Comparison in a rat thigh abscess model of imipenem, meropenem and cefoperazone-sulbactam against Acinetobacter baumannii strains in terms of bactericidal efficacy and resistance selection

BACKGROUND: We compared imipenem, meropenem and cefoperazone-sulbactam against hospital originated A. baumannii strains in terms of bactericidal efficacy and selection of resistant mutants during treatment in a rat thigh abscess model. METHODS: A total of 18 strains were inoculated in 54 animals (one strain for three animals). Randomly selected 10 among these 18 strains were inoculated in another 10 rats as the control group. Imipenem, meropenem and cefoperazone-sulbactam were the antibiotics compared. After four days of treatment, Wistar albino rats (200 to 250 g) were sacrificed and the abscess materials were processed for mean colony counts and for the presence of resistant mutants. RESULTS: The mean CFUs per gram (mean ± (std. deviation) [×10(4)]) of the abscess were: 9,14 (25,24), 2,11 (3,78), 1,20 (1,70) in the imipenem (n = 17), meropenem (n = 18) and cefoperazone-sulbactam (n = 17) groups, respectively. The differences were not significant. On the other hand, no resistant mutant was detected in abscess materials. CONCLUSION: This study indicated; first, cefoperazone-sulbactam is comparable to carbapenems in bactericidal efficacy in this particular abscess model and second, emergence of resistance due to spontaneous mutations is not at least a frequent phenomenon among A. baumannii

Rett syndrome with colon cancer presented with sigmoid volvulus: Report of a case

INTRODUCTION: Rett syndrome is a progressive neurodevelopment disorder in which MECP gene mutations are responsible and might be related to cancer. PRESENTATION OF CASE: A 22 year-old girl with Rett syndrome was hospitalized for abdominal distention and shock. Abdominal tenderness and distention were revealed in physical examination. Radiological investigations revealed sigmoid volvulus and colonic obstruction. Sigmoid volvulus, sigmoid colon perforation due to sigmoid cancer with liver metastasis were observed at laparotomy. Hartman procedure performed. The patient died on the second postoperative day. DISCUSSION: Rett syndrome has several gastrointestinal pathologies related with inadequate parasympathetic control. Genetic mutations in methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (MECP2) which has role in several cancer mechanisms is the reason of Rett syndrome. Colon cancer with the underlying gastrointestinal pathologies complicated our case. CONCLUSION: Rett syndrome patients need a high level of concern for gastrointestinal emergencies with cancer risk

COMPARING TRAIT ANXIETY AND FUTURE OCCUPATIONAL ANXIETY OF FINAL YEAR MEDICAL STUDENTS

Amaç: Eğitim dönemlerinin sonunda, tıp fakültesi son sınıf öğrencileri, gelecekteki mesleki yaşamları ile ilgili bir takım kaygılarla karşı karşıyadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı son sınıf öğrencilerinin kaygı düzeyleri ile mezuniyet sonrası döneme ilişkin kaygı duydukları konuları belirlemek ve bunlar arasındaki ilişkiyi araştırmaktır. Yöntem: 55 son sınıf öğrencisinden ulaşılabilen 45'i (%81,8) gelecekteki mesleki yaşamları ile ilgili olası 18 kaygı durumunu içeren anket ile Durumluluk ve Sürekli Kaygı Ölçeği 2 (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory - STAI TX-2) anketini yanıtlamıştır. Anket formu mesleki yeterlik, mesleki memnuniyet ve çalışma koşulları soru-larından oluşmaktaydı. Sonuçlar, SPSS 10.0 programında değerlendirilmiş ve istatistiksel analizler için Pearson korelasyon analizi ve independent-samples T testi kullanılmıştır. Bulgular: Öğrencilerin %70'inde orta düzeyde sürekli anksiyete vardı. Öğrencilerin STAI ortalama puanları (43,8  7,93) ve mesleki kaygı (52,6  15,87) arasında orta düzeyde, korelasyon vardır ve istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bulunmuştur (r=0,474, p=0,001). Bu çalışmada kaygı durumları arasında sırasıyla şu parametreler yüksek puandadır: 1. Uzmanlık sınavında başarısız olma (4,00  1,33), 2. Uzmanlık sınavına yetersiz hazırlanma (3,91  1,32), 3. Mesleki yaşamlarında uzman olarak çalışamama (3,71  1,48). STAI ile şu kaygı durumları arasında pozitif korelasyon vardır: 1. Hastalara kasıtsız olarak zarar verme, 2. Yanlış tanı koyma, 3. Acil hastaya yaklaşım, 4. Klinik becerilerde yetersizlik, işsizlik, 5. İlaç reçetelemede yetersizlik (p<0,005). Sonuç: Tıp öğrencilerinin birinci basamakta genel pratisyen olarak çalışmak ve tıbbi konularda yetersizlik ile ilgili kaygıları vardır. Bu durum kısmen Türkiye'deki birinci basamak koşullarındaki sorunlar, kısmen topluma dayalı tıp eğitiminin eksikliğinden ve kısıtlı aile hekimliği uzmanlık programlarından kaynaklanmaktadır. Objective: Final year medical students face a number of stressors about future career, at the end of their training. The aim of this study is to determine and compare trait anxiety and occupational anxiety level of final year students. Method: The Trait Anxiety Inventory and a questionnaire containing 18 possible stressful events about future career were completed by 45 of 55 final year students in the last month of their medical training. The questionnaire was consisted of medical competency, job satisfaction and working conditions. Results were assessed in SPSS 10 for windows and Pearson correlation test and independent - samples T test were used for statistical analyses. Results: 70% of the students had moderate trait anxiety. There was intermediate correlation between the mean scores of the Trait Anxiety Inventory Form (43.8  7.93) and the questionnaire (52.6  15.87) and was statistically significant (r=0,474 p=0,001). Among the stressful events, following parameters in order had the highest scores: 1. Being unsuccessful in entrance examination for specialization (4.00  1.33), 2. Inadequate preparation for certain specialization examinations (3.91  1.32), 3. Not being able to work as a specialist in their professional life (3.71  1.48). There was positive correlation between STAI and following stressful events: 1. Inadvertently hurting patients, 2. Misdiagnosing, 3. Managing emergency patients, 4. Incompetence in clinical skills, unemployment, 5. Incompetence in prescribing drugs (p<0.005). Conclusion: Medical students have anxiety of working as a practitioner in primary care and incompetency in medical subjects. This is partly due to problems of primary care settings in Turkey and partly lack of community based medical education and limited family medicine residency programs

