A rhodamine/BODIPY-based fluorescent probe for the differential detection of Hg(ii) and Au(iii)

We described the design and synthesis of a molecular sensor based on a rhodamine/BODIPY platform that displayed differential fluorescence responses towards Hg2+ and Au3+ and demonstrated its utility in intracellular ion imaging.Izmir Institute of Technology (IZTECH); TUBITA

Medical hypothesis: can gonadotropins influence thyroid volume in women with PCOS?

It has been reported that luteinizing hormone (LH) had thyropropic effect on rat and human thyroid membrane. It has been known that patients with PCOS have elevated LH levels in comparison to healthy controls. The goiter prevalence is more common in women than in men regardless of population. The higher incidence of thyroid diseases in women has been previously attributed to higher estradiol levels. Estradiol has been shown to enhance proliferative and mitogenic activities of thyroid cells. However, in recent years chronic estradiol treatment has been shown to reduce volume densities of thyroid follicles, follicular epithelium and thyroid gland volume. It is thought to be due to LH suppression. Therefore we suggested that increased LH levels might provide a stimulus for growth on thyroid and alter thyroid function. Therefore patients with PCOS who had elevated LH levels should be treated by combined estradiol pills such as estrogen-progestin contraceptives for suppression of LH secretion. Further studies are needed to evaluate the association between LH, LH suppression and thyroid volume in patients with PCOS

Plant growth promoting bacteria enhances photosynthesis, nodulation and root system architecture in lentil under lead toxicity

The usage of plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) in mitigation of harmful effects of lead (Pb) toxicity in plants and bioremediation of it from soils is a sustainable, effective and low-cost strategy. The experiment was laid out to investigate the role of PGPB on morphological and physiological growth, root system architecture and nodulation of lentil under Pb stress. The experiment was conducted according to completely randomized factorial design with four replications at the laboratory of the Field Crops Department, Siirt University, Siirt in 2022. The four Pb levels and three bacterial inoculations were used in the experiment. Plant height, seedling fresh weight, root fresh weight, seedling dry weight, root dry weight, total chlorophyll content, taproot length, number of lateral roots, total root length and number of nodule varied between 15.7-25.9 cm, 0.123-0.235 g, 0.019-0.092 g, 0.0104-0.0326 g, 0.0076-0.0146 g, 27.9-47.2%, 8.9-19.2 cm, 4.00-14.67, 17.6-44.8 cm and 1.37 10.63, respectively. Bio-priming with PGPB containing 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase activity increased dry matter accumulation up to 56.1% and 22.9% in shoots and roots, respectively. Chlorophyll content enhanced up to 17.9% compared with control application. Besides, root system architecture and nodule formation were improved by bio priming both under stress and non-stress conditions. Bio-priming with PGPB may be a sustainable solution to mitigate oxidative stress and promote plant growth and yield in lentil under Pb-contaminated soils

Comparison of thoracotomy and thoracoscopy in patients with esophageal atresia - tracheoesophageal fistula

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the patients who underwent EA-TEF repair with both classical and thoracoscopic methods, and thus to reveal the advantages and disadvantages of both techniques. Materials and methods: In this study, the files of 45 patients who underwent surgery for EA-TEF at the Erciyes University Faculty of Medicine (EUFM) Pediatric Surgery Clinic between August 2005 and July 2012 were retrospectively examined. Patients were divided into two groups based on the surgical method applied. Results: A total of 45 patients who presented with EA-TEF and underwent surgical procedures were evaluated. Thirty-one (70%) patients underwent thoracotomy (Group I), and 14 (30%) patients underwent surgery using the thoracoscopic method (Group II). The average gestational age was 37.5 weeks, and the birth weight was 2600 grams. Nineteen (42%) of the patients were female, and 26 (58%) were male. Group I was 39 weeks and 38 weeks in Group II. There was no significant difference in gestational age between the two groups (p>0.05). There was no significant difference between the groups regarding accompanying system anomalies (p>0.05). The time to surgery for patients in both groups was 2 days (p>0.05). The operation time in Group I (95 minutes) was shorter than in Group II (105 minutes) (p<0.05). The time to start gavage feeding after surgery in Group II was shorter compared to Group I (p<0.05). No difference was detected between the groups concerning the time to start oral feeding (p>0.05). No difference was detected between the groups concerning the length of hospital stay (p>0.05). There was no significant difference between the groups regarding the rate of complications (p>0.05). No patient died during surgery. Eleven (35%) of the 31 patients in Group I and 2 (14%) of the 14 patients in Group II died between postoperative days 1 and 25. There was no difference in mortality rates between the groups (p>0.05). Conclusions: Postoperative complications were detected at similar rates in both groups

Chemical composition and cholinesterase, tyrosinase, alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activity of the essential oil of Salvia tomentosa

