Lipid profile and levels of homocysteine, leptin, fibrinogen and C-reactive protein in hyperthyroid patients before and after treatment

Objectives: The present study was carried out to determine whether thyroid hormones affect lipid profile and levels of erithrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), serum total homocysteine (t-hcy), leptin, fibrinogen, C-reactive protein (CRP in patients with hyperthyroidism.Materials and methods: This study was carried out on 23 hyperthroid subjects (3 men / 20 women, mean age 41.8 ± 2.4 years). Serum levels of homocysteine, leptin, fibrinogen, CRP, total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and ESR were measured and body mass index (BMI) were calculated before and after treatment of hyperthyroidism.Results: Pretreatment t-hcy, TC, LDL-C, HDL-C levels and BMI of patients were significantly lower than those of the post-treatment (p<0.001, for each variable). However, fibrinogen and ESR decreased after the treatment (p<0.001 and p<0.05, respectively). There were no differences in leptin and CRP levels between pre- and post-treatment periods. Pre and post treatment TC and LDL-C levels were negatively correlated with free triiodothyronine (fT3) levels (r=-0.588, p<0.01; r=-0.534, p<0.01; r=-0.543, p<0.01 and r =-0.653, p<0.01, respectively). Pre-treatment HDL-C was inversely correlated with TSH (r=-0.423, p<0.05). Pre-post- treatment LDL-C was negatively correlated with free thyroxine (fT4) levels (r=-0.536, p<0.001 and r=- 0.422, p<0.05 respectively). Pre-treatment TC was inversely correlated with fT4 (r=-0.590, p<0.01).Conclusion: Hyperthyroidism is associated with high plasma fibrinogen and ESR levels. Elevated plasma fibrinogen and ESR levels may be a possible explanation for the high cardiovascular morbidity among hyperthyroidic subjects. These changes may reflect low-grade inflammation or disturbances in coagulation in hyperthyroidism

Brachypodium Genomics

Brachypodium distachyon (L.) Beauv. is a temperate wild grass species; its morphological and genomic characteristics make it a model system when compared to many other grass species. It has a small genome, short growth cycle, self-fertility, many diploid accessions, and simple growth requirements. In addition, it is phylogenetically close to economically important crops, like wheat and barley, and several potential biofuel grasses. It exhibits agricultural traits similar to those of these target crops. For cereal genomes, it is a better model than Arabidopsis thaliana and Oryza sativa (rice), the former used as a model for all flowering plants and the latter hitherto used as model for genomes of all temperate grass species including major cereals like barley and wheat. Increasing interest in this species has resulted in the development of a series of genomics resources, including nuclear sequences and BAC/EST libraries, together with the collection and characterization of other genetic resources. It is expected that the use of this model will allow rapid advances in generation of genomics information for the improvement of all temperate crops, particularly the cereals

Midenin glomus tümörü

Altmış dört yaşında erkek hasta masif üst gastrointestinal sistem kanaması ile acil servise başvurdu. Distal gastrektomi uygulanan hastada ameliyat sırasında antral bölge küçük kurvaturda submukozal yerleşimli, 2.4 cm çapında, iyi sınırlı bir kitle palpe edildi. Kitlenin histopatolojik incelemesinde, düzensiz dallanan, ince duvarlı damarların arasında yuvalanmalar, kordonlar ve tabakalar oluşturan berrak sitoplazmalı uniform tümör hücreleri görüldü. İmmünohistokimyasal olarak vimentin ve SMA ile pozitif; sitokeratin, CD34, sinaptofizin, kromogranin A, NSE, CD117 (C-kit) ve S-100 protein ile negatif sonuç elde edildi. Elektron mikroskopik olarak berrak sitoplazmalı, kaba kromatinli yuvarlak nukleusa sahip hücrelerinin damar yapıları etrafı nda gruplar oluşturdukları görüldü. Klinik bulgular, makroskopik görünüm, tümör paterni, immünohistokimyasal ve elektron mikroskopik bulgular glomus tümörü ile uyumlu bulundu.A sixty-four-year old male patient presented to the emergency room with massive upper gastrointestinal tract bleeding. During distal gastrectomy, a submucosal, well demarcated mass with a diameter of 2.4 cm was palpable in the antral region of the lesser curvature. Histopathological examination of the mass revealed uniform tumor cells with clear cytoplasms and round nuclei, forming nests, strands and sheets between dense, irregularly branching, thin-walled vessels. Immunohistochemistry was positive for vimentin and SMA and negative for cytokeratin, CD34, synaptophysin, chromogranin A, NSE, CD117 (C-kit) and S-100 protein. Electron microscopy demonstrated tumor cells with clear cytoplasms and round nuclei with coarsely dispersed chromatin, forming groups around vascular structures. Clinical findings, gross appearance, tumor pattern, immunohistochemical findings and electronmicroscopic findings were all consistent with a glomus tumo

SECONDARY STUDENTS' USE OF SUBMOLECULAR REPRESENTATIONS: HOW COMPATABLE THEY ARE WITH THE ACCEPTED MODELS

To analyze students' submicroscopic representations of atoms, molecules and ionic lattice structures a survey design was implemented in the study in which high school Grade 9 Turkish students (n= 100) were participated. The questionnaire included 4 open ended molecular drawing questions that take place in the textbook as molecular models. The data obtained from students' molecular drawings and verbal explanations in the questionnaire were analysed together ideographically. The findings indicated some of the students were able to relate submicroscopic representation with the symbolic ones in an acceptable way. Yet, most of the students failed to show submicroscopic level, instead they used Lewis dot structures with outermost shell electrons for molecular drawings. Most of the students were successful in differentiating between solid, liquid and gaseous state of the same substance at submicroscopic level where the position of the molecules, atoms or ionic lattice were drawn in an acceptable way

Covid-19 Sürecinde Yazlıkçıların Bulundukları Turistik Destinasyona İlişkin Algıları: Susanoğlu Örneği

Dünyada yaşanan Covid-19 süreci küresel çapta büyük değişimlere yol açmıştır. Başta sağlık sektörü etkilenmekle birlikte; ekonomi, ticaret, eğitim, turizm gibi birçok sektör de bu süreçten payını almıştır. Yazlıkçıların Covid-19 sürecinde bulundukları turistik destinasyona ilişkin algılarının belirlenmesi amacıyla yapılan bu çalışma Mersin’in Silifke ilçesine bağlı turistik bir beldesi olan Susanoğlu’nda gerçekleştirilmiştir. Bu çalışmada Susanoğlu’nda dönem dönem bulunan yazlıkçıların bulundukları destinasyonla ilgili olarak Covid-19 döneminde oraya algıları ortaya çıkarılmaya çalışılmıştır. Bu doğrultuda çalışmada yöntem olarak nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden biri olan içerik analizi kullanılmıştır. Kolay ulaşılabilir durum örneklemesi ile Susanoğlu/ Mersin’de Ağustos-Eylül 2021 tarihleri arasında yazlıkçılarla yüz yüze görüşme yapılmıştır. Verilerin kodlanmasında bilgisayar tabanlı nitel analiz programı olan QSR Nvivo 12 kullanılmıştır. Tatilcilere Susanoğlu’nda geçirdikleri süre boyunca Covid- 19’un tatilleri üzerindeki etkilerini içeren ve destinasyonun bu süreçte aldığı önlemlerle ilgili sorular sorulmuştur. Elde edilen sonuçlara göre genel olarak yazlıkçıların, Covid-19 sürecinde normal sürece göre yazlıklarında asıl ikamet adreslerinden daha çok kaldıkları ve merkezi yerleşim yerlerine göre sakin olduğu için burada kendilerini daha güvende hissettikleri tespit edilmiştir. Yazlıkçıların vermiş oldukları cevaplara göre genel olarak maske kullanımı, hijyen ve sosyal mesafe konusunda kurallara uymada yetersiz oldukları sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Özellikle sosyal mesafe kurallarına banka, market, cafe, restoran ve pazar yerlerinde yeterince dikkat edilmediği, plajda ise kısmen dikkat edildiği sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Genel olarak yazlıkçıların tedirginlik durumu incelendiğinde denize girerken ve plajda tedirgin hissetmedikleri; dışarıda gezerken, pazarda, markette, restoranda, resmi dairelerde, sahil kıyısında tedirgin oldukları tespit edilmiştir. Bu çalışma 24-26 Mart 2022 tarihleri arasında Conference on Managing Tourism across Continents (MTCON’22) kongresinde özet bildiri olarak sunulmuştur

