Relation of age and sex with carotid intima media thickness in healthy children

Background/aim: To investigate the age- and sex-associated carotid intima media thickness (cIMT) changes in healthy children to determine the age- and sex-specific normal range of values for childhood. Materials and methods: This study examined 91 healthy school-age children aged 7-15 years prospectively. Standardized sonographic cIMT measurements and analyses were performed. Body mass index and blood pressure were obtained, and atherosclerotic risk factors were investigated. Age- and sex-specific cIMT measurements for different age groups were calculated and the relation with sex was investigated. Results: Regarding the total study group, mean cIMT measurements for age groups 7-9, 10-12, and 13-15 years were 4.1 ± 0.5 mm, 4.4 ± 0.6 mm, and 4.6 ± 0.4 mm, respectively. cIMT did not differ between boys and girls in the same age group. Age related analyses showed significant variations among the age groups with positive correlation between cIMT and age. Conclusion: Our results suggest that age-related physiologic thickening of the carotid artery intima-media occurs not only in adults but also in children and that sex is not a factor for cIMT differences in childhood. © TÜBİTAK

Suşehri basin: an active fault-wedge basin on the North Anatolian Fault Zone, Turkey

The Suşehri section of the North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ) is dominated by an active fault-wedge basin. Its recent configuration is a Quaternary strike-slip depression superimposed on a larger, fault-controlled fluvial to lacustrine setting inherited from the Pliocene. In and around the Suşehri fault-wedge basin, the NAFZ is characterized by the North Anatolian master fault (NAMF) or principal displacement zone (PDZ) and four second-order fault sets, namely the Kelkit, Akçaaǧil, Beydeǧirmeni and Ekenek fault sets. The NAMF cuts through the basin. The fault sets border the margins of the basin and impart a double divergence character to the NAMF which is proposed as an evolutionary model for the Suşehri fault-wedge basin. The Suşehri basin fill deposits of Pliocene age rest on the quiet and shallow-marine limestones of Burdigalian age with a sharp angular unconformity. Besides, the upper half of the Pliocene basin fill deposits is dominated by the well-developed syndepositional mesofractures, which reveal the existence of a right-lateral shearing at the time of deposition. These observations also imply the emergence of a new tectonic regime after the Burdigalian by which time the Suşehri basin had experienced a subsidence of about 660 m to 1150 m during its evolution. On the other hand, at the south-easternmost end of the Suşehri basin, the Lutetian volcano-sedimentary sequence of the Yeşilyayla Group is cut and displaced right-laterally by about 35 km, which is the detectable minimum offset on the NAFZ. Finally, during the 1939/12/27 Erzincan earthquake, the Erzincan-Erbaa segment of the NAFZ was reactivated and several modern faults were produced. Along these modern faults some natural and man-made features were displaced right-laterally. These offsets vary in decreasing order from 7.5 m near the epicenter at the southeastern end to 3.7 m away from it at the northwestern end of the Erzincan-Erbaa segment of the NAFZ.Publisher's Versio

Komplikasyon olarak spontan pnömotoraks gelişen kistik bronşioloalveolar karsinoma olgusu: Patoloji, YRBT bulguları ve literatürün derlenmesi

We present a rare case of cystic bronchioloalveolar cacinoma (BAC) which was complicated by spontaneous pneumothorax. Descriptions about the mechanism of cysts and complications of pneumothorax in BAC are few in the literature. Check-valve mechanism is one of these factors which may be responsible for the cystic lesions and spontaneous pneumothorax in cystic BAC. Narrowing of the respiratory bronchioles by the tumor cells should be a cause of the check-valve mechanism. In our case, high resolution CT (HRCT) showed that some of the cysts have a connection with the airways, which was confirmed by pathology. This case is original because the connection between the airways and cysts was supported by not only pathology specimens but also HRCT

The effect of grape seed extract on radiation-induced oxidative stress in the rat liver

