PERSISTING THROAT PAIN AFTER COVID-19 INFECTION: A CASE REPORT OF SUBACUTE THYROIDITIS

Case Report: A 25-year-old female patient was admitted to the family medicine clinic with complaints of sore throat, fever, and right ear pain that persisted for 15 days despite receiving ant biotherapy treatment. In her medical history, she had a COVID-19 infection 30 days ago. The thyroid examination revealed painful palpation with a slight increase in the size of the thyroid gland. The patient's blood tests and thyroid ultrasonography were evaluated as subacute thyroiditis.Although it is impossible to establish a definite causal relationship between COVID-19 and subacute thyroiditis in this case, we think such a relationship is possible.Since thyroid-related diseases should also be considered in case of sore throat that persists despite treatment and thyroid examination should not be skipped during a physical examination, it is deemed appropriate to present this case with literature.A 25-year-old female patient was admitted to the family medicine clinic with complaints of sore throat, fever, and right ear pain that persisted for 15 days despite receiving ant biotherapy treatment. In her medical history, she had a COVID-19 infection 30 days ago. The thyroid examination revealed painful palpation with a slight increase in the size of the thyroid gland. The patient's blood tests and thyroid ultrasonography were evaluated as subacute thyroiditis. Although it is impossible to establish a definite causal relationship between COVID-19 and subacute thyroiditis in this case, we think such a relationship is possible.  Since thyroid-related diseases should also be considered in case of sore throat that persists despite treatment and thyroid examination should not be skipped during a physical examination, it is deemed appropriate to present this case with literature

Water Supply from Turkey to Cyprus Island with Suspended Marine Pipeline

More than 90% of the water requirement for the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC/KKTC) was being supplied from groundwater resources, while the rest was being provided from surface waters and seawater until the 1990s. Due to excessive water abstractions above their natural feeding levels, most of the aquifers had salinization as a result of sea water interference with electrical conductivity (EC) value exceeding 7000 mmho/cm. In order to provide a permanent and long-term solution to the water problem in TRNC, a sea-crossing suspended water transmission pipeline (TRNC Water Supply) project has been developed for sustainable water transfer from Turkey to the Cyprus Island. While the initial feasibility and conceptual design studies have been prepared for State Hydraulic Works (DSI) in 1998-1999, the implementation projects and tender documents have been completed in 2006-2009, and the construction of the suspended marine pipeline has started in 2011 as commissioned by DSI. The engineering supervision and consultancy services of the project have been provided by a team from Istanbul Technical University (ITU). The project, which has been fully completed in October 2015 had a total cost of 1.6 x 109 TL (600 x 106 $), including expropriation costs. The unit cost of the water with flowrate 75 x 106 m3/year is calculated to be 0.6$/m3 (n=15 x 50 years, i=0.08), and the investment is expected to be repaid in 5.3 years. In this article, design details of the suspended marine pipeline and its critical components of this unique project are presented.First, we would like to thank Prof Veysel Eroglu, the TR Minister of Forestry and Water Affairs of the time, for his great contributions in the realization of this unique project, and his bold vision. Due to the efforts and contributions in the project design, planning and construction phases, we are thankful to Alarko Contracting Group, Intec Engineering DV, Art? Project, Danish Hydraulic Institute (DHI), AES Engineering Ltd, Firat Plastic Inc., and Kalyon - Sigur Ros Joint Venture, together with all stakeholders working on design and construction of the land structures of the project. We also extend our gratitude to the managers & employees of the General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works (DSI) for their efforts in this projec

The clinical, cytogenetics and molecular characterization of inverted duplication/deletion of chromosome 8p in a boy with mental and motor retardation: Genotype-phenotype correlation in a case report

Background: Rearrangements that occur mainly through the non-allelic homologous recombination (NAHR) during maternal meiosis in short arms of chromosome 8 is relatively associated with various clinical spectrum.Aim: The objective of this study was to report cytogenetics and molecular characterization of a mental and motor retarded boy with short arm of chromosome 8 rearrangements [invdupdel(8p)] in this current case report. Subjects and methods: We report an 11-year-old boy with scoliosis, intellectual disability, mental-motor retardation and characteristic facial features. Agenesis of corpus callosum was detected with brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) analysis. Derivative chromosome 8 structure was identified after conventional cytogenetics – karyotype analysis, Multiplex Ligation-Dependent Probe Amplification (MLPA) and Microarray-based Comparative Genomic Hybridization (aCGH) techniques. Genotype-phenotype correlation in the current proband case will be discussed.Results: Case was diagnosed as 46, XY, der (8), del (8) (p23.1) invdup (8) (p11.1-p23.1) by using advanced comparable techniques. Subtelomeric MLPA analysis showed deletion of FBXO25 gene which is located at 8p23.3 locus and FISH with subtelomeric probes for 8p shows also only deleted region. The microarray- CGH profilling showed 7,9 mb deletion for 8p23.1 and 31 mb duplication for 8p11.1 locuses.Conclusion: Results from the current case emphasized that the cases with clinical manifestations of such disorders extremely need to be examined by combined comparable genetics techniques such as; karyotyping, FISH, MLPA and chromosomal microarray for the accurate phenotype – genotype correlation.Keywords: Chromosomal rearrangement, Corpus callosum, Invdupdel(8p)Array-CGH, MLP

