Dynamical Analysis of a Nonlinear Financial System with Computational Algebra Methods

This paper presents algebraic invariants and bifurcation analysis of a nonlinear financial system. We focus on the local stability of the equilibrium points of this system and find the suitable values of parameters for Hopf Bifurcation. Finally, we investigate the invariants to show the general behaviour

The Effect of the Mucinous Component Presence on the Clinical Outcomes of Colorectal Cancer

Background. The effect of colorectal cancer (CRC) histological subtypes on the prognosis is still a controversial issue. We aimed to compare clinical findings, histopathologic data, and survival outcomes in CRC patients with classical and mucinous subtypes. Methods. Patients who were operated on for CRC between 2010 and 2017 were included in the study. Patients were classified into two groups according to the presence of a mucinous component: mucinous adenocarcinoma (MAC) - mucinous component > 50% and classical adenocarcinoma (CAC). Clinical and histopathologic findings, recurrence, metastasis, and survival rates were compared. Results. Data of the 484 CRC patients were documented. Sixty-nine patients (14.3%) were in the MAC group and 415 (85.7%) patients were in the CAC group. The mean age of patients with MAC and CAC was 63.4 ± 13.5 and 68.5 ± 12.7 years, respectively (p = 0.002). Proximal colon localization was found in 30 (43.5%) MAC patients and 123 (29.6%) CAC patients (p = 0.029). The number of patients with metastatic lymph nodes was higher in the MAC group (58% vs. 41.2%, p = 0.03). Nevertheless, there was no significant difference between the CAC and MAC groups in terms of disease-free survival (63.1% vs. 69.6%, p = 0.37) and disease-related mortality (23.6% vs. 23.2%, p = 0.94) over the follow-up period. Multivariate analysis showed that the presence of perineural invasion, patient’s age, and disease stage were associated with mortality in CRC patients. Conclusions. MACs occurred at a younger age than CACs and were more likely localized in the proximal colon as compared to CACs. Despite increased lymph node metastasis in MAC patients, no statistical significance was detected in overall survival or disease-free survival. Multivariate analysis revealed that age, perineural invasion, and disease stage were relevant to mortality in CRC patients

Pentoxifylline May Restore Kanamycin-Induced Renal Damage in Rats

Background: Kidney damage can be caused by many factors, such as using certain drugs in high doses or over the longterm. The use of one such group of drugs, aminoglycosides, which act as Gram-negative antibacterial therapeutic agents,can lead to nephrotoxicity. It has been hypothesized that aminoglycoside-induced nephrotoxicity might be prevented byusing pentoxifylline, which has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects and improves microcirculation. The objectiveof this present research was to determine the protective effects of pentoxifylline on kanamycin-induced kidney damage.Materials, Methods & Results: Thirty-two male Wistar rats were divided into four groups as follows: control, pentoxifylline,kanamycin, and kanamycin + pentoxifylline. The control group received intraperitoneal (IP) injections of 0.5 mL normalsaline solution once a day (d) (SID) for 20 d; the pentoxifylline group received IP injections of 50 mg/kg pentoxifyllinetwice a day (BID) for 20 d, the kanamycin group received subcutaneous (SC) injections of 500 mg/kg kanamycin SID for20 d, and the kanamycin + pentoxifylline group received both SC injections of 500 mg/kg kanamycin SID and IP injectionsof 50 mg/kg pentoxifylline BID for 20 d. At the end of 20 d, blood samples were taken from the heart by cardiac punctureunder general anesthesia. After euthanizing the rats by cervical dislocation under anesthesia, the kidneys were immediatelyremoved, relative kidney weights were calculated, and routine pathologic evaluations were conducted. Hemogramparameters were measured using a blood cell count apparatus and serum biochemical parameters were measured usingan autoanalyzer. Kanamycin also caused (P < 0.05) tubular degeneration and tubular dilatation. Although pentoxifyllinesignificantly reduced the level of kanamycin-induced tubular degeneration (P < 0.05), it did not significantly reduce tubulardilatation. Increases in relative kidney weights (P < 0.05) and in interstitial mononuclear cell (MNC) infiltrates wereobserved in the kanamycin and kanamycin + pentoxifylline groups compared to those in the control and pentoxifyllinegroups. Statistically significant changes were determined in the levels of some hemogram and biochemical parameterswithin reference ranges (P < 0.05).Discussion: In this study, both tubular degeneration and dilatation were observed in the kanamycin group. Pentoxifyllineinhibited (P < 0.05) kanamycin-induced tubular degeneration and appeared to also reduce tubular dilatation, although thisreduction was not significant. Tubular necrosis, epithelial edema of proximal tubules, tubular fibrosis, and perivascularinflammation might also be observed in aminoglycoside-induced nephrotoxicity. In current research, pentoxifylline preventedtubular damage induced by kanamycin, but did not inhibit infiltration by MNCs. Pentoxifylline also amelioratedamikacin- or gentamycin-induced histopathologic changes, especially those associated with tubular structures. The protectiveeffects of pentoxifylline on kanamycin-induced tubular nephrotoxicity in this research might be a result of its stimulatingthe production of prostaglandin, a vasodilator, and of its improving microcirculation. Although the anti-inflammatoryeffects of pentoxifylline have been reported, these did not inhibit kanamycin-induced infiltration by interstitial MNCs inthe present study. These results could indicate that the anti-inflammatory effects of pentoxifylline are not obvious and/orare dose dependent. Statistically significantly changes were determined in the levels of some hemogram and biochemicalparameters in reference ranges. However, these changes were within the reference ranges for rats. These results suggestedthat kanamycin-induced tubular degeneration and dilatation might be prevented by administering pentoxifylline

