Assessment of the Prevalence of Pulp Stones in a Sample of Turkish Central Anatolian Population

Objective. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of pulp stones (PS) in a Turkish dental patient population with respect to sexes and dental localization in relation between sex and this anomaly. Materials Methods. A retrospective study was performed using bitewing radiographs of 814 patients ranging in age from 15 to 65. All data (age, sex, and location) was obtained from the files. These patients were analyzed for pulp stones. Descriptive characteristics of sexes, jaws, and dental localization were recorded. The Pearson chi-squared test was used. Results. Of the patients, 462 (56.8%) were female and 352 (43.2%) were male. Sixty (12%) had one or more teeth that contained pulp stones. Pulp stones were identified in 518 (63.6%) of the subjects and in 2391 (27.8%) of the teeth examined. Pulp stone occurrence was significantly more common in the females than in males. With the increasing of age, the prevalence of pulp stones increased. Molars had statistically more pulp stones than premolars. Pulp stones were significantly more common in the maxilla compared with mandible. Conclusion. Prevalence of pulp stones in Turkish population was 27.8% but further larger-scale studies are required to assess its prevalence in the general population to compare it with other ethnic groups

Investigation of Biliary Canal Variations as a Cause of Stone Formation in the Choledochal Canal

The present study aimed to investigate if there is an association between the diameter of the choledochal duct and choledochal duct stone formation. The present study consisted of 79 patients who had endoscopic interventions and MRCP procedure with surgery history. Some followed due to disorders of the liver, gall bladder, and biliary tract and some of whom presented hepatobiliary complaints between 2017 and 2019. The choledochal duct diameter measured from MRCP images and choledochal duct stone had examined; the type classified according to Huang classification. Among the cases classified, 29 patients, was Huang Type A1, 27 patients were Huang Type A2, 16 patients were Huang Type A3, and seven patients were Huang Type A4. There was not any statistically significant association in terms of choledochal diameter regarding the types. Choledochal duct diameter was statistically higher in female patients than male patients (p<0.05). According to the age group, a statistically significant difference detected for choledochal duct stone formation; individuals over 45 years of age present an increase for choledochal duct stone (p<0.05). The choledochal duct diameter was found higher in female patients compared with male patients; stone formation has found increased in both gender over 45 years of age. It should consider before surgical procedures and radiological tests

Evaluation of the diagnostic value of platelet indices in pediatric acute appendicitis

Objective: Abdominal examination findings in pediatric acute appendicitis (AA) significantly vary by age. Therefore, grading systems have been developed for diagnosing pediatric appendicitis, and laboratory and radiological findings have an important role in this diagnosis. However, there is a need to develop new parameters for diagnosing AA. This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic value of platelet indices in AA. Methods: This retrospective, observational study included 207 pediatric patients who were admitted to the Emergency Department and operated on for AA. The patients were divided into three groups on the basis of their surgical and histopathological findings (non-AA, uncomplicated AA, and complicated AA). Results: There was no significant difference in the mean platelet volume/platelet count (MPV/PC) ratio among the groups. The white blood cell (WBC) count and the MPV/PC ratio showed a significant negative relationship (r = −0.239). The specificity for MPV was 61.8% and the sensitivity was 68.8%. Receiver operating curve analysis of WBC and MPV showed significance for diagnosing AA. Conclusion: There is a negative, but weak, relationship between the WBC count and the MPV/PC ratio. However, the MPV/PC ratio could be a useful parameter for diagnosing pediatric AA according to receiver operating curve analysis. © The Author(s) 2020

Relationship between subclinical hypothyroidism and serum homocysteine concentration in premenopausal women