The aim of this study was to determine the chemical composition of Salvia tomentosa (Miller) essential oil and to examine its inhibitory effect on acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), tyrosinase, α-amylase and α-glucosidase in vitro. In this study, the interaction between the main components of essential oil and the enzymes in question was analyzed through molecular docking analyses. The presence of 60 compounds representing 98.2% of the essential oil was determined. The major compounds of the oil were camphor (9.35%), γ-muurolene (8.37%), α-pinene (7.59%), α-caryophyllene (6.25%), viridiflorol (5.13), δ-cadinene (5.01%), and terpinene-4-ol (5.01 %). The oil exhibited higher inhibitory activity on BChE than on AChE. The BChE inhibitory activity of the oil was determined to be 16.48 mg GALAEs/g. The oil showed 47.13 mg KAEs/g inhibitory activity on tyrosinase. The inhibitory activities of the essential oil on α-glucosidase and α-amylase were determined as 703.29 and 694.75 mg ACEs/g, respectively. Based on docking binding energies, δ-cadinene, viridiflorol, γ-muurolene and α-caryophyllene were determined to be the most promising ligands showing the highest affinity (min. -6.90 kcal/mol; max. -8.40 kcal/mol) against α-amylase, AChE and BChE. However, all four ligands were found to exhibit low affinity (min. -5.50 kcal/mol; max. -5.90 kcal/mol) against tyrosinase. Considering in silico physicochemical properties, drug-like features (Lipinski's rule of 5) and intracellular targets, δ-cadinene, viridiflorol, γ-muurolene and α-caryophyllene possess hit features and do not show non-specific enzyme or protein affinity. Ligand binding assays (LBA) to be performed between the monoterpenes and enzymes in question may constitute the next step in confirming their competitive inhibitory capacity

Papillary fibroelastoma of the left atrial wall: a case report

Cardiac papillary fibroelastoma is a rare, benign cardiac tumor. It often arises from valvular endocardium, and non-valvular endocardial location is rare. Although transthoracic echocardiography is usually sufficient for the diagnosis of most cardiac tumors, small tumors such as papillary fibroelastoma may be missed. Transesophageal echocardiography is superior to transthoracic echocardiography in diagnosing these tumors. Despite their benign histology, and independent of their size, they should be resected surgically because of their high potential for embolization

Preoperative detection of insulinomas: two case reports

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

Phase II study of afatinib plus pembrolizumab in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the lung following progression during or after first-line chemotherapy (LUX-Lung-IO)

Afatinib; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell; PembrolizumabAfatinib; Carcinoma de células escamosas; PembrolizumabAfatinib; Carcinoma de cèl·lules escamoses; PembrolizumabIntroduction Afatinib and pembrolizumab have separately shown survival benefit in patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SqCC) of the lung, and there is biological rationale for concurrent inhibition of the programmed death ligand-1 and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathways in this patient population. Materials and Methods This open-label, single-arm study enrolled patients with SqCC of the lung who had progressed during/after first-line chemotherapy and comprised two parts: a safety run-in to establish the recommended phase II dose (RP2D; afatinib 40 mg or 30 mg once daily with pembrolizumab 200 mg every 3 weeks); and the main part assessing efficacy and safety of the RP2D. The primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR); secondary endpoints included the RP2D, progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Results Twenty-four patients were treated in the safety run-in (afatinib 40 mg/30 mg cohorts: n = 12/12). Median age was 63.5 years; 79.2% of patients were male. All patients discontinued afatinib and pembrolizumab, most commonly due to disease progression (58.3% and 75.0%, respectively) or adverse events (AEs; 37.5% and 25.0%, respectively). The study was discontinued early after completion of the safety run-in, and no patients entered the main part. ORR was 12.5%; median PFS and OS were 13.1 and 29.3 weeks, respectively. All patients had ≥ 1 drug-related AE (grade ≥ 3: 45.8%). Conclusion While there were no new or unexpected safety findings, exploratory analysis of antitumor activity indicated limited efficacy with afatinib plus pembrolizumab in patients with SqCC of the lung who had progressed during/after first-line chemotherapy.This work was supported by Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH and Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc. Both study sponsors participated in the design of the study, the collection, analysis, and interpretation of the data, writing this article, and the decision to submit the article for publication

Heart-Type Fatty Acid Binding Protein (H-FABP): Relationship with arterial ıntima-media thickness and role as diagnostic marker for atherosclerosis in patients with ımpaired glucose metabolism

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Heart type fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) has been closely associated with acute coronary syndrome, cardiac abnormalities, stroke, and obstructive sleep disorder in previous studies. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the serum H-FABP levels and carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT) between patients with prediabetes and control subjects.</p> <p>Research design and methods</p> <p>We measured serum H-FABP levels in 58 prediabetic patients, 29 with impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and 29 with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and 28 age-, sex- and body mass index-matched control subjects using a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and in order to measure CIMT, all participants underwent high-resolution B-mode ultrasonography.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Serum H-FABP levels were significantly elevated in pre-diabetic patients when compared with that of control subjects (IFG: 32.5 ± 34.2 ng/dL, IGT: 45.4 ± 45.8 ng/dL, control: 16.8 ± 14.9 ng/dL; p = 0.011). The difference in means of H-FABP levels between patients with IGT or IFG and control subjects was significant (p = 0.010 and p = 0.009, respectively). CIMT was higher in the pre-diabetic groups compared with the control group (IFG: 0.6 ± 0.1, IGT: 0.6 ± 0.1, control: 0.5 ± 0.1; p < 0.001), and H-FABP level was positively correlated with CIMT (p < 0.001, rho = 0.626).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results indicate that patients with pre-diabetes are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease. In addition, serum H-FABP levels could represent a useful marker for myocardial performance in patients with IFG and IGT.</p