Gingival crevicular fluid MMP-8-concentrations in patients after acute myocardial infarction

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of this study was to determine the presence of matrix metalloproteinase-8 in the gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) of patients after acute myocardial infarction (AMI).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 48 GCF samples from 20 AMI patients, hospitalized at the Department of Cardiology and Angiology of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, were investigated. Besides the myocardial infarction all patients suffered from chronic periodontal disease. Fifty-one GCF samples from 20 healthy age matched individuals with similar periodontal conditions served as controls. The dental examination included the assessment of oral hygiene, gingival inflammation, probing pocket depth, clinical attachment level and X-ray examination. The study was only carried out after the positive consent of the regional ethic commission. A quantitative assessment of aMMP-8 levels in the gingival crevicular fluid was performed with the help of the DentoAnalyzer (Dentognostics GmbH, Jena, Germany), utilising an immunological procedure.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The aMMP-8 concentrations found in the gingival crevicular fluid of the AMI patients significantly differed (p = 0.001; mean value 30.33 ± 41.99 ng/ml aMMP-8) from the control group (mean value 10.0 ± 10.7 ng/ml aMMP-8). These findings suggest that periodontal inflammation in AMI patients might be associated with higher MMP-8-values compared to the healthy controls.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The acute myocardial infarction seems to influence the degree of periodontal inflammation, thus the measurement of the gingival crevicular fluid MMP8 levels seems to be a helpful biochemical test to obtain information about the severity of the periodontal disease.</p

Tuberculous meningitis with multiple intracranial tuberculomas mimicking neurocysticercosis clinical and radiological findings

Central nervous system (CNS) tuberculosis (TB), the most dangerous form of TB, remains a public health problem, particularly in developing countries. In the differential diagnosis of intracranial tuberculomas (ICTs), images on radiological findings should be differentiated from other causes of space-occupying lesions. These lesions include malignant diseases such as glioma or lymphoma, pyogenic abscess, toxoplasmosis, neurocysticercosis (NC), sarcoidosis, hydatidosis and late syphilitic involvement of CNS. We present a case with multiple ICTs mimicking NC with similar clinical and imaging manifestations in a young immunocompetent patient. The diagnosis was based on brain magnetic resonance imaging findings. The definitive diagnosis was confirmed mycobacteriologically in cerebrospinal fluid and sputum specimens. Adequate response to anti-TB chemotherapy was achieved while multiple ICTs in the brain disappeared slowly. In the absence of appropriate therapy, these pathologies might be fatal; the possibilities of differential diagnosis would be of great clinical importance, particularly because of the different treatment protocols required for the NC and ICTs

FPGA-based implementation of basic image processing applications as low-cost IP core [Temel Goruntu Isleme Uygulamalarmm Dusuk Maliyetli IP Cekirdek olarak FPGA Tabanli Gerceklenmesi]

Aselsan;et al.;Huawei;IEEE Signal Processing Society;IEEE Turkey Section;Netas26th IEEE Signal Processing and Communications Applications Conference, SIU 2018 -- 2 May 2018 through 5 May 2018 -- -- 137780With technology, rapidly developing image sensors have begun to be used in many areas, from smart phones to unmanned vehicles. In particular, systems that have to process many images at the same time, such as unmanned vehicles, require a high amount of processing power and use expensive equipment. In this work, we describe FPGA based implementation of basic image processing applications that can work on low cost FPGA families for use in applications with high processing power. With the IP core, users can easily perform mirroring, inversion, negation, thresholding, brightness and contrast enhancement / reduction on the image. The IP core platform is designed to be independently. Synthesis results are given with reference to Xilinx's Spartan 7 FPGA. The results show that the developed IP core has a low hardware cost. © 2018 IEEE

Seroprevalence of tetanus antibody in Turkish population and effectiveness of single-dose tetanus toxoid

The study presented here was performed to determine the rates of immunity to tetanus in a cross section of the Turkish population and to assess the impact of a single-dose tetanus toxoid in previously unvaccinated individuals. Among 18-year-old participants who received their last tetanus booster 4 years prior to the study and 22-year-old participants who received the booster 8 years previously, certain durable protective antibody (>1 IU/ml) was detected in 100%. However, only 3.3% of 20-year-old participants who did not know whether they had been vaccinated as children or young adults had a protective antibody level. After administering a single dose of tetanus vaccine to this group, the rate of protective antibody increased from 3.3% to 96.7%. For the prevention of tetanus, the optimal policy should focus on improving rates of complete primary immunization in adults and children and giving a single booster every 10 years, or at least at age 40 or 50 years

Serum interleukin 2 levels in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and correlation with insulin sensitivity

Interleukin 2 (IL-2), a Th1 lymphocyte-derived cytokine, is thought to play an important role in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The aim of our study was to evaluate changes in serum IL-2 levels and their correlation with glucose metabolism abnormalities, such as insulin resistance, in patients with RA. Thirty-six subjects with varying degrees of disease activity and 20 healthy age-, sex- and body mass index-matched control individuals were evaluated. Patients with any causes of peripheral insulin resistance were excluded. After a 12-h overnight fast, fasting insulin levels, homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) estimated insulin sensitivity, and serum IL-2 levels were significantly higher in all patients with RA; than in the control individuals. Fasting insulin, HOMA-IR scores and IL-2 levels were correlated in the RA group. This study showed that patients with RA have altered IL-2 regulation, and that there was a significant correlation between serum IL-2 levels and insulin sensitivity

Comparison of silver-coated dressing (Acticoat (TM)), chlorhexidine acetate 0.5% (Bactigrass((R))), and silver sulfadiazine 1% (Silverdin((R))) for topical antibacterial effect in Pseudomonas aeruginosa-contaminated, full-skin thickness burn wounds in rats

Acticoat (TM) (Smith and Nephew, Istanbul, Turkey), chlorhexidine acetate 0.5%, and silver sulfadiazine 1% were compared to assess the antibacterial effect of their application on experimental burn wounds in contaminated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa in rats. All treatment modalities were effective against P. aeruginosa because there were significant differences between treatment groups and control groups. The mean eschar concentrations did not differ significantly between Acticoat (TM) and chlorhexidine acetate groups, but there were significant differences between the silver sulfadiazine group and the other treatment groups, indicating that silver sulfadiazine significantly eliminated P. aeruginosa more effectively in the tissues than did the other two agents. All treatment modalities were sufficient to prevent the P. aeruginosa from invading to the muscle and from causing systemic infection. In conclusion, silver sulfadiazine is the most effective agent in the treatment of the P. aeruginosa-contaminated burn wounds; Acticoat (TM) can be considered as a treatment choice because of its peculiar ability of limiting the frequency of replacing wound dressings