Is Glasgow prognostic score a predictor of mortality in infective endocarditis?

Objectives: The inflammation-based Glasgow prognostic score (GPS), which comprises elevated serum Creactive protein (CRP) and decreased albumin concentration, is the most valid inflammatory risk score in cancer. New prognostic markers are needed to predict high-risk infective endocarditis (IE) patients. In the present study, we investigated the in-hospital mortality estimation of GPS in infective endocarditis patients. Methods: The retrospectively designed study included 53 IE patients diagnosed according to Duke criteria. Demographic and clinical data of the patients were recorded and GPS levels were measured. Patients were divided into two groups according to in-hospital mortality outcomes. Glasgow prognostic score was rated as 0, 1, or 2 points based on serum albumin and C-reactive protein levels. Results: The nonsurvivor group was older and the number of patients with kidney failure or diabetes was higher in this group. Glasgow prognostic score was higher in the nonsurvivor group, while albumin levels were lower. Thirty-four patients died during intensive care unit follow-up, and the mean follow-up period was 24.1 ± 18.6 days. ROC analysis showed that the Glasgow prognostic score had a sensitivity of 82.4% and a specificity of 36.8% at a cut-off value of ≥ 1.5 in predicting in-hospital mortality. Chronic renal failure (OR: 6.720; 95% CI: 1.907-23.684; p = 0.003) and age (OR: 1.040; 95% CI: 1.001-1.081; p = 0.044) were the independent variables of the mortality prediction in univariate logistic regression analysis. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, only chronic renal failure (OR: 0.153; 95% CI: 0.036-0.653; p = 0.011) was found to be a significant predictor of mortality. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis revealed that long-term survival was reduced in patients with a high GPS (Log-rank: p = 0.003). Conclusions: Glasgow prognostic score level is associated with increased in-hospital mortality in IE patients. Chronic renal failure and GPS are the independent predictors of mortalit

The association of new atherosclerosis markers with coronary collaterals in chronic total occlusion patients

Objectives: In the present study, we investigated the relationship between mentioned markers and chronic total occlusion collateral development. Patients and methods: A total of 243 patients (210 males, 33 females; mean age: 63.3±11.5; range, 51 to 76 years) who underwent coronary angiography due to typical chest pain or myocardial ischemia detected in noninvasive stress tests and diagnosed with ≥1 major coronary artery occlusion between January and September 2020 were included in the cross-sectional observational study. The angiographic collateral index was determined according to the Cohen-Rentrop classification. The patients were divided into two groups according to the sufficiency of collateral development: the well-developed collaterals group (n=155) and the poor-developed collaterals group (n=88). Results: Statistically significant parameters in univariate logistic regression analysis were evaluated with multivariate (stepwise) logistic regression analysis; as a result, presence of chronic total occlusion in left anterior descending artery (odds ratio [OR]=2.447; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.160-5.162; p=0.019), total number of occlusions (OR=3.503; 95% CI, 1.445-8.494; p=0.006), left ventricular ejection fraction (OR=1.056; 95% CI, 1.022-1.091; p=0.001), and the atherogenic index of plasma (OR=0.017; 95% CI, 1.022-1.091; p<0.001) were independently associated with well-developed collaterals. Although the triglyceride-glucose index had statistical significance in the univariate analysis, it was not detected as an independent variable in the multivariate analysis. The monocyte-lymphocyte ratio was not significant in the univariate analysis. Conclusion: Of the new atherosclerosis markers, only the atherogenic index of plasma had an independent association with poor collateral developmen

The Relationship Between Vitamin D Gene Polymorphisms and the Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer in Patients with High Prostate-Specific Antigen Value

Objective: To investigate the effects of vitamin D levels and vitamin D receptor (VDR) BsmI, FokI, TaqI, and ApaI gene polymorphisms on prostate cancer (PCa)diagnosis in Turkish men with high prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels during screening.Materials and Methods: Patients who were admitted to the outpatient clinic with elevated PSA levels and were scheduled for transrectal prostate biopsy wereincluded. Patients diagnosed with PCa were divided into two groups of either localized disease (low/intermediate/high risk) or metastatic disease for subgroupanalysis. The control group comprised patients whose biopsies revealed benign pathologies. Blood samples were collected from each patient after 12 hours offasting before the prostate biopsy. Vitamin D levels and VDR gene polymorphisms were determined by ECLIA method and restriction fragment length polymorphismanalysis, respectively.Results: A total of 77 patients (PCa, 39; benign, 38) were included in the study. The frequencies of BsmI, FokI, TaqI, and ApaI genotypes for PCa and benigngroups were evaluated. Vitamin D deficiency was detected in 88.6% and 94.9% of the benign and PCa groups, respectively (p=0.176). The FokI Ff and BsmI bbgenotypes, and FokI FF and BsmI Bb genotypes were found to be more common in the PCa and benign groups, respectively. ApaI Aa and TaqI Tt were found tobe more frequent in both groups. In patients with metastatic PCa; Bsml Bb genotype, Apal Aa genotype, and Taql Tt genotypes were found to be more common.Conclusion: Although Bsml Bb genotype, Apal Aa genotype, and Taql Tt genotypes were more commonly found in patients with metastatic PCa, further studieswith increased sample sizes are needed to support this relationship in the Turkish PCa population

Identification of tissue-specific, abiotic stress-responsive gene expression patterns in wine grape (Vitis vinifera L.) based on curation and mining of large-scale EST data sets

