Reproductive Toxicity of Insecticides

Pesticides include several classes such as insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and have widespread usage in agriculture. Different type of pesticides and their combinations affect dairy animals through their lifetime and the livestock industry. Under chronic exposure conditions, hormonal and cellular systems of animals, which play a role in reproduction, are affected dramatically. Some of the insecticides act as endocrine disruptors and impair reproductive hormone metabolic pathways via the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis. Additionally, insecticides could have harmful effects on reproductive organs that may cause infertility. The aim of this chapter is review the toxic effects of insecticides on animal reproductive system focusing on molecular mechanisms

Boron and Boron-Containing Compounds Toxicity

Boron is an important element found in limited resources on earth, especially in Turkey, and is essential for living organisms. Boron plays key roles in human and animal systems. While boron shows its important effects as an essential element at low concentrations in the organism, it causes different toxic effects to occur at high concentrations. There are different studies on boron and boron-containing compounds effects on organisms, toxic effects mechanisms need to be detailed. Boron and its compounds can cause toxic effects in oral, dermal, and inhalation exposure and even deadly effects at very high concentrations. The use of disinfectant and cleaning products containing boron as sprays, fertilizers, etc., during the Covid-19 pandemic also increases the interest in this issue. Boron exposure could cause lung irritation, dermal irritation, genotoxicity in male reproductive system, teratogenicity in concentration-dependent manner. In vitro studies have tried to explain the toxic effects mechanisms. The aim of the current work is to explain the toxic effect mechanisms of boron and boron compounds on body systems

Çocukluk Çağında Atipik Hemolitik Üremik Sendrom

Atipik hemolitik üremik sendrom, alternatif komplemanın yolunun kronik kontrolsüz aktivasyonundan ortaya çıkan trombotik mikroanjiyopatinin nadir bir şeklidir. Atipik hemolitik üremik sendrom, immün olmayan hemolitik anemi, trombositopeni ve böbrek tutulumu ile ilişkilidir. Hastalık akut dönemde mortalite ve morbiditeye ve uzun dönemde son dönem böbrek yetmezliğine neden olabilir. Hastalıkta her ne kadar böbrek tutulumu görülse de, vakaların %20'sinde ekstra-renal tutulum görülebilir. Tanı konan hastalarda genetik çalışma yapılmalı böbrek fonksiyonlarının korunması ve hematolojik remisyon sağlanması için hızla tedavi başlanmalıdır. Tanıdan sonraki ilk 24 saatte birinci basamak tedavi olarak taze donmuş plazma ile plazmaferez tedavisi başlanmalıdır, gereklilik durumunda ekuluzimab tedavisine geçilmelidir. Son dönem böbrek yetmezliği gelişmiş olgularda karaciğer veya karaciğer- böbrek nakli ekuluzimab tedavisi ile birlikte planlanabilir

The Role of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Cell Injury Induced by Methimazole on Pancreatic Cells

Purpose: Methimazole is an anti-thyroid agent, especially as main therapy option for Graves’ disease in children and adults. Drug induced pancreatitis is one of the known adverse effect of methimazole mentioned in case reports. However, the detailed molecular mechanisms of methimazole-induced pancreatitis are still unclear. In this study, the aim is to investigate the adverse effect of methimazole on pancreas cell stress mechanism and apoptosis. Methods: Cytotoxicity was evaluated in human pancreas/duct (PANC-1) cell line. Total oxidant (TOS) and antioxidant status (TAS) for oxidative stress index, glutathione (GSH) level and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress biomarkers were evaluated by ELISA. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and apoptosis were evaluated by flow-cytometer. Results: The 30% inhibition rate concentration (IC30) value was determined as 53 mM in PANC1 cells. The exposure concentrations were in the range of 0-40 mM for 48 hours. Methimazole might induce cellular stress conditions. ROS production increases depending on concentration, and this increase shows parallelism with the increase in ER stress biomarkers such as TOS, ERN1 and CASPASE12. Conversely, there was no significant difference between control and exposure groups in terms of apoptosis. Conclusion: In conclusion, methimazole might have triggered the mechanisms of inflammation or autophagy in the pancreatic cells. However, there is still a need for in vitro and in vivo studies including other cellular parameters related to apoptosis