CARD15 Gene 3020insC Mutation with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Patients in the Black Sea Region of Turkey

BACKGROUND: The role of the CARD15 gene 3020insC frameshift mutation in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) investigated without a definitive conclusion. The incidence of this mutation in Turkish patients with Crohn’s disease is not known.OBJECTIVE: We investigated whether the CARD15/NOD2 3020insC frameshift mutation is a risk factor for patients with inflammatory bowel disease in Black Sea Region population in Turkey.METHODS: We studied 3020insC mutation of CARD15/NOD2 gene by allele-specific multiplex PCR in 69 patients with IBD (18 Crohn’s disease [CD] and 51 ulcerative colitis [UC]) and 101 ethnically matched healthy controls.RESULTS: CARD15/NOD2 3020insC frameshift mutation was positive in 7/18 (38.8 %), 13/51 (25.5 %), and 4/101 (4 %) of CD, UC, and healthy control groups, respectively. None of the controls or patients with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis was homozygous for this mutations.CONCLUSION: This study is to investigate a relation between CARD15/NOD2 3020insC frameshift mutation and in patients with IBD in the Turkish Population. C-insertion frameshift mutation is a major contributor to the susceptibility to both CD and UC, but it is not specific to patients with CD in Turkish population

Long term clinical outcomes of brachytherapy, bare-metal stenting, and drug-eluting stenting for de novo and in-stent restenosis lesions: Five year follow-up

Background: We aimed to investigate the effects of brachytherapy, drug-eluting stent (DES) and bare metal stent (BMS) applications in the treatment of coronary artery disease, on five- -year clinical outcomes and mortality. Methods: Two hundred and seventeen patients who were treated in our clinics between January 2000 and December 2003 with brachytherapy, DES, or BMS for both de novo and in- -stent restenosis lesions were included in this cohort study. Of these 217 patients, 69 received brachytherapy, 80 were given BMS and 68 were given DES. The clinical outcomes of the patients during hospitalization and over a long-term follow-up were evaluated. Cardiovascular events, revascularizations and mortality rates were compared among the three groups over a five-year follow-up. Results: The mean age was 60.1 ± 9.5 years in the brachytherapy group, 55.7 ± 9.2 years in the BMS group, and 58.9 ± 9.8 years in the DES group (p = 0.44). All-cause mortality rates were 20 (29%) brachytherapy patients, 22 (27.5%) BMS patients, and four (5.9%) DES patients (p = 0.01). Cardiovascular event was the cause of death for 14 (20.3%) brachytherapy patients, 16 (20%) BMS patients and four (5.9%) DES patients (p = 0.001). All-cause mortality rates were 20 (29%) brachytherapy patients, 22 (27.5%) BMS patients and four (5.9%) DES patients. All-cause and cardiovascular mortality rates were significantly lower in the DES group compared to both the BMS and the brachytherapy groups (p = 0.01 and p = 0.001, respectively). Conclusions: DES application for in-stent restenosis and de novo lesions was superior to brachytherapy and BMS application with respect to all-cause and cardiovascular mortalities. (Cardiol J 2011; 18, 6: 654–661