The prevelance of human papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes detected by PCR in women with normal and abnormal cervico-vaginal cytology

Objectives: Cervical cancer is the second most common type of cancer for women worldwide with a great proportion proved to be related to human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. As infection with HPV is the strongest risk factor for cervical neoplasia, detection of HPV genotypes in cervical and vaginal specimens of women with normal and abnormal cytology seems to be of paramount importance in cervical cancer screening. The objective of the study is to evaluate the prevalence and HPV genotypes among women with normal or abnormal Pap smear tests. Material and methods: This retrospective study was conducted in a tertiary care university hospital in western Turkey. A total of 201 patients in whom both HPV typing and Pap test was performed between 2012 and 2016 in our obstetrics and gynecology department were enrolled in this study. Clinical and laboratory data were obtained for all participants. Cervical smears of the patients were classified by the Bethesda system and HPV analyses were done using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. Results: This study included 201 women, 72 of whom had normal and 129 of whom had abnormal Pap smear results. HPV DNA was detected in 91 (45.2%) of the 201 investigated women. Out of 72 patients with normal cervico-vaginal cytology, HPV positivity was detected in 35 (49%) patients, whereas 33 (35%) patients out of 94 with ASCUS , 18 (62%) patients out of 29 with LSIL and 5 (83%) patients out of 6 with HSIL had HPV positivity. Out of 35 HPV positive women that had normal pap test results, 25 (75%) were found to have high risk HPV (HR-HPV) genotypes. In women with ASCUS, LSIL and HSIL, HR-HPV genotype rates were found to be 94%, 89% and 100% respectively. The most common identified HPV types were HPV58, HPV16, HPV31, HPV33, HPV11 and HPV35. Conclusions: The frequency of HPV infection was found to be higher in our study compared to previous reports. Moreover, although HR-HPV genotypes were also detected in patients with normal cervical cytology, a majority of patients with HR-HPV genotypes were associated with abnormal cervical smear cytology including high rates of atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance, low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion, and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion

Root and canopy traits and adaptability genes explain drought tolerance responses in winter wheat

Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L) is one of the three main staple crops worldwide contributing 20% calories in the human diet. Drought stress is the main factor limiting yields and threatening food security, with climate change resulting in more frequent and intense drought. Developing drought-tolerant wheat cultivars is a promising way forward. The use of holistic approaches that include high-throughput phenotyping and genetic markers in selection could help in accelerating genetic gains. Fifty advanced breeding lines were selected from the CIMMYT Turkey winter wheat breeding program and studied under irrigated and semiarid conditions in two years. High-throughput phenotyping was done for wheat crown root traits and canopy senescence dynamics using vegetation indices (green area using RGB images and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index using spectral reflectance). In addition, genotyping by KASP markers for adaptability genes was done. Overall, under semiarid conditions yield reduced by 3.09 t ha-1 (-46.8%) compared to irrigated conditions. Genotypes responded differently under drought stress and genotypes 39 (VORONA/HD24- 12//GUN/7/VEE#8//. . ./8/ALTAY), 18 (BiII98) and 29 (NIKIFOR//KROSHKA) were the most drought tolerant. Root traits including shallow nodal root angle under irrigated conditions and root number per shoot under semiarid conditions were correlated with increased grain yield. RGB based vegetation index measuring canopy green area at anthesis was better correlated with GY than NDVI was with GY under drought. The markers for five established functional genes (PRR73.A1 -flowering time, TEF-7A -grain size and weight, TaCwi.4A - yield under drought, Dreb1- drought tolerance, and ISBW11.GY.QTL.CANDIDATE- grain yield) were associated with different drought-tolerance traits in this experiment. We conclude that-genotypes 39, 18 and 29 could be used for drought tolerance breeding. The trait combinations of canopy green area at anthesis, and root number per shoot along with key drought adaptability makers (TaCwi.4A and Dreb1) could be used in screening drought tolerance wheat breeding lines

Avian assemblages at Paya Indah Natural Wetland Reserve, Malaysia

Estimating accurate avian assemblages such as density and diversity are key factors for the conservation and management of birds and their habitats. Avian assemblages based on status in five habitats at Paya Indah Natural Wetland Reserve were determined using the distance sampling, point count method, at 121 count stations. A total of 100 bird species (64 resident, 18 migratory, 16 resident-migratory and 2 vagrant bird species) were detected from November 2012 to January 2014. The highest bird density was recorded for resident birds (72.2 ± 3.8 bird’s ha-1) and the lowest for vagrant birds (0.1 ± 0.1 birds ha-1). In which Resident birds have significantly higher density, species diversity, richness and evenness compared to resident-migrant and migratory birds