The possible 'calming effect' of subchronic supplementation of a standardised phospholipids carrier-based Melissa officinalis L. extract in healthy adults with emotional distress and poor sleep conditions: results from a prospective, randomized, double-blinded, and placebo-controlled clinical trial

Background: Emotional distress conditions such as depression, anxiety, stress, and poor sleep are widespread health problems that have a significant impact on people’s lives. Conventional drugs are commonly prescribed to treat emotional distress and poor sleep conditions; however, these medications have several limitations and have shown multiple side effects. Over recent years botanicals-based pharmacological agents have gained increasing research and clinical interest in the management of emotional distress and sleep disorder. Of note, Melissa officinalis L. (MO) leaf extract has demonstrated considerable neuropharmacological properties both in animal and human studies and has emerged as a promising natural “calming agent.” However, research in this area is limited, and more studies are needed to validate its efficacy in amelioration of emotional distress and poor sleep conditions. Objectives: We aimed to assess the pharmacological effects of subchronic supplementation of an innovative standardised phospholipid carrier-based MO aqueous extract on emotional distress and poor sleep conditions. Design: A 3-week prospective, randomised, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, double-blinded clinical trial was conducted in 100 healthy adults complaining of a moderate degree of depression, anxiety, or stress, with scores of ≥14, ≥10, and ≥19, respectively, in the self-report Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-42) or poor sleep, as indicated by the score of >5 in the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scale. In addition, the impact of emotional distress and/or poor sleep on participants’ mental wellbeing, emotional feelings, and quality of life was also assessed using the self-reported Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS), Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) scale, and quality of life (WHO-QoL-BREF) scale, respectively. Results: Oral supplementation of 200 mg of phospholipid-based MO aqueous extract (Relissa™) tablets twice a day (i.e., 400 mg/day) for 3 weeks led to significant improvements in the depressive mood, anxiety, stress, positive and negative affect (emotional feelings), overall mental wellbeing, and quality-of-life scores (all p values <0.001). Supplementation of MO extract was well tolerated, and no treatment-emergent effects or serious adverse events were reported. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, the phospholipid carrier-based MO aqueous extract possesses considerable neuropharmacological properties, and its supplementation may provide a promising therapeutic option for the management of moderate emotional distress and/or poor sleep conditions

COVID-19 in pediatric nephrology centers in Turkey

Background/aim: There is limited data on COVID-19 disease in children with kidney disease. We aimed to investigate the characteristics and prognosis of COVID-19 in pediatric nephrology patients in Turkey. Materials and methods: This was a national, multicenter, retrospective cohort study based on an online survey evaluating the data between 11th March 2020 and 11th March 2021 as an initial step of a detailed pediatric nephrology COVID-19 registry. Results: Two hundred and three patients (89 girls and 114 boys) were diagnosed with COVID-19. One-third of these patients (36.9%) were between 10–15 years old. Half of the patients were on kidney replacement therapy: kidney transplant (KTx) recipients (n = 56, 27.5%), patients receiving chronic hemodialysis (n = 33, 16.3%) and those on peritoneal dialysis (PD) (n = 18, 8.9%). Fifty-four (26.6%) children were asymptomatic. Eighty-two (40.3%) patients were hospitalized and 23 (28%) needed intensive care unit admission. Fifty-five percent of the patients were not treated, while the remaining was given favipiravir (20.7%), steroid (16.3%), and hydroxychloroquine (11.3%). Acute kidney injury developed in 19.5% of hospitalized patients. Five (2.4%) had MIS-C. Eighty-three percent of the patients were discharged without any apparent sequelae, while 7 (3.4%) died. One hundred and eight health care staff were infected during the study period. Conclusion: COVID-19 was most commonly seen in patients who underwent KTx and received HD. The combined immunosuppressive therapy and frequent exposure to the hospital setting may increase these patients’ susceptibility. Staff infections before vaccination era were alarming, various precautions should be taken for infection control, particularly optimal vaccination coverage

