The Comparison of Ultrasonography and Non Enhanced Helical Computed Tomography in the Diagnosis of Ureteral Calculi

Intravenous urography, ultrasonography, and non-contrast spiral computed tomography have been used to diagnose ureteral calculi. We aimed to compare the accuracy of non-contrast spiral computed tomography with ultrasonography in the evaluation of patients with renal colic.Fourty-one patients with flank pain were examined with both computed tomography and ultrasonography over a period of 11 months. Findings of ultrasonography and computed tomography of 28 patients in whom üreteral stones were confirmed by standart methods were comparedUreteral calculi were diagnosed in 28 of 41 patients. Ureteral stones could be demonstrated in 18 patients by ultrasonography and in 27 patients by computed tomography. Ultrasonography showed 64.3% sensitivity and 100% specificity in the diagnosis of ureterolithiasis; computed tomography showed 96.4% and 100%, respectively. Spiral computed tomography is superior to ultrasonography in the demonstration of ureteral calculi in patients with renal colic. But because of higher cost and higher radiation dose, it should be reserved for symptomatic cases in whom ultrasonography is non-diagnostic

The effect of different irrigation levels on the oleuropein contents of olive tree (Olea europaea L. cv. Memecik) in the western coastal region of Turkey

In this study, the effect of different irrigation levels on oleuropein content of olive (Olea europaea L. cv. Memecik) was researched in the Aegean Region during the crop season of 2007. Six different irrigation water levels of drip irrigation were tested using class A pan evaporation technique [I0 (kpc:0), I0.25 (kpc:0.25), I0.50 (kpc:0.50), I0.75 (kpc:0.75), I1.00 (kpc:1.00) and I1.25 (kpc:1.25)]. Oleuropein contents of olive leaves were detected by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Olive leaves showed considerable contents of oleuropein (16.25 ± 0.25%) collected from waterless regime applied trees during summer period. In the same regime, contents of oleuropein were decreased depending upon the increasing irrigation regimes: 0.25 (10.28 ± 0.13%); 0.50 (2.19 ± 0.12%); 0.75 (1.43 ± 0.03%); 1.00 (0.09 ± 0.05%), although in winter period, contents of oleuropein were approximately stable as 0.55 ± 0.01% in waterless regime (rain-fed olives), equal in 0.25 (0.25 ± 0.04%) and 0.50 (0.25 ± 0.01%), in 0.75 (0.21 ± 0.01%), 1.00 (0.16 ± 0.02%) and (0.14 ± 0.03%) in 1.25 irrigation regimes. Contents of oleuropein was observed to be increased inversely proportional with increased irrigation regimes in autumn period. The oleuropein values were 1.21 ± 0.01% in waterless, 0.76 ± 0.01% in 0.25 irrigation, 0.45 ± 0.03% in 0.50 irrigation, 0.44 ± 0.03% in 0.75 irrigation, 0.33 ± 0.01% in 1.00 irrigation and 0.25 ± 0.02% in 1.25 irrigation regimes. No important increase or decrease between contents of oleuropein depending upon the gradually increased irrigation regimes was observe in spring period [in waterless regime (0.51 ± 0.05%), 0.25 irrigation (0.39 ± 0.04%); 0.50 irrigation (0.38 ± 0.14%); 0.75 irrigation (0.11 ± 0.01%); 1.00 irrigation (0.55 ± 0.04%); and 1.25 irrigation (0.79 ± 0.06%)]. Statistically important increases in oleuropein contents were in inverse proportion with the exponential irrigation regimes.Key words: Olea europaea L., olive leaves, oleuropein, irrigation, seasonal variation

Influence of hypertension on systolic and diastolic left ventricular function including segmental strain and strain rate

Background - Left ventricular (LV) systolic and diastolic functions are important cardiovascular risk predictors in patients with hypertension. However, data on segmental, layer-specific strain, and diastolic strain rates in these patients are limited. The aim of this study was to investigate segmental two-dimensional strain rate imaging (SRI)-derived parameters to characterize LV systolic and diastolic function in hypertensive individuals compared with that in normotensive individuals. Methods - The study sample comprised 1194 participants from the population-based Know Your Heart study in Arkhangelsk and Novosibirsk, Russia, and 1013 individuals from the Seventh Tromsø Study in Norway. The study population was divided into four subgroups: (A) healthy individuals with normal blood pressure (BP), (B) individuals on antihypertensive medication with normal BP, (C) individuals with systolic BP 140–159 mmHg and/or diastolic BP > 90 mm HG, and (D) individuals with systolic BP ≥160 mmHg. In addition to conventional echocardiographic parameters, global and segmental layer-specific strains and strain rates in early diastole and atrial contraction (SR E, SR A) were extracted. The strain and SR (S/SR) analysis included only segments without strain curve artifacts. Results - With increasing BP, the systolic and diastolic global and segmental S/SR gradually decreased. SR E, a marker of impaired relaxation, showed the most distinctive differences between the groups. In normotensive controls and the three hypertension groups, all segmental parameters displayed apico-basal gradients, with the lowest S/SR in the basal septal and highest in apical segments. Only SR A did not differ between the segmental groups but increased gradually with increasing BP. End-systolic strain showed incremental epi-towards endocardial gradients, irrespective of the study group. Conclusion - Arterial hypertension reduces global and segmental systolic and diastolic left ventricular S/SR parameters. Impaired relaxation determined by SR E is the dominant factor of diastolic dysfunction, whereas end-diastolic compliance (by SR A) does not seem to be influenced by different degrees of hypertension. Segmental strain, SR E and SR A provide new insights into the LV cardio mechanics in hypertensive hearts

Atomoxetine treatment may decrease striatal dopaminergic transporter availability after 8 weeks: pilot SPECT report of three cases

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders. The pathophysiology is thought to involve noradrenaline and dopamine. The role of dopamine transporter (DAT) was evaluated in imaging studies using mostly dopamine reuptake inhibitors. Atomoxetine is a selective noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor. Here we report the results of a pilot study conducted to evaluate changes in striatal DAT after 8 weeks of atomoxetine treatment. Our results suggest that 8 weeks of atomoxetine treatment may change striatal DAT bioavailability as measured via SPECT but that change was not correlated with genotype or clinical improvement

Challenges in Whole Exome Sequencing: An Example from Hereditary Deafness

Whole exome sequencing provides unprecedented opportunities to identify causative DNA variants in rare Mendelian disorders. Finding the responsible mutation via traditional methods in families with hearing loss is difficult due to a high degree of genetic heterogeneity. In this study we combined autozygosity mapping and whole exome sequencing in a family with 3 affected children having nonsyndromic hearing loss born to consanguineous parents. Two novel missense homozygous variants, c.508C>A (p.H170N) in GIPC3 and c.1328C>T (p.T443M) in ZNF57, were identified in the same ∼6 Mb autozygous region on chromosome 19 in affected members of the family. Both variants co-segregated with the phenotype and were absent in 335 ethnicity-matched controls. Biallelic GIPC3 mutations have recently been reported to cause autosomal recessive nonsyndromic sensorineural hearing loss. Thus we conclude that the hearing loss in the family described in this report is caused by a novel missense mutation in GIPC3. Identified variant in GIPC3 had a low read depth, which was initially filtered out during the analysis leaving ZNF57 as the only potential causative gene. This study highlights some of the challenges in the analyses of whole exome data in the bid to establish the true causative variant in Mendelian disease