Nalazi dvaju rijetkih glavoča (Millerigobius macrocephalus, Zebrus zebrus) u Egejskom moru

Two goby species endemic to the Mediterranean Sea were collected from the northern and southern Aegean Sea. A new record of Millerigobius macrocephalus from the area is presented and the occurrence of zebrus zebrus off Turkish coasts is substantiated.Dvije vrste mediteranskih endemičnih glavoča su ulovljene u sjevernom i južnom Egejskom moru. Prikazan je novi nalaz vrste Millerigobius macrocephalus, te je obrazložena pojava vrste Zebrus zebrus u turskim vodama

Nalazi dvaju rijetkih glavoča (Millerigobius macrocephalus, Zebrus zebrus) u Egejskom moru

Two goby species endemic to the Mediterranean Sea were collected from the northern and southern Aegean Sea. A new record of Millerigobius macrocephalus from the area is presented and the occurrence of zebrus zebrus off Turkish coasts is substantiated.Dvije vrste mediteranskih endemičnih glavoča su ulovljene u sjevernom i južnom Egejskom moru. Prikazan je novi nalaz vrste Millerigobius macrocephalus, te je obrazložena pojava vrste Zebrus zebrus u turskim vodama

A New Approach to Blood Parameters in Dogs with Hemorrhagic Enteritis

Background: Some blood parameters have diagnostic and prognostic importance for the infections in human medicine. However, there is insufficient research regarding the importance of blood parameters and their correlations in veterinary medicine. Increased blood cell distribution width (RDW) and platelet activity can link with the important inflammatory markers. The main objective of the present study was the evaluation of the relationship among some important blood parameters namely RDW, platelet count (PLT), platelet distribution width (PDW), mean platelet volume (MPV), plateletcrit (PCT), their potential usage in the diagnosis and determination of the clinical severity in dogs with hemorrhagic enteritis.Materials, Methods & Results: In this study, the case records of 29 dogs with hemorrhagic enteritis were evaluated and the records of 10 healthy dogs were used as controls. The animals of the study group were presented at the Ondokuz Mayis University, Veterinary Internal Medicine Clinic. The complete blood count (CBC), which includes the total WBC, RBC, hematocrit (HCT), hemoglobin concentration (Hgb), MCV, mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), RDW, PLT, MPV, PCT, and PDW, was determined. Significant positive correlations between RDW and RBC, HCT, MCHC, PLT and PDW, and a negative correlation with MCV, were determined. PDW was positively correlated with the lymphocyte count, MCHC and RDW, and negatively correlated with PCT. PLT was negatively correlated with MCV and MPV and positively correlated with RBC and RDW. In addition, MPV was positively correlated with MCV and MCH, and negatively correlated with PLT. Furthermore, there were significant differences between the granulocyte, WBC, HCT, RDW and PDW values (P < 0.001) and monocyte count, Hgb and MCV (P < 0.05), of the study and control groups.Discussion: Acute hemorrhagic enteritis has various causes in dogs such as idiopathic hemorrhagic gastroenteritis and a number of viral, bacterial and parasitic agents. Hematological and biochemical parameters are not specific to enteric diseases, but these paremeters can provide clinically helpful information for differential diagnosis, response to treatment, and prognosis. In this frame, the evaluation of MCV and RDW in combination, and the determination of the mean red cell size and the extent of heterogeneity of the red cell population, can be especially useful to the diagnosis of different red blood cell disorders. In the present study, differences in RDW and MCV values were statistically significant between the study and control groups (P < 0.05). Increased RDW and decreased MCV can be good indicators of hemorragic diseases and in the present study, in addition to these findings, decreased Hgb and Hct confirmed anemia in dogs with hemorrhagic enteritis. The other key findings of this study were statistically significant relationships between RDW, PLT and PDW, which could be important indicators of inflammation in dogs with hemorrhagic enteritis. These parameters should be evaluated carefully in clinical cases of hemorrhagic enteritis. However, due to nature of retrospective studies, there were some limitations (the lack of another control group of dogs suffering from other hemorrhagic diseases) lack of serial measurements of the blood parameters and further studies should be carried out on dogs with hemorrhagic enteritis for a more detailed evaluation and confirmation of the findings of this study

