The EN-RAGE levels in the maternal blood were found to be significantly higher in the control group (p=0.000). While the AIM levels in the maternal blood were high in the control group (p=0.001), they were significantly lower in the cord blood in the control group (p=0.029). Conclusion: EN-RAGE and AIM levels are parameters that can be used in the early diagnosis of preeclampsia and severe preeclampsia

Investigation of survivin gene polymorphism in patients with gastric carcinoma

Objectives: Despite decreasing incidence of gastric cancerin worldwide, it is still a major health problem. Everyyear, 30.000 new gastric cancer cases emerging, and itis the second most common cancer in Turkey. Gastriccancer is a complex multifactorial disease, emerging byinteraction between genetic and environmental factors.Survivin, apoptosis inhibitory protein is over-expressed incancer tissue. In this study, association between Survivin-31G/C polymorphism and gastric carcinoma was investigated.Materials and Methods: 46 gastric carcinoma patientswho had been admitted at Düzce University Researchand Practice Hospital, Laboratory of Pathology and 42healthy individuals have been included in the study. Sampleshave been subjected to genetic analysis by PCRRFLPmethod in Medical Genetics Department laboratoryat Düzce University.Results: GG genotype was found in 16 (34.8%), GCgenotype in 21 (45.7%), CC genotype in 9 (19.6%) in patientgroup. In control group, genotype distribution werefound 13 (31%), 26 (61.9%) and 3 (7.1%) respectively.The statistically significant difference was not found whencompared between patient and control groups. However,we observed the increased occurrence of gastric cancerassociated with CC genotype (OR=1.52).Conclusions: In our knowledge, this study is the first toevaluate the relationship between gastric carcinoma andSurvivin -31G/C polymorphism in Turkish population. Ourresults show that there is no any association betweengastric carcinoma and Survivin -31G/C polymorphismin the community which is represented by our study andcontrol groups. However, it was concluded that CC genotypemay create the susceptibility to gastric cancer.Key words: Polymorphism, gastric carcinoma, survivinggene, apoptosi

The analysis of laboratory sample rejections and the effect of training on the rejection rate

INTRODUCTION: The management of preanalytical errors is an important role in contributing to the more effective and reliable study of patient outcomes. The aim of this study is to determine the frequency of the sample rejection of the preanalytical turn, to classify, to evaluate the effect of the education on errors. METHODS: : The rejected samples for the first six months of 2016 were analyzed. Red rates were classified according to the preanalytical errors and the place where they were analyzed. After the training, the same analysis was conducted again in the second half of the year and the effect on the sample rejection rates was followed. RESULTS: The first half of 2016 was 641.218, the last half 603.688 samples 1.244.906 samples were accepted in 1 year. In the first 6 months 7908 the last 6 months 8150, at the end of 1 year 16058 samples were rejected. The total sample rejection rate was 1.29%, 1.23% in the first 6 months and 1.35% in the last 6 months. The most frequent cause was the clotted sample (62.73%) and the insufficient sample (18.8%). Clotted samples were often seen in blood gas and hemogram (whole blood count) samples. There was a decrease in the rejection rates of the samples in biochemistry, hemogram and HbA1c after training (p <0.05). Decrease according to the reasons for rejection was statistically significant in false request and false barcode samples (p <0.05). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Increasing the frequency of trainings to improve quality will help me achieve the expected reduction in overall deficiencies

Polypropylene/postconsumer recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate) hybrid composites: evaluation of morphological, mechanical, thermal and electrical properties

Polypropylene (PP)/postconsumer recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate) (rPET) blend has gained much attention as an environmentally friendly and economical material in various industrial applications. The aim of this study is to improve the properties of PP/rPET blend with talc, glass fiber, and carbon fiber mixture to be included by twin-screw extrusion followed by injection molding. Maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (PP-g-MA) and chain extender (Joncryl ADR 4368) were used as the coupling agent. The effects of various coupling agents were evaluated in terms of the mechanical, morphological, electrical, and thermal properties of the PP/rPET hybrid composites. The mechanical properties of the composites were characterized by tensile and Charpy impact tests. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to assess the fracture surface morphology and the dispersion of the filler. The thermal properties of the composites were characterized using differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), heat deflection temperature (HDT), and Vicat softening temperature (VST) tests. The results showed that the composites morphology was dramatically affected by the addition of coupling agent. Tensile and impact strength increased in the presence of coupling agent of the composite due to the improved interaction at the interface of polymers. HDT and VST of the composite were increased significantly in the presence of PP-g-MA.Scientific Research Project Coordination Department of Yalova University [2018/DR/0005]; Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK)This research was funded by Scientific Research Project Coordination Department of Yalova University, Grant Number 2018/DR/0005. Aysun Ekinci thanks to the Council of Higher Education (YOK) for 100/2000 PhD scholarship program and the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) for 2211/C scholarship program

Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Polypropylene/Post-consumer Poly (ethylene terephthalate) Blends: Bottle-to-Bottle recycling

In this study, the effect of the amount of maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (PP-g-MA) (0-10 by weight %) compatibilizer on the thermal and mechanical properties of polypropylene/post-consumer poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PP/rPET) (70/30 by weight %) blends are investigated by means of melt blending method. Post-consumer PET bottle waste was recycled by means of bottle-to-bottle recycling method. The interactions between the polymers of the blends and PP-g-MA were investigated by means of Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR). The scanning electron microscope (SEM) results showed that the interfacial interactions of the polymers of studied blends improved with the increasing amount of PP-g-MA. The effect of the amount of PP-g-MA on the mechanical properties of the blends were investigated by means of tensile and flexural tests. It was obtained from mechanical tests that the tensile strength, tensile modulus, flexural strength and flexural modulus increased while elongation at break decreased with the increasing amount of PP-g-MA. The best mechanical performances were obtained by compatibilized PP/rPET blends with a tensile modulus value of 1795 MPa and flexural modulus value of 2515 MPa. The effect of the amount of PP-g-MA on the thermal properties of the blends were investigated by means of differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and heat deflection temperature (HDT) tests. It was observed that the crystallization temperature (T-c) and HDT of the blends increased with the increasing amount of PP-g-MA.Scientific Research Project Coordination Department of Yalova University [2018/DR/0005]; Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK); Council of Higher Education (YOK). This research was funded by Scientific Research Project Coordination Department of Yalova University, grant number 2018/DR/0005. Aysun Ekinci thanks to the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) for 2211/C scholarship program and the Council of Higher Education (YOK) for 100/2000 PhD scholarship program

An additive FAHP based sentence score function for text summarization

Güran, Aysun (Dogus Author) -- Uysal, Mitat (Dogus Author)This study proposes a novel additive Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) based sentence score function for Automatic Text Summarization (ATS), which is a method to handle growing amounts of textual data. ATS aims to reduce the size of a text while covering the important points in the text. For this aim, this study uses some sentence features, combines these features by an additive score function using some specific weights and produces a sentence score function. The weights of the features are determined by FAHP - specifically Fuzzy Extend Analysis (FEA), which allows the human involvement in the process, uses pair-wise comparisons, addresses uncertainty and allows a hierarchy composed of main features and sub-features. The sentences are ranked according to their score function values and the highest scored sentences are extracted to create summary documents. Performance evaluation is based on the sentence coverage among the summaries generated by human and the proposed method. In order to see the performance of the proposed system, two different Turkish datasets are used and as a performance measure, the F-measure is used. The proposed method is compared with a heuristic algorithm, namely Genetic Algorithm (GA). Resulting performance improvements show that the proposed model will be useful for both researchers and practitioners working in this research area