Background: Abiotic stresses, such as water deficit and soil salinity, result in changes in physiology, nutrient use, and vegetative growth in vines, and ultimately, yield and flavor in berries of wine grape, Vitis vinifera L. Large-scale expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were generated, curated, and analyzed to identify major genetic determinants responsible for stressadaptive responses. Although roots serve as the first site of perception and/or injury for many types of abiotic stress, EST sequencing in root tissues of wine grape exposed to abiotic stresses has been extremely limited to date. To overcome this limitation, large-scale EST sequencing was conducted from root tissues exposed to multiple abiotic stresses. Results: A total of 62,236 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were generated from leaf, berry, and root tissues from vines subjected to abiotic stresses and compared with 32,286 ESTs sequenced from 20 public cDNA libraries. Curation to correct annotation errors, clustering and assembly of the berry and leaf ESTs with currently available V. vinifera full-length transcripts and ESTs yielded a total of 13,278 unique sequences, with 2302 singletons and 10,976 mapped to V. vinifera gene models. Of these, 739 transcripts were found to have significant differential expression in stressed leaves and berries including 250 genes not described previously as being abiotic stress responsive. In a second analysis of 16,452 ESTs from a normalized root cDNA library derived from roots exposed to multiple, shortterm, abiotic stresses, 135 genes with root-enriched expression patterns were identified on the basis of their relative EST abundance in roots relative to other tissues. Conclusions: The large-scale analysis of relative EST frequency counts among a diverse collection of 23 different cDNA libraries from leaf, berry, and root tissues of wine grape exposed to a variety of abiotic stress conditions revealed distinct, tissue-specific expression patterns, previously unrecognized stress-induced genes, and many novel genes with root-enriched mRNA expression for improving our understanding of root biology and manipulation of rootstock traits in wine grape. mRNA abundance estimates based on EST library-enriched expression patterns showed only modest correlations between microarray and quantitative, real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) methods highlighting the need for deep-sequencing expression profiling methods

P2: Image Analysis and Quantification of 3D Cancer Cell Migration

Metastatic tumors are known for their ability to migrate toward circulatory apparatus and detach from the primary tumor. Generally, metastasis is quantified in vitro using migration assays that are normally measured in two dimensions (2D). Threedimensional (3D) migration assays can better mimic cancers by providing similar microenvironments to those observed in vivo. Imaging 3D cell cultures requires multiple 2D images stacked along a Z-axis; however, imaged cells would be in-focus at varied z-positions at different time points due to the characteristics of cell migration. Our goal in this study was to analyze in-focus cell images and quantify cell migration in 3D in high throughput. Briefly, Hep3B human hepatoma cell line in alginate was printed on top of a layer of chemoattractants in a microwell chip and cultured over time to model hepatocellular carcinoma. Acquired cell images were analyzed using a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) to create a histogram of pixel brightness variation within an image. We selected a specific frequency range that would correspond to a sharp change in pixel brightness, a spheroid\u27s edge, while the rest was subtracted to delete out-of-focus cells. In-focus cell images were recreated by reverse FFT, and ImageJ macros have been used to calculate the brightness of each corrected image in our 3D culture. By correlating pixel brightness to cell number, it allowed us to calculate the average position of all the cells in our 3D culture, based on brightness and z-position of the cell image. By measuring the change in average position over time, we created a quantifiable method to measure cell migration in 3D.https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/u_poster_2017/1054/thumbnail.jp

Evaluation of the genetic diversity of pomegranate accessions from Turkey using new microsatellite markers

Turkey has many valuable genetic resources for pomegranate; however, there have not been many studies on the identification and characterization of these important genetic resources. New microsatellite markers were used to characterize a set of 78 pomegranate accessions from Turkey. Using six SSR primers, a total of 41 alleles were characterized with an average of 4.6 alleles per locus and mean probability of identity (PI) value of 0.366. These data indicated a high level of polymorphism in pomegranate germplasm. Five synonymous groups could be detected among 30 accessions. This microsatellite-based key is a first step towards a database for markerassisted identification of pomegranate accessions in Turkey. The present study provides essential information to devise a pomegranate core germplasm collection without duplication of plant material, to sustainably manage pomegranate breeding programs, and to establish conservation strategies for preserving local pomegranate genetic resources.Turkey has many valuable genetic resources for pomegranate; however, there have not been many studies on the identification and characterization of these important genetic resources. New microsatellite markers were used to characterize a set of 78 pomegranate accessions from Turkey. Using six SSR primers, a total of 41 alleles were characterized with an average of 4.6 alleles per locus and mean probability of identity (PI) value of 0.366. These data indicated a high level of polymorphism in pomegranate germplasm. Five synonymous groups could be detected among 30 accessions. This microsatellite-based key is a first step towards a database for markerassisted identification of pomegranate accessions in Turkey. The present study provides essential information to devise a pomegranate core germplasm collection without duplication of plant material, to sustainably manage pomegranate breeding programs, and to establish conservation strategies for preserving local pomegranate genetic resources

Evaluation of the genetic diversity of pomegranate accessions from Turkey using new microsatellite markers

Turkey has many valuable genetic resources for pomegranate; however, there have not been many studies on the identification and characterization of these important genetic resources. New microsatellite markers were used to characterize a set of 78 pomegranate accessions from Turkey. Using six SSR primers, a total of 41 alleles were characterized with an average of 4.6 alleles per locus and mean probability of identity (PI) value of 0.366. These data indicated a high level of polymorphism in pomegranate germplasm. Five synonymous groups could be detected among 30 accessions. This microsatellite-based key is a first step towards a database for markerassisted identification of pomegranate accessions in Turkey. The present study provides essential information to devise a pomegranate core germplasm collection without duplication of plant material, to sustainably manage pomegranate breeding programs, and to establish conservation strategies for preserving local pomegranate genetic resources