Maternal serum IL-22 concentrations are significantly upregulated in patients with preterm premature rupture of membranes

Objectives: This study aimed to compare the serum IL-22 levels between preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) patients and the control group with intact membranes. We also hypothesized whether serum IL-22 upregulation might contribute to defense against inflammatory responses and improve the pregnancy outcomes.Material and methods: We performed this prospective case-control study between 24–34 weeks of pregnancy. We enrolled 40 singleton pregnant patients with PPROM and 40 healthy gestational age- and gravidity-matched patients without PPROM. The degree of association between variables and IL-22 were calculated by Spearman correlation coefficients where appropriate. Scatter plots were given for statistically significant correlations. ROC curve was constructed to illustrate the sensitivity and specificity performance characteristics of IL-22, and a cutoff value was estimated by using the index of Youden.Results: Maternal serum IL-22 levels were significantly higher in PPROM patients (60.34 ± 139.81 pg/mL) compared to the participants in the control group (20.71 ± 4.36 pg/mL, p < 0.001). When we analyze the area under the ROC curve (AUC), the IL-22 value can be considered a statistically significant parameter for diagnosing PPROM. According to the Youden index, a 23.86 pg/mL cut-off value of IL-22 can be used to diagnosing PPROM with 72% sensitivity and 61.5% specificity. There was no positive correlation between serum IL-22 levels and maternal C-reactive protein (CRP) value, procalcitonin value, latency period, birth week, birth weight, and umbilical cord blood pH value.Conclusions: Maternal serum IL-22 levels were significantly higher in PPROM patients than healthy pregnant women with an intact membrane. We suggest that IL-22 might be a crucial biomarker of the inflammatory process in PPROM

Estimation of Relationship Between In Situ and In Vitro Rumen Protein Degradability of Extruded Full Fat Soybean

The objectives of this study were to estimate the protein degradability of extruded full fat soybean (ESB) by in situ (nylon bag) and in vitro enzymatic method and to develop an equation in order predict in situ degradability from in vitro values. In the study enzymatic technique; hydrolysis after 1 h (INV1) and after 24 h (INV24) by a purified protease extracted from Streptomyces griseus in a borate-phosphate buffer at pH 8 was used as in vitro method. Relationship between in situ effective protein degradability (INSE) and in vitro degradability after 1 and 24 hours incubations (INV1 and INV24) were determined. In situ protein degradability was measured at 0, 2, 4, 8, 16, 24, and 48 and at 72 h incubations in the rumen of 3 Holstein cows. In the study INSE, INV1 and INV24 were determined as 58.05, 20.24 and 41.46% respectively. Despite there were differences between in situ and in vitro protein degradability values, correlation coefficients between in situ and in vitro protein degradability of ESB were high and regression equations for estimation of in situ from in vitro were found significant. As conclusion in vitro enzymatic protein degradability (INV1 and INV24) can be used for estimation of in situ effective protein degradability of extruded full fat soybean

