Effects of Standard and/or Glutamine Dipeptide and/or Omega-3 Fatty Ascid-Supplemented Parenteral Nutrition on Neutrophil Functions, Interleukin-8 Level and Length of Stay-A Double Blind,Controlled, Randomised Study

Background and Aims: Protein calorie malnutrition for cancer patients is  related with altered cellular and humoral immunity. Standard TPN and glutamine and lipid emulsion with omega 3 fatty acids were given to  colorectal cancer patients and the effects of these to neutrophil functions and IL-8 levels are compared.Methods: Consecutive 36 patients with colorectal cancer diagnosed with endoscopic biopsy and with malnutrition determined by subjective global assessment were enrolled to study. The patients are randomly divided into four groups. Standard TPN to control group, TPN with glutamine solution to S-D group, TPN with omega 3 fatty acid solution to S-O group and TPN with omega 3 fatty acids solution and glutamine to S-D-O group were given for seven days after the operation. At the preoperative, postoperative first day and 7th day, neutrophil phagocytosis index, neutrophil adhesivity index and IL-8 levels were determined.Results: In all groups compared to control group neutrophil phagocytosis index were increased significantly (p<0.05). The most increasing was in group 3. There wasn’t significant difference between groups about  postoperative first day neutrophil adhesiveness index (p>0.05). At the 7th day the neutrophil adhesivity index for study groups were increased  compared with control group, but there was no significant differences  between groups. There was no significant difference between groups forIL-8 levels.Conclusions: As a result of the study, altered cellular immunity in colorectal cancer patients with malnutrition can be corrected with omega 3 fatty acid emulsions and glutamine added to TPN so the ratio of morbidity and  mortality can be decrease

Evaluation of phenolic compounds in Tilia rubra Subsp. caucasica by HPLC-UV and HPLC-UV-MS/MS

Profile of phenolic compounds of Tilia rubra subsp. caucasica was measured by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with ultraviolet and tandem mass spectroscopy. Three different extraction methods (methonolic, selective extraction, and acidic hydrolysis) were used to evaluate phenolic composition and antioxidant capacity in three different parts of T. rubra. The antioxidant activities of the species were investigated in terms of total phenolics and flavonoids, and cupric reducing antioxidant capacity and 1,1-diphenyl-2- picrylhydrazyl scavenging assays. Different phenolic compounds related to antioxidant activities of three different parts and three different extraction ways of T. rubra were determined by high performance liquid chromatography- ultraviolet and high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy. Gallic and protocatechuic acid were the main phenolic compounds in the all extracts and parts of Tilia rubra subsp. caucasica by high performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet ranging from 356.20 to 159.83 and 1873.90 to 720.80 ?g phenolic compound/g dry sample, respectively. Epicatechin, luteolin, and rhamnazin were detected by high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy. © 2014 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.Huseyin S¸ahin would like to thank TUB?TAK B?DEB for the financial support given to him. The authors would also like to thank Professor Salih Terziog?lu for identifying the tilia genus and Faculty of Pharmacology, Karadeniz Technical University for helping with the HPLC device

Expression stability of six housekeeping genes: a proposal for resistance gene quantification studies of Pseudomonas aeruginosa by real-time quantitative RT-PCR

Constantly expressed genes are used as internal controls in relative quantification studies. Suitable internal controls for such studies have not yet been defined for Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In this study, the genes ampC, fabD, proC, pbp-2, rpoD and rpoS of P. aeruginosa were compared in terms of expression stability by real-time quantitative RT-PCR. A total of 23 strains with diverse resistance phenotypes were studied. Stability of expression among the housekeeping genes was assessed on the basis of correlation coefficients, with the best-correlated pair accepted as being the most stable one. Eventually, proC and rpoD formed the most stable pair (r = 0.958; P < 0.001). Next, in four ciprofloxacin-selected nfxC-like mutants, levels of oprD, oprM and oprN mRNA were compared with those of their wild-type counterparts. The comparison was made after correcting the raw values by the geometric mean of the internal control genes proC and rpoD. The level of oprN mRNA was significantly up-regulated, while the oprD gene was down-regulated (although this difference was statistically insignificant), in the mutants. This expression pattern was consistent with that of the expected expression profile of nfxC-type mutants; this experiment therefore ends further support to the use of proC and rpoD genes simultaneously as internal controls for such studies

Determination of chemical, physical and biological characteristics of some pekmez (Molasses) from Turkey

Antioxidant capacity, chemical and physical properties of 6 certificated and 1 uncertificated pekmez (molasses) samples of Turkish varieties were analyzed. All pekmez samples had similar chemical compositions. Total phenolic contents varied from 138 to 243 mg of gallic acid equivalents/100 g samples. The apricot pekmez had the highest phenolic content (243 ± 16), while the carob pekmez exhibited the highest DPPH (0.08 ± 0.01 mg g-1) radical scavenging activity. DPPH radical scavenging activity was also found to be related to concentrations of the samples. Especially, selenium and other minerals content were found slightly higher in grape pekmez than the others. Present results showed that all the certificated and uncertificated pekmez samples had no any risk in public health and besides their high content of sugar. Each pekmez had antioxidant and high amount of polyphenols and minerals