Background/aims: The tolerance of the liver is considerably low when an effective radiation (RTx) dose needs to be delivered in patients in whom either their liver or whole body area has to be irradiated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible protective effect of grape seed extract on liver toxicity induced by RTx in the rat liver. Methods: We used four groups, each consisting of 12 healthy male Wistar rats. RTx-grape seed extract group: rats were given grape seed extract (100 mg/kg) orally for seven days, following 8 Gy whole body irradiation, and grape seed extract was maintained for four days. RTx group: the same protocol was applied in this group; however, they received distilled water instead of grape seed extract. Grape seed extract group: only grape seed extract solution was administered for 11 consecutive days in the same fashion. Control group: only distilled water (orally) was administered in a similar manner. The level of malondialdehyde, an end product of lipid peroxidation, and the activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase, two important endogenous antioxidants, were evaluated in tissue homogenates. Results: Grape seed extract was seen to protect the cellular membrane from oxidative damage and consequently from protein and lipid oxidation. In the RTx group, malondialdehyde levels were extremely higher than those of the grape seed extract-RTx group (p0.05). Conclusions: The levels of antioxidant parameters on RTx-induced liver toxicity were restored to control values with grape seed extract therapy. Grape seed extract may be promising as a therapeutic option in RTx-induced oxidative stress in the rat liver

Ga-67 uptake: A predictor of post-therapy active residual disease and clinical outcome in patients with diffuse large cell lymphoma

Purpose: Diagnosis and treatment of post-therapy active residual disease (PTARD) is essential in patients with lymphoma. After treatment, Ga-67 scan is considered as a useful technique for monitoring response in these patients. Material and Methods: Between December 1998 and January 2004, 63 patients histopathologically diagnosed with Diffuse Large Cell Lymphoma (DLCL) were studied. Patients were evaluated before and after treatment with a whole body Ga-67 scan in addition to other imaging techniques. International Prognostic Index (IPI), and clinical variables were determined according to criteria reported by the International non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Prognostic factors Project. Results: Among the patients with positive computed tomography (CT) scan, the 5-year relapse-free and overall survival rates were 70% and 78% for those with negative scans compared with 23% and 35% for gallium-positive patients, respectively (p< 0.004, p<0.008). Furthermore, the 5-year relapse-free and overall survival rates were 92% and %91 for those with negative scans compared with 33% and 40% for gallium-positive patients (p< 0.001, p< 0.004), among the patients with negative CT scan. All patients were divided into two groups according to the IPI index after therapy and the 5-year relapse-free survival rate for negative Ga-67 scan is 75%, as compared with 42% for restaging positive Ga-67 scan (p<0.004) in the patients with low IPI score. Conclusion: Ga-67 scan is capable of detecting PTARD that remains undetected at CT and it appears to be a better predictor of outcome than previously evaluated pretreatment risk factors in patients with DLCL

Evolution Of Camlik Fissure-Ridge Travertines In The Baskale Basin (Van, Eastern Anatolia)

Fissure-ridge travertines (FRTs) are of great importance for the determination and comparison of tectonic deformation in a region. The coeval development of these travertines with active fault zones supplies significant information about regional dynamics in terms of deformation pattern and evolution. In this paper, the characteristics of FRTs of the Baskale basin (eastern Turkey) and responsible regional tectonism are discussed for the first time. The Baskale basin is located between the Baskale Fault Zone (BFZ) characterised by Camlik fault and Isikli-Ziranis fault. It is located between dextral Yuksekova Fault Zone and southern end of dextral Guilato-Siahcheshmeh-Khoy Fault system (Iran). Various morphological features indicating recent activity are exposed along the BFZ, including offsetting rivers, fissure-ridge travertine and fault scarps. The Camlik fissure-ridge travertine composing of three different depositions is observed along the eastern edge of the BFZ with approximately parallel orientations. The Famlik fissure-ridge travertine has been formed and developed on fault zone related to strike-slip or oblique movements. We explain how kinematic changes of faults can influence the fissure-ridge development.WoSScopu