Objective: In our study we aimed to examine serum homocysteinelevels of patients without thyroid dysfunctionswho have high serum anti thyroid peroxidase (anti-TPO)levels and patients with subclinical hypothyroidism whohave high serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) andanti-TPO levels.Methods: One hundred and seven premenopause femaleoutpatients who referred to endocrine clinic of our hospitalwere included in our study. We generated 3 groups. Firstgroup (Control) consists of 53 (50%) patients between theages of 30-40 years. Second group (Euthyroid) consistsof 31 (29%) patients between the ages of 26-49. Thirdgroup (Subclinical Hypothyroidism) consists of 23 (21%)patients between the ages of 33-53 years. Serum totalcholesterol, triglycerides, high density lipoprotein (HDL)levels were measured by Olympus 2700 autoanalyzer.Serum TSH, free T4, anti-TPO and homocysteine levelswere measured by Siemens Immulite 2000 autoanalyzer.Results: In our study, total cholesterol, triglycerides, lowdensity lipoprotein (LDL) and very low density lipoprotein(VLDL) levels were not statistically significantly differentamong the groups. Although serum homocysteine levelsof the third group were higher than the other groups it wasnot statistically significantly different among the groups.Conclusion: Serum homocysteine and lipid levels of patientswith euthyroidism and subclinical hypothyroidismwho have positive anti-TPO levels may be inadequate inassessing the risk of cardiovascular diseases. J Clin ExpInvest 2013; 4 (3): 293-297Key words: Hypothyroidsm, homocysteine, premenopaus

JBASE: Joint Bayesian Analysis of Subphenotypes and Epistasis

Motivation: Rapid advances in genotyping and genome-wide association studies have enabled the discovery of many new genotype–phenotype associations at the resolution of individual markers. However, these associations explain only a small proportion of theoretically estimated heritability of most diseases. In this work, we propose an integrative mixture model called JBASE: joint Bayesian analysis of subphenotypes and epistasis. JBASE explores two major reasons of missing heritability: interactions between genetic variants, a phenomenon known as epistasis and phenotypic heterogeneity, addressed via subphenotyping. Results: Our extensive simulations in a wide range of scenarios repeatedly demonstrate that JBASE can identify true underlying subphenotypes, including their associated variants and their interactions, with high precision. In the presence of phenotypic heterogeneity, JBASE has higher Power and lower Type 1 Error than five state-of-the-art approaches. We applied our method to a sample of individuals from Mexico with Type 2 diabetes and discovered two novel epistatic modules, including two loci each, that define two subphenotypes characterized by differences in body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio. We successfully replicated these subphenotypes and epistatic modules in an independent dataset from Mexico genotyped with a different platform. Availability and implementation: JBASE is implemented in Cþþ, supported on Linux and is available at http://www.cs.toronto.edu/goldenberg/JBASE/jbase.tar.gz. The genotype data underlying this study are available upon approval by the ethics review board of the Medical Centre Siglo XXI.No sponso

Risk factors for exacerbations and pneumonia in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a pooled analysis.

BACKGROUND: Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are at risk of exacerbations and pneumonia; how the risk factors interact is unclear. METHODS: This post-hoc, pooled analysis included studies of COPD patients treated with inhaled corticosteroid (ICS)/long-acting β2 agonist (LABA) combinations and comparator arms of ICS, LABA, and/or placebo. Backward elimination via Cox's proportional hazards regression modelling evaluated which combination of risk factors best predicts time to first (a) pneumonia, and (b) moderate/severe COPD exacerbation. RESULTS: Five studies contributed: NCT01009463, NCT01017952, NCT00144911, NCT00115492, and NCT00268216. Low body mass index (BMI), exacerbation history, worsening lung function (Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease [GOLD] stage), and ICS treatment were identified as factors increasing pneumonia risk. BMI was the only pneumonia risk factor influenced by ICS treatment, with ICS further increasing risk for those with BMI <25 kg/m2. The modelled probability of pneumonia varied between 3 and 12% during the first year. Higher exacerbation risk was associated with a history of exacerbations, poorer lung function (GOLD stage), female sex and absence of ICS treatment. The influence of the other exacerbation risk factors was not modified by ICS treatment. Modelled probabilities of an exacerbation varied between 31 and 82% during the first year. CONCLUSIONS: The probability of an exacerbation was considerably higher than for pneumonia. ICS reduced exacerbations but did not influence the effect of risks associated with prior exacerbation history, GOLD stage, or female sex. The only identified risk factor for ICS-induced pneumonia was BMI <25 kg/m2. Analyses of this type may help the development of COPD risk equations