DNA ve genetik kodun anlaşılması için iki aşamalı çoktan seçmeli tanı testinin geliştirilmesi ve uygulanması

Biology education is an important process that aims to teach the events and concepts that are important in terms of vitality, which deals with the events taking place in living organisms and living systems. It is important that the basic concepts involved in this process are structured correctly and completely by the students. Difficulties are encountered in constructing concepts such as DNA and genetic code in biology education. To structure the student concepts in the correct way and to replace with the truths of the wrong ones, it is necessary to first reveal the concepts that the students have. This study involves the development and application of a two-tier diagnostic test to measure students' DNA and genetic code perceptions. Three general steps of the instrument development process have been followed: to define the content limits of the test, to identify student conceptual misconceptions, and to learn the development of the data collection tool. In addition to the understandings of student conceptions, open-ended multiple-choice questions and data on misconceptions were collected. The data were used to develop a two-tier multiple-choice diagnostic test. The examined conceptual information is understanding of nucleotide, DNA, genes and chromosome concepts in addition to inheritance of traits. The diagnostic tool was applied to 103 high school students. The reliability coefficient of the test was calculated as 0.79. Difficulty indices ranged from 0.36 to 0.75, while discrimination indices ranged from 0.21 to 0.69. The results of DNA and genetic code diagnostic test have shown that students do not get a satisfactory understanding of DNA and genetic code. The uncovered misconceptions and their reasons have been discussed in terms of biology teaching and resources.Biyoloji eğitimi canlıları ve canlı sistemlerde gerçekleşen olayları konu eden, canlılık bakımından önemli olayların ve kavramların öğretimini hedefleyen önemli bir süreçtir. Bu süreçte yer alan temel kavramların öğrenciler tarafından doğru ve eksiksiz bir biçimde yapılandırılması önem taşımaktadır. Biyoloji eğitiminde yer alan DNA ve genetik kod gibi kavramların yapılandırılmasında zorluklarla karşılaşılmaktadır. Öğrenci kavramlarının doğru bir biçimde yapılandırılması, yanlış olanların doğruları ile değiştirilmesi için öncelikle öğrencilerin sahip olduğu kavramların ortaya çıkarılması gerekmektedir. Bu çalışma, öğrencilerin DNA ve genetik kod anlamalarını ölçmek için iki aşamalı bir tanı testinin geliştirilmesini ve uygulanmasını içermektedir. Enstrüman geliştirme prosedürünün üç genel adımı izlenmiştir: testin içerik sınırlarını tanımlamak, öğrencilerin kavram yanılgılarını belirlemek ve veri toplama aracının gelişimini öğrenmek. Öğrencilerin kavramsal anlamalarının yanı sıra açık uçlu çoktan seçmeli sorularla kavram yanılgıları ile ilgili veriler toplanmıştır. Veriler, iki uçlu çoktan seçmeli tanı testi geliştirmek için kullanılmıştır. İncelenen kavramsal bilgiler, özelliklerin kalıtımına ek olarak nükleotid, DNA, genler ve kromozom kavramlarının anlaşılmasıdır. Tanı aracı 103 lise öğrencisine uygulanmıştır. Testin güvenirlik katsayısı 0,79 olarak hesaplanmıştır. Zorluk indeksleri 0,36 ila 0,75 arasında değişirken, ayrım endeksleri 0,21 ila 0,69 arasında değişmektedir. DNA ve genetik kod tanı testinin sonuçları, öğrencilerin DNA ve genetik kod hakkında tatmin edici bir anlayış elde etmediklerini göstermiştir. Elde edilen kavram yanılgıları ve bunların nedenleri, biyoloji öğretimi ve kaynakları özelinde tartışılmıştır