Dilemma in predicting the infarct-related artery in acute inferior myocardial infarction: A case report and review of the literature

The electrocardiogram (ECG) has being used for decades as a reliable and inexpensive tool to diagnose acute myocardial infarction (AMI). ECG diagnosis of an occluded coronary artery is of the utmost importance. We present the case of a 46 year-old man admitted to our hospital for inferior AMI. The ECG findings suggested right coronary artery occlusion. Coronary angiography showed left circumflex artery occlusion. We also briefly review the literature. (Cardiol J 2011; 18, 2: 204-206

Comparison of fluorgestone and medroxyprogesterone intravaginal sponges for oestrus synchronization in Saanen does during the transition period

The efficiency of medroxyprogesterone acetate (MAP) and fluorogestone acetate (FGA) sponges for synchronizing oestrus in lactating Saanen goats was investigated during the transition from non-breeding to natural breeding season. Does were treated for 11 days with 60 mg MAP (n=19) or 40 mg FGA (n=24) sponges. All does received intramuscular injections of 750 IU pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin (PMSG) and 125 mg cloprostenol (PGF2a) 48 h prior to sponge removal. Cervical artificial insemination (AI) with fresh diluted semen was performed at a fixed time (36 and 48 h) followed progestagen withdrawal. The two progestagen treatments showed no significant difference in oestrous response (100% both for MAP and FGA groups), time to the onset (15.8+09 and 15.0+06 h for the MAP and FGA groups, respectively), duration (30.5+1.9 and 34.0+1.4 h for MAP and FGA, respectively) and cessation (42.32+1.6 and 43.25+1.3 h for MAP and FGA, respectively) of the induced oestrus period. No significant difference was observed with respect to pregnancy rates determined at the 53rd day after AI (52.6 and 50.0% for MAP and FGA, respectively). These dates indicate that the use of MAP and FGA intravaginal progestagen treatments are equally efficient in synchronizing oestrus in lactating goats during the transition from the non-breeding to the natural breeding season. Key Words: Goat, Oestrus, Synchronization, Medroxyprogesterone acetate, MAP, Fluorogestone acetate, FGA SA Jnl Animal Sci Vol.34(1) 2004: 18-2

First record of the broad-banded cardinal fish Apogon fasciatus (White, 1790) from Turkey

Two specimens of the alien cardinal fish Apogon fasciatus (White, 1790) are recorded for the first time from Turkey and second time from the Mediterranean Sea. This is the fourth Indo-Pacific apogonid species documented in the Mediterranean Sea, and the introduction of this species to the eastern Mediterranean is due to migration from the Red Sea via the Suez Canal

A migrated sewing needle to the liver.

A 52-year-old woman was investigated for right upper quadrant abdominal pain. Abdominal X-ray revealed a linear metallic object superposed to the liver (Fig. A, arrow). Patient’s history was irrelevant except for a breast biopsy 20 years previously. She did not report any blunt abdominal trauma. Unenhanced abdominal CT was performed for exact localization of the foreign body. A linear metallic opacity was observed in the medial segment of left liver lobe (Fig. B). At laparotomy, a needle was found in the parenchyma over the hilar plate of the liver. Its location was checked by intraoperative fluoroscopy then it was extracted with a clamp through a small incision in the liver parenchyma. High resolution X-ray graph revealed that the foreign body was a sewing needle (Fig. C). At eight months follow up, she is symptom free without any complication

Exogenous application of humic acid mitigates salinity stress in maize (Zea mays L.) plants by improving some key physico-biochemical attributes

Application of salt stress (100 mM) through root growing medium caused a considerable decrease in plant fresh and dry biomass, maximum quantum yield (Fv/Fm), chlorophyll contents, leaf water potential, and leaf Ca, K, P and N concentrations of two maize cultivars (Apex 836 and DK 5783). However, salt-induced increase was observed in leaf osmolality (LO), proline, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), malondialdehyde (MDA), Na+ concentration and activities of enzymatic antioxidants, such as catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). Of five humic acid (HA) levels used under non-stress and stress conditions in an initial experiment, 100 mg L−1 was chosen for subsequent studies. Exogenous application of humic acid (HA) at the rate of 100 mM as a foliar or pre-sowing seed treatment significantly increased the plant biomass, Fv/Fm, chlorophyll pigments and proline contents, while it considerably reduced the leaf water potential, H2O2 and MDA contents as well as the activities of all the afore-mentioned enzymatic antioxidants. Of both modes of exogenous treatment, foliar spray was better in improving plant biomass, chlorophyll contents, LO, leaf Na+ as well as the accumulation of all nutrients measured, however, in contrast, seed pre-treatment was more effective in altering leaf proline, H2O2 and MDA contents. Of both maize cultivars, cv. DK 5783 excelled in plant biomass, chlorophyll contents and leaf N, Ca and K concentrations as well as in the activities of all three antioxidant enzymes, whereas cv. Apex 836 was superior in leaf Na+ and P concentrations, H2O2 and MDA contents. Cv. DK 5783 was comparatively better in salt tolerance as compared to cv. Apex 836. Overall, exogenous application of HA was effective in improving salinity tolerance of maize plants which can be attributed to HA-induced increase in plant biomass, chlorophyll contents, mineral nutrients and activities of key antioxidant enzymes