Diploid brachypodium distachyon of Turkey: molecular and morphological analysis

Brachypodium distachyon is a model species for the grass family, Poaceae, which includes major cereal crops such as wheat and barley. The aim of this study were to assess morphological and phylogenetic relationships among diploid accessions of Brachypodium representing diverse geographic regions of Turkey based on Sequence related Amplified Polymorphism (SRAP) analyses. The similarity matrix indicated close relation among species used in the section using SRAP primer combinations, produced 156 fragment bands, of which 120 were polymorphic. Genetic distance ranged from 0.03 to 0.62. Plant genotypes were grouped into two major clusters based on SRAP analysis. There was a high level of diversity among the native diploid Brachypodium genotypes. These genotypes can be used for a better understanding of grass genomics

Bariatrik cerrahi sonrası viseral organ yağ infiltrasyon değişikliklerini izlemenin etkili yöntemi: İdeal IQ sekansı

Aim: The aim of this study is to demonstrate the efficiency of non-invasive imaging method-MR proton density fat fraction (PDFF); ideal IQ sequence- on detecting the effects of bariatric surgery on liver and pancreatic fatty infiltration. Materials and Methods: Thirty-nine patients (25 females, 14 males) who underwent bariatric surgery between May 2016 and April 2017 were analyzed retrospectively in this study. Body mass index (BMI) and body weight (BW) values of all patients were noted one week before and one month after bariatric surgery, and meanwhile an unenhanced upper abdominal MR imaging was performed. Liver fat fraction (LFF), pancreas fat fraction (PFF), liver volume (LV) and craniocaudal length of liver (LL) were measured with MR-PDFF and T2 weighted images. Changes in all parameters after the surgery were recorded and the correlation of these changes with the change in LFF was analyzed. Results: At the end of first month of bariatric surgery, a significant decrease on mean values of LFF and PFF has been observed along with a decrease of LV, LL, BW and BMI (p<0.0001). A moderate positive linear correlation was observed between LFF and PFF, LV, LL (r=0.69, 0.61, 0.49; respectively) while a weak positive linear correlation was noticed between LFF and BMI, BW (r=0.34, 0.21; respectively). Conclusion: Ideal IQ sequence enables quantitative analysis of fatty infiltration of the liver and pancreas and thus may be used as a non-invasive tool to monitor the positive effects of the bariatric surgery on fatty infiltration of these visceral organs in the postoperative period.Amaç: Bariatrik cerrahinin karaciğer ve pankreas yağ infiltrasyonu üzerindeki etkilerinin saptanmasında non-invaziv görüntüleme yönteminin-MR proton dansite yağ fraksiyonu (PDFF); ideal IQ sekansı-etkinliğini göstermeyi amaçladık. Gereç ve Yöntem: Bu çalışmada Mayıs 2016 ile Nisan 2017 tarihleri arasında obezite cerrahisi geçiren 39 hasta (25 kadın, 14 erkek) retrospektif olarak incelendi. Tüm hastaların vücut kitle indeksi (VKİ) ve vücut ağırlığı (VA) değerleri bariatrik cerrahiden bir hafta önce ve bir ay sonra kaydedildi ve bu esnada kontrastsız üst abdomen MR görüntülemesi yapıldı. MR-PDFF ve T2 ağırlıklı görüntülerle karaciğer yağ fraksiyonu (KYF), pankreas yağ fraksiyonu (PYF), karaciğer hacmi (KV) ve karaciğer kraniyokaudal uzunluğu (KKU) ölçüldü. Ameliyat sonrası tüm parametrelerdeki değişiklikler kaydedildi ve bu değişikliklerin KYF’deki değişiklik ile korelasyonu analiz edildi. Bulgular: Bariatrik cerrahinin 1. ayının sonunda KYF ve PYF ortalama değerlerinde anlamlı azalma ile birlikte KV, KKU, VA ve VKİ’de azalma gözlendi (p<0,0001). KYF ile PYF, KV, KKU arasında orta derecede pozitif bir doğrusal korelasyon gözlenirken (sırasıyla r=0,69, 0,61, 0,49), KYF ile VKİ, VA arasında (sırasıyla r=0,34, 0,21) zayıf bir pozitif doğrusal korelasyon fark edildi. Sonuç: İdeal IQ sekansı, karaciğer ve pankreasın yağ infiltrasyonunun kantitatif analizini sağlar ve bu nedenle postoperatif dönemde bariatrik cerrahinin bu viseral organların yağ infiltrasyonu üzerindeki olumlu etkilerini izlemek için non-invaziv bir araç olarak kullanılabilir

