Heavy metal profiles of agricultural soils in Sakarya, Turkey

Sakarya is famous for cucurbit productions in Turkey and cucurbits can grow as big as 560 kg of weight per fruit in its agricultural areas. There is no or limited information about contaminant levels and profiles of the agricultural fields in Sakarya. The purpose of this study is to investigate the levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (naphthalene, phenanthrene, pyrene, and fluoranthene) and heavy metal (As, Cd, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, Zn) concentrations of the selected fields. Total 33 soil samples were collected from 12 counties of Sakarya where both cucurbits have been produced and organochlorine pesticides have been applied to the fields for more than 30 y during the historical plantation periods. Heavy metal and PAH contents in the soil samples were measured by an Inductively Coupled Plasma Emission Spectroscopy and a Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry. The highest phenanthrene, pyrene, and fluoranthene concentrations were measured as 63.50 ng/g, 134.34 ng/g, 140.0 ng/g, respectively in the soil samples from Geyve County. Cu, Ni, and Cr concentrations were measured as 108.2 mg/kg, 219.9 mg/kg, and 173.1 mg/kg, respectively in Geyve's samples which were also the highest and 2-7 times more than the limit values given in the Turkish Soil Pollution Control Regulation. Precautions need to be taken for Sakarya's agricultural fields which are an important milestone of Turkey's cucurbit and fruit productions since the contaminants can be accumulated in the fruits and edible parts of the plants

Venous Thromboembolism in Korean Patients Undergoing Major Orthopedic Surgery: A Prospective Observational Study using Computed Tomographic (CT) Pulmonary Angiography and Indirect CT Venography

In patients undergoing major orthopedic surgery, data of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) are lacking as studied by computed tomographic (CT) pulmonary angiography and indirect CT venography (CTPA-CTV). A prospective observational study was performed for 363 Korean patients undergoing major orthopedic surgery to determine the incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE), especially proximal DVT and PE. The incidence of VTE was 16.3% (n=59). Of them, 8 patients (2.2%) were symptomatic. The rate of VTE was the highest in patients who underwent total knee replacement (40.4%), followed by hip fracture surgery (16.4%), and total hip replacement (8.7%; P<0.001). The incidence of PE was 6.6% (n=24). Of them, 4 patients (1.1%) were symptomatic. Forty-one patients (11.3%) were in the proximal DVT or PE group. Based on multivariate analysis, total knee replacement and age ≥65 yr were significant risk factors for proximal DVT or PE in patients undergoing major orthopedic surgery (odds ratio [OR], 2.4; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1-5.1; P=0.025; and OR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.0-4.4; P=0.046, respectively). Taken together, the overall incidence of PE was 6.6% and rate of symptomatic PE rate was 1.1%. Knee joint replacement and age ≥65 yr were significant risk factors for proximal DVT or PE

Successful outpatient management of pelvic actinomycosis by ceftriaxone: a report of three cases

Pelvic actinomycosis is a chronic granulomatous suppurative disease caused by actinomyces israeli. Intravenous penicillin is the preferred antimicrobial but it requires hospitalization up to one month. An outpatient treatment strategy would be cost effective and a good choice for patients. Here we present three cases in which intramuscular ceftriaxone was successfully used in the outpatient settings following surgery and IV penicillin treatment in the hospital

Efficiency Of Ultrasound And Ultrasound-Guided Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology In Preoperative Assessment Of Axillary Lymph Node Metastases In Breast Cancer

Purpose We performed this study to detect preoperative axillary metastases with ultrasound (US)-guided fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB), to eliminate the need for time-consuming and costly sentinel lymph node (SLN) scintigraphy and biopsy steps in the treatment of breast cancer patients, and in that of with suspicious US findings, and to evaluate the accuracy of preoperative US-guided FNAB for patients with suspicious lymph node metastases on US. Methods Patients with a suspicious breast lump or histopathologically proven breast cancer underwent breast-axillary US. Increase in lymph node size, cortical thickening, non-hilar cortical flow, and hilar changes were evaluated with gray scale-color Doppler US. FNAB was performed if US results were suspicious for malignancy. Results Thirty-eight axillary lymph nodes (ALN) underwent FNAB. ALN dissection, SLN scintigraphy, and biopsy steps were bypassed in 23 axillas with positive ALN FNAB (60.5%). The sensitivity of ALN FNAB was 88.46%; specificity and positive predictive value were 100%; and negative predictive value was 66.6% (inadequate cytology included; 76.7%, 100%, 100%, 53.3%, respectively). Asymmetrical cortical thickening, non-hilar cortical flow, and increase in hypoechogenity were only detected in metastatic nodes. Cortical thickening, and lymph node and breast mass size was higher in the metastatic group. Conclusion By performing FNAB on suspicious lymph nodes, the routine, high-cost SLN scintigraphy and intraoperative gamma probe steps may be skipped, and axilla dissection can be performed directly. This leads to the elimination of the need for SLN investigation in more than half of the patients. The assessment of ALN metastases with preoperative US-guided FNAB is a cost-effective method with high specificity, that eliminates the need for costly and time-consuming SLN scintigraphy and biopsy steps, and helps in preoperative staging.PubMedWoSScopu