C3G mediated suppression of malignant transformation involves activation of PP2A phosphatases at the subcortical actin cytoskeleton

In previous work, we demonstrated that C3G suppresses Ras oncogenic transformation by a mechanism involving inhibition of ERK phosphorylation. Here we present evidences indicating that this suppression mechanism is mediated, at least in part, by serine/threonine phosphatases of the PP2A family. Thus: (i) ectopic expression of C3G or C3GΔCat (mutant lacking the GEF activity) increases specific ERK-associated PP2A phosphatase activities; (ii) C3G and PP2A interact, as demonstrated by immunofluorescence and co-immunoprecipitation experiments; (iii) association between PP2A and MEK or ERK increases in C3G overexpressing cells; (iv) phosphorylated-inactive PP2A level decreases in C3G expressing clones and, most importantly, (v) okadaic acid reverts the inhibitory effect of C3G on ERK phosphorylation. Moreover, C3G interacts with Ksr-1, a scaffold protein of the Ras-ERK pathway that also associates with PP2A. The fraction of C3G involved in transformation suppression is restricted to the subcortical actin cytoskeleton where it interacts with actin. Furthermore, the association between C3G and PP2A remains stable even after cytoskeleton disruption with cytochalasin D, suggesting that the three proteins form a complex at this subcellular compartment. Finally, C3G- and C3GΔCat-mediated inhibition of ERK phosphorylation is reverted by incubation with cytochalasin D. We hypothesize that C3G triggers PP2A activation and binding to MEK and ERK at the subcortical actin cytoskeleton, thus favouring ERK dephosphorylation. © 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.This work was supported by grants SAF2003-04177 andGEN2003- 20239-C06-02 from MEC, Spain, FIS-FEDERPI030651, PI041324 and PI061274 from ISCIII,MSC, Spain, as well as institutional support from Redes Temáticas (C03/10 and RD06/0020/0000) de investigación en cáncer from ISCIII, MSC, Spain. S. M-E is a postodoctoral fellow supported by grant GEN2003-20239-C06-02. C.G. was supported by the Ramón y Cajal Program from the Spanish Ministry of Education.Peer Reviewe

Betatrophin levels are related to the early histological findings in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Betatrophin, a liver hormone, regulates glucose and lipid metabolism. We investigated the betatrophin levels in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and searched for any relationship with histological severity and metabolic parameters. Fifty males with NAFLD [Nonalcoholic Steatohepati-tis (NASH) (n = 32); non-NASH (n = 18)] and 30 healthy controls were included. Plasma betatrophin was measured by ELISA method. Insulin sensitivity was assessed by HOMA-IR index. Histological features were scored by the semi quantitative classification and combined as the NAFLD activity score (NAS). Betatrophin levels in the non-NASH group were significantly higher than the controls. Betatrophin was positively correlated to the age, waist circumference, total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR index and gamma glutamyl transpeptidase levels, and negatively correlated to the steatosis and NAS. In the stepwise linear regression analysis, the triglyceride (β = 0.457, p < 0.001), glucose (β = 0.281, p = 0.02) and NAS (β = −0.260, p = 0.03) were the independent determinants of betatrophin. Betatrophin levels are higher in the early stages of NAFLD and tend to decrease when the disease progresses. This could be an important preliminary mechanistic finding to explain the increased frequency of glucose intolerance during the course of NAFLD

PHOTOGRAMMETRIC WIREFRAME AND DENSE POINT CLOUD 3D MODELLING OF HISTORICAL STRUCTURES: THE STUDY OF SULTAN SELIM MOSQUE AND YUSUF AGA LIBRARY IN KONYA, TURKEY

The photogrammetry enables to getting high accuracy measurement with low-cost and easy application in documentation of historical structures. The object details are signified with lines in cultural heritage documentation by photogrammetry. The combination of all the lines create 3D wireframe model of the measurement object. In addition, patch surfaces of the wireframe are mapped with the texture from the images for more realistic visualization. On the other hand, the progress on computer vision and image processing techniques is allowing automatically perform the photogrammetric process. A large number of points that are called dense point cloud can be measured from coverage area of multi view images. The dense point cloud represents the object shape with small space measured points while the wireframe photogrammetry is representing the object with lines. In this study these two photogrammetric methods were evaluated with respect to visualization, cost, labour and measurement time through 3D modelling of historical structures of Sultan Selim Mosque and Yusuf Aga Library

A global optimization approach applied to structural dynamic updating

In this paper, the application of stochastic global optimization tech- niques, in particular the GlobalSearch and MultiStart solvers from MatLab®, to improve the updating of a structural dynamic model, are presented. For com- parative purposes, the efficiency of these global methods relatively to the local search method previously used in a Finite Element Model Updating program is evaluated. The obtained solutions showed that the GlobalSearch and MultiStart solvers are able to achieve a better solution than the local solver previously used, in the updating of a structural dynamic model. The results show also that the GlobalSearch solver is more efficient than the MultiStart, since requires less computational effort to obtain the global solution.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT