Effect of glucose concentration on peritoneal inflammatory cytokines in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis patients.

OBJECTIVE: It is known that glucose concentrations of peritoneal dialysis solutions are detrimental to the peritoneal membrane. In order to determine the effect of glucose concentration on cytokine levels of peritoneal fluid of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients, a cross-sectional study was performed. METHODS: Nine non-diabetic CAPD patients participated in two 8-h dwell sessions of overnight exchanges in consecutive days, with 1.36% and 3.86% glucose containing peritoneal dialysis solutions (Baxter-Eczacibas). Peritoneal dialysis fluid tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and interleukin (IL)-6 levels were measured. RESULTS: TNF-alpha levels after 1.36% and 3.86% glucose used dwells were 23+/-14 pg/ml and 28+/-4 pg/ml, respectively (p=0.78). The IL-6 levels were 106+/-57 pg/ml and 115+/-63 pg/ml (p=0.81), respectively. CONCLUSION: In our in vivo study we found that the glucose concentration of the conventional lactate-based CAPD solution has no effect on basal IL-6 and TNF-alpha levels of peritoneal fluid. Further in vivo studies with non-lactate-based CAPD solutions are needed in order to determine the effect of glucose concentration per se on cytokine release

The Effect of Thermal Coefficients on Temperature Condition of the Blank in FE Analysis of Warm Hydro mechanical Deep Drawing Process

A challenge to conduct the most accurate FE simulations in Warm Hydromechanical Deep Drawing (WHDD) process is to predict temperature condition of the blank which was held between the heated dies and cooled punch. This is possible by knowing effects of thermal coefficients in the FE analysis of WHDD process and modeling of the heat transfer between the blank and tools accurately. In this study effects of thermal coefficients on the temperature condition of the blank in the FE analysis of WHDD to conduct accurate FE simulations of the process. So, it can be possible to predict deformation behavior of the materials accurately and determining the proper forming conditions in less time and shorting development time.&nbsp

Short Communication Nutritional Status and Immune Functions in Maintenance Hemodialysis Patients

Epidemiological studies suggest various kinds of immune dysregulation in hemodialysis (HD) patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between immune functions and nutritional status of HD patients. We studied 54 patients with ESRD on chronic HD, included 34 females and 20 males with mean age 46.6 ± 16.3 (18-77) years. We measured the height and dry weight of all patients. The BMI was calculated by dividing weight (kg) by height squared (m 2 ). In all patients serum urea, creatinine, albumin, iron, cholesterol, triglyceride, CRP, IgG, IgM, IgA, CD4, CD8, CD19, CD16-56 lymphocytes were measured. Kt/V values were calculated according to DOQI guideline. In this study, a positive correlation between albumin, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels as nutritional parameters and immune functions in terms of total and subtype lymphocyte counts was observed. Further prospective studies are needed to determine the clinical importance of this finding and the appropriate means of measurement and effects of nutrition on immune function in hemodialysis patients

The crustal structure of the East Anatolian plateau (Turkey) from receiver functions

An edited version of this paper was published by the American Geophysical Union (AGU). Copyright 2003, AGU. See also: http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2003.../2003GL018192.shtml; http://atlas.geo.cornell.edu/turkey/publications/Zor-et-al_2003.htmThe crustal structure of the Anatolian plateau in Eastern Turkey is investigated using receiver functions obtained from the teleseismic recordings of a 29 broadband PASSCAL temporary network, i.e., the Eastern Turkey Seismic Experiment [ETSE]. The S-wave velocity structure was estimated from the stacked receiver functions by performing a 6-plane layered grid search scheme in order to model the first order features in the receiver functions with minimum trade-off. We found no significant crustal root beneath the western portion of the network, but there is some evidence of crustal thickening in the northern portion of the network. We found an average crustal thickness of 45 km and an average crustal shear velocity of 3.7 km/s for the entire eastern Anatolian plateau. Within the Anatolian plateau we found evidence of a prominent low velocity zone where the crust thickness is approximately 46 km. These results suggests that the 2 km high topography across the Anatolian plateau is dynamically supported because most of the plateau appears to be isostatically under-compensated. Also, there appears to be a region of thin crust at the easternmost edge of the Anatolian plateau that may be a relic from the accretion of island arcs to the Eurasian plate