Pegylation of poly(γ-benzyl-L-glutamate) nanoparticles is efficient for avoiding mononuclear phagocyte system capture in rats

Poly(γ-benzyl-L-glutamate) (PBLG) derivatives are synthetic polypeptides for preparing nanoparticles with well controlled surface properties. The aim of this paper was to investigate the biodistribution of pegylated PBLG in rats. For this purpose, nanoparticles were prepared by a nanoprecipitation method using mixtures of different PBLG derivates, including a pegylated derivate to avoid mononuclear phagocyte system uptake. The morphology, size distribution, and surface charge of the nanoparticles were investigated as a function of the amount of polymer employed for the preparation. Moderately polydispersed nanoparticles (polydispersity index less than 0.2) were obtained. Their size increased with polymer concentration. The zeta potential values were negative whatever the formulations. The availability of polyethylene glycol chains on the nanoparticles’ surface was confirmed by measuring the decrease in bovine serum albumin adsorption. For in vivo distribution studies, pegylated and nonpegylated nanoparticles were prepared with polymer mixtures containing PBLG-fluorescein isothiocyanate and imaged by fluorescence microscopy to measure their accumulation in liver and spleen tissues of rats after intravenous administration. Injection of stealth formulations resulted in negligible fluorescence in liver and spleen compared with nonpegylated formulations, which suggests that these nanoparticles are promising candidates as a stealth-type long-circulating drug carrier system and could be useful for active targeting of drugs while reducing systemic side effects

ADEA Claimant Can Retain Severance Payments and Sue Former Employer

Former employees can maintain claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) without first repaying the consideration received for an invalid release of claims. The Supreme Court\u27s pronouncement, Oubre v. Entergy Operations, Inc., 1988 U.S. Lexis 646 (Jan. 26, 1998), may change the way many employers negotiate and execute severance packages and settlements with terminated employees

Relationship between maternal blood ceruloplasmin level, catalase and myeloperoxidase activity and neural tube defects

Objectives: The exact pathogenesis of neural tube defects (NTDs) is poorly understood. We aimed at evaluating maternal anti-oxidant capacity (ceruloplasmin level, myeloperoxidase and catalase activity) in pregnancies complicated by NTDs. Material and methods: Fifty-four mothers with NTD-affected pregnancies and 61 healthy mothers, matched for gestational age, were recruited. Maternal venous blood samples were obtained after detailed fetal ultrasound examination to measure myeloperoxidase, catalase activity and ceruloplasmin levels. The clinical characteristics of all participants were collected. Results: Maternal blood catalase activity was significantly lower in the study group (117.1 ± 64.8 kU/L) as compared to controls (152.2 ± 110.6 kU/L) (p = 0.044). Maternal blood ceruloplasmin levels were also significantly lower in the study group (180.5 ± 37.7 U/L) as compared to controls (197.9 ± 35.9 U/L) (p = 0.012). Myeloperoxidase activity was similar in both groups (112.6 ± 22.2 U/L vs. 113.6 ± 38.1 U/L) (p = 0.869). Conclusions: In the present study, maternal blood ceruloplasmin level and catalase activity were found to be lower in NTD-affected pregnancies as compared to healthy controls. Thus, it seems safe to conclude that impaired antioxidant capacity may play a role in the development of NTDs during pregnancy, in addition to the genetic, environmental and metabolic factors

dynamic thiol disulphide homeostasis before and after radical prostatectomy in patients with prostate cancer

AbstractThiol groups are important anti-oxidants and essential molecules protecting organism against the harmful effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The aim of our study is to evaluate thiol–disulphide homeostasis with a novel recent automated method in patients with localized prostate cancer (PC) before and six months after radical prostatectomy (RP). 18 patients with PC and 17 healthy control subjects were enrolled into the study. Blood samples were collected from the controls subjects and patients before and six months after RP. Thiol–disulphide homeostasis was determined using a recently developed novel method. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA), albumin, total protein, total thiol, native thiol, disulphide and total antioxidant status (TAS) were measured and compared between the groups. Native thiol, total thiol and TAS levels were significantly higher in the control group than the patients before RP (p < .001). There was a non-significant increase in the native thiol, total thiol and TAS levels i..