Investigation of a conveyor belt fire in an underground coal mine: Experimental studies and CFD analysis

Coal produced in underground mines is transported to the surface by means of conveyor beltsthroughout long roadways. The combustion of belts puts a large number of employees at greatrisk. Underground collieries differ from other underground mines -due to the combustible natureof the product. The most prevalent cause of belt fires in underground coal mine is spontaneouscombustion due to oxidation of the coal, which also enables the conveyor belt to burn over time.In 2014, a belt fire in an underground coal mine in Manisa-Soma, Turkey caused 301 fatalities. Astudy has been conducted on this accident for approximately 3 years, consisting of combustiontests in a purpose-built research gallery, comparison of the test results with mine records of theaccident, and CFD modelling of the mine environment. The intensity of the fire was sufficient toredirect the air flow underground, causin large amounts of toxic gases to fill almost the entire minein approximately 15 minutes. It is recomm</p

Resveratrol Attenuates Both Small Bowel and Liver Changes in Obstructive Jaundice

Background: It is well known that mucosal changes and alterations in liver function occur in the experimental obstructive jaundice model. Aims: We aimed to evaluate the effect of resveratrol on obstructive jaundice-induced changes in the small bowel mucosa and liver using ischaemia-modified albumin as a marker of oxidative damage. Study Design: Animal experimentation. Methods: The study used a rodent experimental model of obstructive jaundice, including a sham group (1), a control group (2), and a study group (3). Wistar albino rats were used. Jaundice was produced by ligation of the bile duct in Groups 2 and 3. In Group 3, resveratrol was administered intraperitoneally for 14 days. Results: In terms of the structure and the size of the mucosal villi, significant thickening and blunting were detected in Group 2 compared with Group 1. These changes were significantly less noticeable in Group 3 compared with Group 2. Levels of ischaemia-modified albumin were significantly higher in Group 2 compared with those in Group 1, and they were significantly decreased in Group 3 compared with Group 2. Conclusion: Resveratrol administration to obstructive jaundiced rats reduced the organic effects of obstructive jaundice on small bowel mucosa and liver oxidative stress. We believe that this reduction might attenuate bacterial translocation and systemic effects of secreted cytokines. (Balkan Med J 2014;31:95-99)

Late Campanian larger benthic foraminifera from the Zekeriyakiiy Formation (Istanbul, NW Turkey): taxonomy, stratigraphy, and paleogeography

North of Istanbul, the thick Upper Cretaceous volcanic and volcanoclastic sequence of the Yemislicay Group is nonconformably overlain by the neritic clastic and carbonate sequence of the Zekeriyakoy Formation. This unit, either placed within the volcanic sequence or interpreted to overlie it, was studied near Zekeriyakoy for its larger foraminifera, previously recurrently referred to as the Maastrichtian. The basal epiclastic sandstone beds of the Zekeriyakoy Formation immediately above the volcanic sequence contain Praesiderolites dordoniensis and rare rudist shells. The higher sandstone and limestone beds comprise assemblages of Lepidorbitoides campaniensis, Orbitoides megaloformis, Vanderbeekia catalana, Siderolites gr. calcitrapoides, Sirtina orbitoidiformis, Praestorrsella roestae, Lenticulina rotulata, Planorbulina sp., agglutinated and rotaliid foraminifera, rudist fragments, bryozoans, and red algae. Lepidorbitoides, the most abundant foraminifera in the studied material, has predominantly L. campaniensis-type embryons with a single auxiliary chamberlet, and rarely, L. bisambergensis-type embryons, characterized by having 2 such chamberlets. The Praesiderolites dordoniensisLepidorbitoides campaniensis-Vanderbeekia catalana assemblages, recorded for the first time in Turkey, suggested a late Campanian age for the Zekeriyakoy Formation, with the implication that Late Cretaceous volcanism terminated in the Istanbul region during or prior to the late Campanian. The fauna shows a great resemblance to those from the Late Campanian type-section in Aubeterre (SW France) and Late Campanian fauna of the Pyrenean Basin (N Spain), and correspond to the most eastern record of the European Faunal Province of the Tethys