Neurological complication of non Hodgkin lymphoma in childhood: experience from a single center in Turkey

Lymphomas are the third most common childhood malignant disease after leukemia and central nervous system (CNS) tumors. Early diagnosis of these complications will reduce mortality and morbidity. In this study we aimed to review the neurological complications of childhood non Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL)

Serratia Ficaria isolated from sputum specimen

Serratia ficaria was first described in 1979 as a Gram-negative facultative anaerobic rod. S. ficaria was found in figs, but also isolated from human specimens in a few cases. We now report an isolate of S. ficaria from sputum specimen.A 46-year-old man was suffering from a chronic renal failure of five years, four months of peritoneal dialysis and one week of fever due to respiratory tract infection, accompanied by cough. Sputum culture yielded a Gram-negative rod. It was identified as S. ficaria and the antibiotic susceptibility test was performed by automated Vitek II (bioMerieux). The tested S. ficaria strain was susceptible to amikacin, gentamicin, cefepime, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, imipenem, meropenem, tigecycline and ciprofloxacin. This strain was resistant to ampicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, cephalothin, cefoxitine, cefuroxime and ceftriaxone. The patient was treated successfully (80 mg trimethoprim/400 mg sulfamethoxazole twice daily for 7 days)S. ficaria is an opportunistic pathogen responsible for intestinal colonization or serious infections such as septicaemia, gall bladder empyema in immunocompromised patients. The fig tree and fig play an important role in human colonization. It should be remembered that S. ficaria infections may be encountered frequently especially in fig tree culture zones

Full Length Research Paper - Effect of bacterial conditioning and the flotation of copper ore and concentrate

In this paper, the effect of bacterial conditioning on KBI Murgul (Turkey) copper concentrate was investigated by the use of Acidothiobacillus ferrooxidans (DSM 11477). The various parameters such as bacterial population, conditioning time and particle size were studied. Test results indicated the copper grade increase of about 22% in flotation copper ore through bacterial conditioning of pyrite surfaces resulting in pyrite depression

INADVERTENT COMPLICATION OF PROSTHETIC VALVE SURGERY: LEAFLET PERFORATION

There are various complications of prosthetic valvular surgeries. Among them, leaflet perforation should be emphasized and brought to mind when there have been eccentric valvular regurgitation. In this report, we presented 2 cases of iatrogenic aortic and mitral valve leaflet perforation after prosthetic valve surgeries

Chemical composition and antimicrobial activities of essential oil and ethanol extract of Cyperus fuscus L burs from Turkey

WOS: 000443293300024Purpose: To investigate the chemical composition of the essential oil of Cyperus fuscus burs as well as the antimicrobial activities of the ethanol extracts and essential oil. Methods: Fresh burs roots of C. fuscus were collected at the flowering stage in an open area in Gudul (Ankara, Turkey). Preparation of the ethanol extract, hydrodistillation of the essential oil, GC-FID-MS analysis, and agar diffusion and MIC agar dilution assays were performed to determine various parameters for the oil and extracts. Results: The major compounds of the essential oil were dehydroaromadendrene (10.7 %), azulenone (8.5 %), alpha-selinene (7.5 %), alpha-ylangene (6.0 %) and beta-caryophyllene (5.6 %). The essential oil of Cyperus fuscus exhibited activity against Gram-negative bacteria with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranging from 1000 to 31.25 mu l/mL. Similarly, the ethanol extract of the burs showed good antimicrobial activity with the MIC of the ethanol extracts on ranging from 1000 mu g/mL (Escherichia coli) to 250 mu g/mL (Pseudomonas. Aeruginosa, p < 0.05). However, the ethanol extract was inactive against yeast strains. Conclusion: Thus, the essential oil and ethanol extract of the studied plant can potentially be used as antimicrobial agent