The Ki-67 proliferation index predicts recurrence-free survival in patients with dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans

Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is an uncommon soft tissue sarcoma that originates from the dermis or subcutaneous tissue in the skin. While its prognosis is generally favorable, disease recurrence is relatively frequent. Because morbidity after repeated surgery may be significant, an optimized prediction of recurrence-free survival (RFS) has the potential to improve current management strategies. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of the Ki-67 proliferation index with respect to RFS in patients with DFSP. We retrospectively analyzed data from 45 patients with DFSP. We calculated the Ki-67 proliferation index as the percentage of immunostained nuclei among the total number of tumor cell nuclei regardless of the intensity of immunostaining. We constructed univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression models to identify predictors of RFS. Among the 45 patients included in the study, 8 developed local recurrences and 2 had lung metastases (median follow-up: 95.0 months; range: 5.2−412.4 months). The RFS rates at 60, 120, and 240 months of follow-up were 83.8%, 76.2%, and 65.3%, respectively. The median Ki-67 proliferation index was 14%. Notably, we identified the Ki-67 proliferation index as the only independent predictor for RFS in multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis (hazard ratio = 1.106, 95% confidence interval = 1.019−1.200, p = 0.016). In summary, our results highlight the potential usefulness of the Ki-67 proliferation index for facilitating the identification of patients with DFSP at higher risk of developing disease recurrences

Doğrusal Olmayan Bir Finansal Sistemin Hesaplamalı Cebir Metotlarıyla Dinamik Analizi

This paper presents algebraic invariants and bifurcation analysis of a nonlinear financial system. We focus on the local stability of the equilibrium points of this system and find the suitable values of parameters for Hopf Bifurcation. Finally, we investigate the invariants to show the general behaviour

Idiopathic scrotal calcinosis presenting as three nodules, one being 7-cm in diameter

Idiopathic scrotal calcinosis is a very rare and benign disease characterized by asymptomatic, painless, and calcified nodules within the scrotal wall. A 44-year-old man presented with a 20-year history of scrotal nodules which had gradually increased in size and number, causing itching and slight pain. Physical examination revealed three very firm scrotal nodules with diameters of 4, 5, and 7 cm, respectively. Nodules were excised without any complication. Histopathological examination showed no epithelial lining or true cysts or cyst remnants and the diagnosis was made as idiopathic scrotal calcinosis. To our knowledge, the size of the biggest nodule also represents the largest nodule hitherto reported in the scrotum

Inflammatory cytokine gene polymorphism profiles in Turkish patients with ulcerative colitis

Aim To investigate IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-1R , IL-4RA, TGF-β, TNF-α and IFN-γ, genes polymorphism in Turkish patients with ucerative colitis (UC). Methods An analysis was carried out at Trabzon Karadeniz Technical University Medicine Faculty Gastroenterology polyclinics between March 2005 and May 2011 on 51 patient with UC (cases) and 100 healthy individuals (controls). PCR-SSP and cytokine gene panel (Helderberg kits) based techniques for analysis of gene polymorphisms were used. Results Changes in allelic frequencies of each of the investigated eight cytokine genes polymorphisms in patient with ulcerative colitis were found. Among the allelic genes analyzed here, the highest statistically significant change was observed in the position TNF-α -308 G/A (339.7%). The following increases were observed in IL-IR mspa T/C variation (179.4%), IFN-γ 5644A/T variation (77.4%), and in IL-1β -511T/C SNPs (35.9% ). In other analyzed genes, allelic changes were found to be decreasing for TGF- β codon10C / T (-71.9%), IL4RA + 1902G / A (-47.3 %), and for IL- 1α -889T / C (-37.7%). The lowest negative change (-25.9%) was observed in the allele frequency in IL- 1β 3962T / C (p<0.000). In addition, there were changes in genotypic frequencies investigated seven gene polymophic site and only one of cytokine gene IL-1β 3962TT/TC/CC was not changed. Conclusion Genes polymorphism is not itself the only determining factor for clinical diagnoses. However, it can be used in the clinical diagnosis of UC in order to determine the low level or high level variations in cytokine gene polymorphisms