Investigation of antibiotic resistance profile and TEM-type ?-lactamase gene carriage of ampicillin-resistant Escherichia coli strains isolated from drinking water

Fifty-five ampicillin-resistant (Ampr) Escherichia coli strains were isolated from 51 drinking water points in Rize region containing abundant fresh water sources in Turkey during the years 2000 to 2002 and from January to February 2004. The large number of organisms (nearly 57%) exhibited resistance to three or more antibiotics commonly used in human and veterinary medicine. These strains displayed a multiresistant phenotype. Nearly half of the strains (27%) expressed resistance to ceftazidime, but these strains were not an extended-spectrum ?-lactamase-producer according to the results of double-disk synergy test. All isolates were then screened for the carriage of TEM-type ?-lactamase gene (blaTEM) by polymerase chain reaction. TEM-type ?-lactamase genes were found in six (11%) isolates. Sequence analysis showed TEM-1 type genes. However, isoelectric focusing analysis did not confirm the production of TEM-1 type ?-lactamase except for one strain. Conjugation experiments showed that resistance to ampicillin, tetracycline or trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole was transferable in six (11%) isolates. Emergence of transferable antibiotic resistance and blaTEM-1 gene in E. coli strains from public drinking waters possesses a significant public health risk

Characterization of Anatolian honeys based on minerals, bioactive components and principal component analysis

Sahin, Huseyin/0000-0002-6018-1494; Kaygusuz, Hakan/0000-0001-9336-1902WOS: 000370769700036Our aim is the characterization of Anatolian monofloral and honeydew honeys according to their mineral, vitamin B2, total phenolic contents and antioxidant activities. Five main elements (Ca, K, Fe, Cu, and Mn) were determined in 20 honey samples by inductively coupled plasma - optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The vitamin B2 contents of honey samples were determined by the capillary electrophoresis method coupled with a sensitive laser induced fluorescence (LIF) detector. The total phenolic contents were analyzed with Folin-Ciocalteu's method. Two comparative antioxidant assays, namely cupric reducing antioxidant capacity assay (CUPRAC) and ABTS radical scavenging assay, were applied to detect the antioxidant power of honeys. Heather honeys were distinguished from others with significantly high vitamin B2 and iron contents. Considerably higher antioxidant capacities and Mn contents were observed for oak and chestnut honeys. Principal components analysis was applied to the analysis result in order to classify the honeys from different botanical origins. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.TUBITAK projectTurkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Arastirma Kurumu (TUBITAK) [114Z370]This study was supported by TUBITAK project (114Z370). The authors are also would like to thank experienced beekeepers Mr. Zekeriya Aydin, Yusuf Kulekci, Ridvan Ulus, Ziya Sahin and Necati Aydin, who supplied the honey samples

Genetic and enzymatic properties of metallo-beta-lactamase VIM-5 from a clinical isolate of Enterobacter cloacae

A VIM-5-producing Enterobacter cloacae isolate (EDV/1) was identified in a collection of clinical strains stored before 2002. The gene, blav(VIM-5), was located on a 2,712-bp BamHI-HindIII fragment of a 23-kbp (approximately) nonconjugative plasmid (pEDV5) in a class 1 integron as a single gene cassette

Effect of carbapenems on the transcriptional expression of the oprD, oprM and oprN genes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

The effects of imipenem and meropenem on the transcriptional expression of resistance-related genes oprD, oprM and oprN in Pseudomonas aeruginosa were studied by quantitative real-time PCR. Four strains were examined: the type strain PT5 (PAO1), its derivatives M7 and PT149, and a clinical isolate, PaKT3. The derivative M7 is a nalB mutant, overexpressing the MexAB-OprM pump, and the derivative PT149 is a nfxC-type mutant, overexpressing the MexEF-OprN pump while it is down-regulated for the OprD protein. After 18 h incubation in broth, the cultures were divided into three portions. Two were supplemented with antibiotics and the other was left antibiotic-free as the control. After a further 45 min incubation, total RNA was isolated from the strains by guanidine denaturation and acid-phenol/chloroform extraction. DNA-free total RNAs were immediately reverse-transcribed by MMuLV reverse transcriptase. Concentrations of mRNAs obtained by quantitative PCR were expressed relative to uninduced portions of the strains. The results showed that oprD was relatively stable against carbapenem antibiotics. oprM was induced significantly by imipenem in only one strain and oprN was induced by imipenem in most of the strains. The responses at the mRNA level found here were unexpected and suggested a chaotic, unpredictable regulatory mechanism