Does nutritional risk screening 2002 correlate with the dyspnea status of patients with GOLD stage C-D chronic obstructive pulmonary disease?

OBJECTIVES: Dyspnea is a prominent symptom of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Patients with Global Initiative for Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) Stage C-D often complain of dyspnea, but the relationship between their level of dyspnea and their nutritional status has not yet been established. The aim of this study was to evaluate the dyspnea levels and nutritional status ofstable COPD patients in the out patient clinic. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Medical records including the Modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) Dyspnea Scale and the nutritional status of 41 patients were investigated in the study. The meanage of patients was 71.7 +/- 9.2 years. The Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS-2002) tool, body mass index (BMI), and mid-upper arm circumference were used to evaluate their nutritional status. We used correlation analysis to display the relationship between NRS-2002 score and MRC, COPD stage, and biochemical and anthropometric parameters indicating the nutritional status of patients. RESULTS: Out of the 41 COPD patients 87.8% (36) enrolled in the study were men and 12.2% (5) were women.The GOLD stages of the patients were 29.3% of patients with stage C and 70.7% with stage D.The risk of malnutrition (NRS >= 3) was detected in 48.8% of the patients, whereas 51.2% of patients (NRS<3) were risk-free. The mid-upper arm circumference of at risk patients was lower (25.6 +/- 3.2 vs 29.9 +/- 2.7 cm, p=0.032). The NRS-2002 score had a positive correlation with mMRC records (r=0.351, p=0.024). There was a statistically significant negative correlation between the NRS-2002 score and the mid-upper arm circumference (r=0.604, p<0.0001). Also, there was a negative correlation between BMI and mid-upper arm circumference (r=0.699, p<0.0001). CONCLUSION: The risk of malnutrition was common in stable COPD patients at the outpatient clinic, which seemed to adversely affect their dyspnea level. Therefore, while planning the treatment of COPD patients, evaluating their nutritional status and taking precautions accordingly contribute to the shortness of breath which is one of the most significant symptoms of the disease

Characterization of a human tumorsphere glioma orthotopic model using magnetic resonance imaging

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the imaging modality of choice by which to monitor patient gliomas and treatment effects, and has been applied to murine models of glioma. However, a major obstacle to the development of effective glioma therapeutics has been that widely used animal models of glioma have not accurately recapitulated the morphological heterogeneity and invasive nature of this very lethal human cancer. This deficiency is being alleviated somewhat as more representative models are being developed, but there is still a clear need for relevant yet practical models that are well-characterized in terms of their MRI features. Hence we sought to chronicle the MRI profile of a recently developed, comparatively straightforward human tumor stem cell (hTSC) derived glioma model in mice using conventional MRI methods. This model reproduces the salient features of gliomas in humans, including florid neoangiogenesis and aggressive invasion of normal brain. Accordingly, the variable, invasive morphology of hTSC gliomas visualized on MRI duplicated that seen in patients, and it differed considerably from the widely used U87 glioma model that does not invade normal brain. After several weeks of tumor growth the hTSC model exhibited an MRI contrast enhancing phenotype having variable intensity and an irregular shape, which mimicked the heterogeneous appearance observed with human glioma patients. The MRI findings reported here support the use of the hTSC glioma xenograft model combined with MRI, as a test platform for assessing candidate therapeutics for glioma, and for developing novel MR methods

ANALYSIS OF INTERNATIONAL PORTFOLIO FLOWS BY GRAVITY MODEL: THE CASE OF TURKEY

Son dönemlerde küresel ölçekte portföy akımlarının artmasıyla Türkiye de uluslararası portföy akımlarını çeken ülkeler arasına girmiştir. Bu bağlamda çalışma, Türkiye'deki uluslararası portföy akımları ile bu akımları etkileyen faktörlerin araştırılmasını hedeflemiştir. Bunun için 2001-2014 yılları arasında Türkiye ile seçilmiş otuz iki ülke arasındaki portföy akımları, çekim modeli kullanılarak panel veri yöntemi ile analiz edilmiştir. Tahmin sonuçlarına göre, seçilmiş otuz iki ülkenin gayrisafi yurtiçi hâsılaları, piyasa kapitalizasyonlarının gayrisafi yurt içi hasılaya oranları ve güvenli internet sunucuları, iki taraflı portföy akımlarını olumlu etkilemektedir. Buna karşın Türkiye'ye ait aynı değişkenler istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bulunamamıştır. Uzaklık faktörünün etkisi, literatüre uygun olarak olumsuz saptanmıştır. Ayrıca, bu ülkelerin Türkiye'de banka şubelerinin bulunması, Türkiye ile seçilmiş otuz iki ülke arasındaki portföy akımlarını pozitif etkilerken, 2007-2008 küresel finans krizinin etkisine dair bir kanıta ulaşılamamıştır.bstract: In recent years, with the increase in portfolio flows on a global scale, Turkey has become one of the countries attracting international portfolio flows. In this context, the study aimed to investigate the international portfolio flows in Turkey and the factors affecting these flows. For this, portfolio flows between Turkey and selected thirty-two countries between 2001 and 2014 were analyzed by panel data method using gravity model. According to the estimation results, the gross domestic product of selected thirty-two countries, the ratio of market capitalization to gross domestic product and secure internet providers positively affect bilateral portfolio flows. However, the same variables for Turkey were not found statistically significant. The effect of the distance factor was negative in accordance with the literature. Moreover, the presence of bank branches in Turkey in these countries positively influenced portfolio flows between Turkey and the selected thirty-two countries, but no evidence of the impact of the 2007-2008 global financial crisis was reached

Determination of protective role of selenium against aflatoxin B-1-induced DNA damage

WOS: 000319221700002PubMed ID: 22317824Selenium is an essential mineral for a healthy life. Appropriate doses of it may undertake a protective role in the organism. In this study, the protective role of selenium (Se4+) against aflatoxin B-1 (AFB(1))-induced DNA damage was determined using random amplified polymorphic DNA on two plants including Vicia faba and Zea mays. It was observed that the concentrations of 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4 ppm of AFB(1) have increased polymorphism value, total chlorophyll inhibition rate (IRc, %) and total protein IR (IRp, %). Unlike protein, chlorophyll contents and genomic template stability were decreased. With the addition of different concentrations (0.8 and 80 ppm) of Se4+ to the treated samples with AFB(1), the values return to normal. An 800-ppm concentration of Se4+, on the contrary, could not inhibit the toxicity of AFB(1) but caused an increase in toxicity level of AFB(1)/enhanced the toxicity level of AFB(1). Results suggested that Se4+ has an antagonistic effect against AFB(1) toxicity and that the degree of antagonistic effect of Se4+ against AFB(1) was related to its concentration