Role of dopaminergic system in oxytocin analgesia: The missing part in a puzzle

Purpose: To investigate the analgesic effects of oxytocin (OT) and elucidate the role of dopaminergic system in its mechanisms.Methods: In this study, 72 male (n=6 for each group) 230-250 gr Wistar Albino rats were used. Firstly, dose studies were performed with 100 μg/kg, 200 μg/kg and 400 μg/kg to determine the optimal analgesic effect of oxytocin. Optimal dose was found at 200 μg/kg, and then animals were divided into nine groups: Saline, D1 agonist (SKF 38393; 0.1 mg/kg), D1 antagonist (SCH-23390; 0.1 mg/kg), D1 agonist + oxytocin, D1 antagonist + oxytocin, D2 agonist (Cabergoline; 0,5 mg/kg), D2 antagonist (Sulpride; 10 mg/kg), D2 agonist + oxytocin and D2 antagonist + oxytocin. Serum physiologic saline was given to the saline group and other drugs were administered intraperitoneally at the indicated doses. Tail-flick and hot-plate tests were used to measure analgesic effects. Analgesic tests were measured in 30 min-intervals (at 30th, 60th, 90th, and 120th min) and recorded in seconds. To evaluate maximum antinociceptive effect (% MPE), the tail-flick and hot-plate latencies were converted to the antinociceptive effectivenessResults: The results show that D1 antagonist SCH-23390 (0.1 mg/kg) and D2 agonist cabergoline (0.5 mg/kg) created strong analgesia while the D1 agonist SKF 38393 (0.1 mg/kg) and D2 antagonist sulpiride (10 mg/kg) did not have any analgesic effect. However, only D2 antagonist sulpiride blocked the analgesic effect produced by OTConclusion: OT may be one of the primary agents participating in spinal analgesia, and the dopaminergic system is one of the central mechanisms of action for this important molecule. The dopaminergic system may also be one of the targets for ‘descending’ analgesic system. Keywords: Oxytocin, Tail flick, Hot plate, Dopaminergic, Analgesic, Antagonist, Agonis

High-resolution diffusion-weighted imaging compared with conventional diffusion-weighted imaging and dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging with regard to image quality and assessment of breast cancer morphology