Indiviual Workload Perceptions of Health Workers Employed in Hospitals

GİRİŞ: İş yükü bireysel açıdan işi yapmak için geçen zamanı ve enerjiyi, örgüt açısından verimliliği göstermektedir. İş yükü, çalışanlar ve örgütler bakımdan çok önemli bir değişkendir. AMAÇ: Bu araştırmanın amacı, bir devlet hastanesinde çalışan sağlık çalışanlarının çalışma ortamlarına ilişkin iş yükü algı düzeylerini ortaya koymaktır. YÖNTEM: Araştırmada veri toplama aracı olarak, sağlık çalışanlarının çalışma ortamlarına ilişkin algılarını belirlemeye yönelik “Bireysel İş Yükü Algı Ölçeği” ve “Kişisel Bilgi Formu” kullanılmıştır. Bu ölçek Cox tarafından 2003 yılında geliştirilmiş ve Cox ve arkadaşları tarafından 2006 yılında geçerlilik ve güvenirliği test edilmiştir. Saygılı tarafından 2008 yılında Türkçeye uyarlanmıştır. Araştırmanın evrenini araştırma izni alınabilen devlet hastanesinde görev yapan tüm sağlık personeli (421 kişi) oluştururken, örneklemini bu hastanede çalışan tüm sağlık çalışanlarından araştırmaya katılımda gönüllü olan 220 kişi oluşturmuştur. Yüz doksan beş sağlık çalışanından kullanılabilir veri toplanmıştır. Araştırmanın verileri Ekim- Kasım 2016 tarihleri arasında toplanmıştır. Araştırma verileri Istatistical Package for Social Science for Windows 16.0 programı kullanılarak sayı, yüzdelik ve ortalama-standart sapma, bağımsız değişkenler ile ölçek alt boyutları arasındaki ilişkilerinin değerlendirilmesinde ise bağımsız gruplarda t- Student testi analizleri kullanarak incelenmiştir. BULGULAR: Bu araştırmada, ölçeğin toplamından alınan puan ortalaması 103,7±22,07’dir. Ölçeğin alt boyutlarından alınan puan ortalamaları ise; yönetim desteği alt boyutu puan ortalaması 3,63±0,66, ortalama meslektaş desteği alt boyutu puan ortalaması 3,73±0,71, birim desteği alt boyutu puan ortalaması 2,77±0,58, çalışma ortamı algısı alt boyutu puan ortalaması 3,52±0,84, ve mevcut işi sürdürme niyeti alt boyutu puan ortalaması 1,04±0,30 olarak bulunmuştur. SONUÇ: Araştırma sonucunda, sağlık çalışanlarının iş yükü desteğini en çok meslektaşlarından aldıkları ve sağlık çalışanların aynı işi sürdürme niyetine ilişkin puanın en düşük puan olduğu bulunmuştur.Abstract:INTRODUCTION: The workload refers to the time and energy required to do the job on an individual basis, and efficiency from the perspective of the organization. Workload is a very important variable for the employese, and organizations. AIM: The aim of this research is to reveal the perception level of health workers working in the state hospital with regard to working environment. METHODS: As a data collection tool in the research; Perceptions of health workers with regard to working environments were measured by using the ‘Individual Workload Perception Scale’ and ‘Personal Information Form’. This scale was developed by Cox in 2003 and again validated and tested by Cox and at al. in 2006. It was adapted to Turkish in 2008 by Saygılı. Among all of the health professionals (421 individuals) working in the state hospital 220 volunteers whose approvals could be obtained constitute the universe of the research. Usable data were collected from 195 health workers. The data of the study were collected between October and November 2016. The collected data of this study were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Science for Windows program Student’s t-test analysis was used in the independent groups to evaluate the relationships among number, percentile and mean-standard deviation, independent variables and scale subdimensions. RESULTS: In In this research; the mean score of the subgroups of the scale was 103.7±22.07. The mean values of the subdimensions of the scale for the management support (3.63±0.66), collegiality (3.73±0.71), unit support (2.77±0.58), working environment perceptions (3.52±0.84), and intention to continue the current work (1.04±0.30) were determined as indicated. CONCLUSION: In line with the results of the survey, it was found that health workers received the most workload support from their colleagues, and health workers received the lowest scores about the intentions to maintain the same occupation

CDP-choline reduces severity of intestinal injury in a neonatal rat model of necrotizing enterocolitis

Background: Cytidine 5'-diphosphocholine (CDP-choline) is an endogenous intermediate in the biosynthesis of phosphatidylcholine, a contributor to the mucosal defense of the intestine. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible cytoprotective effect of CDP-choline treatment on intestinal cell damage, membrane phospholipid content, inflammation, and apoptosis in a neonatal rat model of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Methods: We divided a total of 30 newborn pups into three groups: control, NEC, and NEC + CDP-choline. We induced NEC by enteral formula feeding, exposure to hypoxia-hyperoxia, and cold stress. We administered CDP-choline intraperitoneally at 300 mg/kg/d for 3 d starting from the first day of life. We evaluated apoptosis macroscopically and histopathologically in combination with proinflammatory cytokines in the gut samples. Moreover, we determined membrane phospholipid levels as well as activities of xanthine oxidase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and myeloperoxidase enzymes and the malondialdehyde content of intestinal tissue. Results: Mean clinical sickness score, macroscopic gut assessment score, and intestinal injury score were significantly improved, whereas mean apoptosis score and caspase-3 levels were significantly reduced in pups in the NEC + CDP-choline group compared with the NEC group. Tissue proinflammatory cytokine (interleukin-1 beta, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha) levels as well as tissue malondialdehyde content and myeloperoxidase activities were reduced, whereas glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities were preserved in the NEC + CDP-choline group. In addition, NEC damage reduced intestinal tissue membrane phospholipids, whereas CDP-choline significantly enhanced total phospholipid and phosphatidylcholine levels. Long-term follow-up in additional experiments revealed increased body weight, decreased clinical sickness scores, and enhanced survival in CDP-cholineereceiving versus saline-receiving pups with NEC lesions. Conclusions: Our study reports, for the first time, beneficial effects of CDP-choline treatment on intestinal injury in a neonatal rat model of NEC. Our data suggest that CDP-choline may be used as an effective therapeutic agent to prevent NEC

