Progesterone change in the late follicular phase affects pregnancy rates both agonist and antagonist protocols in normoresponders: A case-controlled study in ICSI cycles

Objective: The aim of the presented study is to investigate the impact of progesterone change in the late follicular phase on the pregnancy rates of both agonist and antagonist protocols in normoresponders.Study design: A total of 201 normoresponder patients, who underwent embryo transfer were consecutively selected. 118 patients were stimulated using a long luteal GnRH agonist protocol and 83 using a flexible antagonist protocol. The level of change in late follicular phase progesterone was calculated according to the progesterone levels on the hCG day and pre-hCG day (1 or 2 days prior to hCG day) measurement.Results: Clinical pregnancy rates were comparable between long luteal and antagonist group (35.6 and 41%, respectively). The incidence of progesterone elevation on the hCG day was 11% in long luteal and 18% in antagonist group (p = 0.16). In pregnant cycles, p levels both on the hCG day and pre-hCG day measurement were significantly higher in antagonist than agonist cycles (p = 0.029, p = 0.038, respectively). The change of p level was statistically significant in non-pregnant cycles both for the agonist (-0.17 ± 0.07; 95% CI: -0.29 to -0.37) and antagonist groups (-0.18 ± 0.07; 95%CI: -0.31 to -0.04).Conclusions: Late follicular phase progesterone levels were stable during the cycles of pregnant patients irrespective of the protocols and were shown to be higher in pregnant patients in antagonist cycles when compared to agonist cycles. © 2015 The Author(s). Published by Taylor & Francis

Dynamic rheological characterization of salep glucomannan/galactomannan-based milk beverages

The steady flow and viscoelastic properties of glucomannan (salep) and galactomannans (locust bean gum, LBG and guar gum, GG) in milk beverages were investigated at 25 and 50 °C. The consistency index (K), flow behavior index (n), yield stress and thixotropic area were measured as functions of steady shear; elastic modulus (G'), loss modulus (G''), tan ? and complex viscosity (?*) parameters were derived from oscillatory shear experiments. The steady flow behavior of mannan-based milk beverages was observed to be shear-thinning and thixotropic. Galactomannans exhibited greater shear-thinning and thixotropy than glucomannan in milk beverages. The synergistic effect was detected between salep and LBG with highest thixotropy. Increasing the temperature decreased Casson yield stresses of GG but not salep and LBG samples. Similar viscoelastic behavior was observed between salep and LBG, they could be classified as concentrated solutions but GG showed gel-like structure. At low frequencies, high tan ? values were observed for the salep and LBG samples indicating viscous character. On the other hand, GG sample had nearly the same tan ? values through the frequency sweep. Cox-Merz rule was tested to correlate the steady and dynamic viscosities of samples. It was found that Cox-Merz rule was applicable only to LBG-milk beverage among the studied samples. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

and their Opinion of Undergraduate Education

Background and Design: Most patients with dermatological complaints first present to their general practitioners. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the experiences of primary care physicians on dermatological diseases and their opinions of undergraduate education.Materials and Methods: A questionnaire composed of 15 questions was prepared and was completed by practitioners working in family and community health centers.Results: We included 124 out of 142 practitioners working in family and community health centers in Denizli. Sixty-five practitioners responded the questionnaire. It was recorded that health screening in schools and/or public education were performed as preventive dermatology in 42.8% of the institutions that the practitioners were working in. The most frequent diseases encountered were eczema (37.1%), mycosis (22.7%), urticaria (10.3%), acne (7.20/0 and psoriasis (6.9%), respectively. It was determined that practitioners were in need of dermatoscopy among the procedures that are not used routinely by practitioners and in need of education for potassium hydroxide and Wood lamp examination among the procedures that can be used by practitioners easily. It was found that the average dermatology training period for general practitioners was 3.5 +/- 2 weeks and most practitioners stated that this duration was insufficient. On-the-job training (median score 8.5), giving place to primary care institutions during education period (median score 8.1), giving place to dermatology during internship (median score 7.8) and case discussions (median score 7.8) were the education facilities that were reported to contribute mostly to postgraduate practical approach.Conclusion: The present study establishes very important data about practitioners' approach to patients with dermatological complaints. Practitioners' opinions of undergraduate education are also of importance because the suggestions were made according to postgraduate experiences. (Turkderm 2012; 46: 67-72

Misoprostol moistened with acetic acid or saline for second trimester pregnancy termination: a randomized prospective double-blind trial

BACKGROUND: This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and side effects of a new regimen of 800 mu g misoprostol administered intravaginally every 6 h up to a maximum of three doses in 24 h for second trimester pregnancy termination. METHODS: A total of 66 women seeking termination of second trimester pregnancy (30 fetal structural anomaly, six chromosomal abnormality and 30 fetal death) were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups: (i) intravaginal misoprostol moistened with 3 ml of 5% acetic acid in group A (n = 33); or (ii) intravaginal misoprostol moistened with 3 ml of saline in group B (n = 33). RESULTS: The overall median (range) induction-abortion interval was 10 h (2-46) [10 h (4-35) in 36 live fetuses and 9 h (2-46) in 30 dead fetuses, P = 0.515]. All of the patients in both groups aborted within 48 h (100% success rate). The median (range) induction-abortion interval revealed a significantly faster delivery time (P < 0.001) in group A [8 h (2-24)] than in group B [14 h (3-46)]. CONCLUSIONS: This new regimen of 800 mu g of vaginal misoprostol every 6 h for a maximum of three doses in 24 h was an effective alternative method for second trimester abortion. In addition, misoprostol moistened with acetic acid was significantly more effective than misoprostol moistened with saline

Microencapsulation of Fig Seed Oil Rich in Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids By Spray Drying

Fig oil is a nutritious vegetable based oil type which is rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids. In the present study, several attempts have been made to produce encapsulated oil with maximum efficiency. In the first step, the effect of feed concentration was observed at 140, 150 and 160 °C and 20 % dry matter was selected. In the second step, distribution of gum arabic (GA) and maltodextrin (MD) as a wall material was determined at different temperature levels (140, 150, 160, 170 and 180 °C), and optimum MD/GA ratio and temperature were found to be 8/1 and 150 °C, respectively. In the next step, impact of wall material/fig oil ratio on the encapsulation efficiency was investigated and it was determined to be 3.0. According to the results, optimum encapsulation ratio of MD/GA/oil and temperature were 8/1/3 and 150 °C, respectively. The physicochemical properties; particle size, peroxide value, dry matter content, and encapsulation efficiency of the oil encapsulated under this condition were determined. Water content and water solubility of the powder was determined as 2.875 and 97.85 %, respectively. At the optimum conditions particle of the fig oils showed smooth surface, non-homogeneous and spherical shape, and size of the most of the particles ranged between 8 and 40 ?m. © 2016, Springer Science+Business Media New York

Acetophenone glycosides from thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.)

Four acetophenone glycosides were isolated from the butanol-soluble fraction of thyme extracts. Their structures were determined by spectral methods (MS, NMR, and 2D-NMR). Among them, two new compounds, 4- hydroxyacetophenone 4-O-[5-O-(3,5-dimethoxy-4-hydroxybenzoyl)-β-D- apiofuranosyl]-(1-2)-β-D-glucopyranoside (1) and 4-hydroxyacetophenone 4-O- [5-O-(4-hydroxybenzoyl)β-D-apiofuranosyl]-(1-2)-β-D-glucopyranoside (2), were determined. Compound 1 showed weak cytotoxicity, inhibiting DNA synthesis of human leukemia cells.link_to_subscribed_fulltex