The impact of concurrent HPV infections on the presentation of high grade cervical intraepithelial lesions

Objectives: We investigate how concurrent high-risk (hr) HPV (human papillomavirus) genotypes affect CIN2-3 risk and evaluate the relationship of different genotype combinations with cervical epithelial lesions. Material and methods: This study included HPV positive patients between the ages of 30 and 60 who underwent liquid-based cervical smears and HPV screening through community-based, cervical cancer screening programs between June 2015 and June 2017. The impact of the increase in hrHPV types was calculated by estimating how it changed the odds ratio of CIN2-3 risk. Results: The rate of multiple concurrent HPV infections was 48.7% in the CIN2-3 group and 58.4% in the CIN1 group. Among patients in the CIN2-3 and CIN1 groups, the most common HPV coinfection was respectively HPV 16+31 and HPV 16+51. The HPV 51 ratio in CIN1 patients was 28.9% and the HPV 51 ratio in the CIN2-3 patient was 6.6%. With every increase in the number of hrHPV infection types, the frequency of CIN2-3 decreased [OR: 0.72, 95% CI: 0.54-0.95]. For all hrHPV combinations, the addition of HPV 16 was associated with a higher risk of CIN2-3. Conclusions: An increase in number of hrHPV types is associated with lower CIN2-3 risk. Further cohort studies with larger samples are needed to clarify this relationship. The available evidence suggests that HPV 16 genotype plays an important role in patients with high-grade cervical lesions and has a negative impact on the cervix in concurrent multiple HPV infections

Comparative in vitro studies on PBN loaded nanoparticles prepared by biodegradable chitosan, PLGA polymers and their PEGylated block copolymers

α-phenyl-N-tert-butyl nitrone (PBN) is a neuroprotective free radical scavenger however it has low in vivo stability and blood residence time. Aim. of this study is to develop a nanoparticle formulation by using different polymeric system which enhance the blood residence time and in vivo stability of PBN and characterize in terms of particle size, zeta potential, morphology, encapsulation efficiency, in vitro release profiles. Chitosan (CS), poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) and their poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) block co-polymers were used for comparative study. Results showed that particle sizes of CS, CS-PEG, PLGA and PLGA-PEG nanoparticles are between 142-356 nm. PLGA nanoparticles and their block copolymers' nanoparticle have greatly monodisperse distribution. CS and CS-PEG nanoparticles have zeta potential values between 17-40 mV related to amine groups, contrariwise PLGA and PLGA-PEG nanoparticles have negative zeta potential in the range of (-8)-(-19) mV. Encapsulation efficiency and loading capacity for all formulations are between 12-54 %, 9-68 %, respectively. PLGA-PEG nanoparticles are promising for further studies due to their sufficient encapsulation efficiency and in vitro release profilesAuthors would like to acknowledge that this project was financially supported by Tubitak (Scientific Research Project Number: 110S460)S

Epithelial barrier hypothesis: Effect of the external exposome on the microbiome and epithelial barriers in allergic disease

Environmental exposure plays a major role in the development of allergic diseases. The exposome can be classified into internal (e.g., aging, hormones, and metabolic processes), specific external (e.g., chemical pollutants or lifestyle factors), and general external (e.g., broader socioeconomic and psychological contexts) domains, all of which are interrelated. All the factors we are exposed to, from the moment of conception to death, are part of the external exposome. Several hundreds of thousands of new chemicals have been introduced in modern life without our having a full understanding of their toxic health effects and ways to mitigate these effects. Climate change, air pollution, microplastics, tobacco smoke, changes and loss of biodiversity, alterations in dietary habits, and the microbiome due to modernization, urbanization, and globalization constitute our surrounding environment and external exposome. Some of these factors disrupt the epithelial barriers of the skin and mucosal surfaces, and these disruptions have been linked in the last few decades to the increasing prevalence and severity of allergic and inflammatory diseases such as atopic dermatitis, food allergy, allergic rhinitis, chronic rhinosinusitis, eosinophilic esophagitis, and asthma. The epithelial barrier hypothesis provides a mechanistic explanation of how these factors can explain the rapid increase in allergic and autoimmune diseases. In this review, we discuss factors affecting the planet’s health in the context of the ‘epithelial barrier hypothesis,’ including climate change, pollution, changes and loss of biodiversity, and emphasize the changes in the external exposome in the last few decades and their effects on allergic diseases. In addition, the roles of increased dietary fatty acid consumption and environmental substances (detergents, airborne pollen, ozone, microplastics, nanoparticles, and tobacco) affecting epithelial barriers are discussed. Considering the emerging data from recent studies, we suggest stringent governmental regulations, global policy adjustments, patient education, and the establishment of individualized control measures to mitigate environmental threats and decrease allergic disease