PURPOSETo evaluate the image quality and tumor morphology depiction ability of high resolution (HR) diffusion- weighted imaging (f-DWI) in comparison to conventional DWI (c-DWI) and dynamic contrast- enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) in the primary breast cancer setting.METHODSThe f-DWI, c-DWI, and DCE-MRIs of 160 malignant breast masses were evaluated retrospectively by two independent radiologists. Data on image quality [sharpness, distortion, and perceived signalto- noise ratio (SNR)], apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value, lesion size, and tumor morphology (shape, margin, and internal pattern) obtained on f-DWI, c-DWI, and DCE-MRI were compared. Consistency between the readers and imaging methods for morphological parameters was analyzed.RESULTSThe ADC values measured on f-DWI were significantly lower than those measured on c-DWI for both readers (P < 0.001 for each), whereas mean lesion size was significantly larger in c-DWI than in f-DWI and DCE-MRI for both readers (P < 0.001 for each). Higher consistency values were obtained for f-DWI compared with c-DWI when correlated with DCE-MRI for each morphological parameter. The least distorted images were obtained using DCE-MRI compared with c-DWI and f-DWI for both readers, whereas the highest distortion scores were obtained using c-DWI. Sharpness and perceived SNR scores were rated as significantly higher for f-DWI and DCE-MRI images compared with c-DWI by both readers (P < 0.001 for all). The concordance between c-DWI and DCE-MRI was fair to slight (κ = 0.15 to 0.41), whereas concordance between f-DWI and DCE-MRI was significantly better (κ = 0.68 to 0.87) for each reader and for all morphological parameters (P < 0.001). The highest concordance between the readers was achieved in margin assessment (κ = 0.87 to 0.89) regardless of the MRI method, followed by shape and internal pattern parameters (κ = 0.63 to 0.79).CONCLUSIONThe results demonstrated that f-DWI produces higher-quality images than c-DWI, enabling the morphological features to be identified in similar detail to that offered by HR DCE-MRI. Accordingly, f-DWI, as a method that highly correlates with DCE in determining the morphological characteristics of breast cancers, seems to have potential in the evaluation of breast tumors in patients for whom the use of contrast media is contraindicated

Polymorphisms of the DNA repair gene XPD (751) and XRCC1 (399) correlates with risk of hematological malignancies in Turkish population

Polymorphisms that occur in DNA repair genes affect DNA repair capacity and constitute a risk factor in hematological malignancies. This study, was aimed to investigate whether xeroderma pigmentosum complementation group D (XPD) and x-ray repair cross-complementing group 1 (XRCC1) gene polymorphisms were involved in the susceptibility to different hematological malignancies. The genotype and allele frequencies were obtained by analyzing XPD gene codon 751 in a total of 80 patients and XRCC1 gene codon 399 polymorphism in a total of 100 patients with hematological malignancies and 100 healthy controls. Mean age was 45 (range: 16 to 75) and 46 (range: 16 to 82) in the patients groups and 39.5 (range: 18 to 67) in the control group, respectively. Additionally, distribution of genotypes and alleles were compared in the patient and control groups. In the comparison of genotype and allele frequencies in hematological malignancies and healthy controls, XPD-751Gln variant was arranged and compared according to age and sex and Gln/Gln genotype was reported to be a protector, which was decreased significantly in acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) (p = 0.042). No relationship was determined between allele frequencies (p = 0.054). In XRCC1-399, it was shown that Gln/Gln genotype was decreased significantly in AML (p = 0.014) plus all hematological malignancies (p = 0.033) and that Gln allele was present at a lower ratio in AML (p = 0.046). The distribution of polymorphism of both genes was not statistically significant in terms of age and sex. In leukemia with early relapse, XPD 751 Lys/Lys genotype was determined at a statistically higher ratio (p = 0.042). In the evaluation of both genes together, a decrease was noted in Gln/Gln + Lys/Gln haplotype frequency in hematological malignancies (p = 0.048). In this study, it was demonstrated that a decrease in Gln/Gln genotype and Gln allele acted as a protector in XPD codon 751 and XRCC1 codon 399 polymorphisms in acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) and that an increase in Lys/Lys genotype in acute leukemia was associated with early relapse