Evaluation of melatonin and prostaglandin El combination on necrotizing enterocolitis model in neonatal rats

Background: Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is one of the most common gastrointestinal emergencies in newborn infants but up to now there is no completely effective treatment for it. Objective: In order to show that a combination of melatonin and prostaglandins may be useful to save lives, we use newborn rat as a model of necrotizing enterocolitis to test the hypothesis of using the combination therapy might have more potential effect on mucosal cytoprotection and healing. Patients and methods: A total of 60 newborn pups from 5 time-mated Sprague-Dawley pregnant rats were divided equally into 5 groups as follows: NEC (subjected to NEC), NEC + Melatonin, NEC + Prostaglandin, NEC + Prostaglandin + Melatonin and control. These animals were fed with hyperosmolar formula 3 times daily and subjected to 100% CO2 inhalation for 10 min, +4 degrees C cold exposure for 5 min, and 97% O-2 for 5 min twice daily to induce NEC. This procedure was applied to the pups for 3 days. Results: The macroscopic scoring, intestinal injury scoring and apoptosis index scoring were all found to be significantly lower in NEC + Prostaglandin + Melatonin group compared with NEC group. Anti-oxidant enzyme activities were significantly higher, whereas lipid peroxidation was significantly lower in NEC + Prostaglandin + Melatonin group compared with NEC group. Conclusion: This combination therapy showed cytoprotective and healing effects on mucosa in the intestinal tissue of rat pups in necrotizing enterocolitis model. Therefore, this therapy might also show benefit in preterm infants with NEC. After confirmation of this data by other clinical and experimental studies, it may be a novel therapeutic option for the prevention of NEC in preterm infants

Protective effects of Nigella sativa Oil in hyperoxia-induced lung injury

Background: Oxygen-induced lung injury is believed to lead to the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia in premature infants. We have evaluated the beneficial effects of Nigella sativa oil (NSO) on rats with hyperoxia-induced lung injury. Methods: Thirty newborn Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 3 groups as hyperoxia (95% O-2), hyperoxia + NSO and control (21% O-2). Pups in the hyperoxia + NSO group were administered intraperitoneal NSO at a dose of 4 ml/kg daily during the study period. Histopathologic, immunochemical, and biochemical evaluations (superoxide dismutase [SOD], glutathione peroxidase [GSH-Px], malonaldehyde [MDA] and myeloperoxidase [MPO]) were performed. Results: In the histopathologic and immunochemical evaluation, severity of lung damage was significantly lower in the hyperoxia + NOS group (P<.05). Tissue GSH-Px and SOD levels were significantly preserved, and MDA, MPO levels were significantly lower in the hyperoxia + NSO group (P<.05). Conclusion: NSO significantly reduced the severity of lung damage due to hyperoxia

Radioprotection by two phenolic compounds: Chlorogenic and quinic acid, on X-ray induced DNA damage in human blood lymphocytes in vitro

The present study was designed to determine the radioprotective effect of two phytochemicals, namely, quinic acid and chlorogenic acid, against X-ray irradiation-induced genomic instability in non-tumorigenic human blood lymphocytes. The protective ability of two phenolic acids against radiation-induced DNA damage was assessed using the alkaline comet assay in human blood lymphocytes isolated from two healthy human donors. A Siemens Mevatron MD2 (Siemens AG, USA, 1994) linear accelerator was used for irradiation. The results of the alkaline comet assay revealed that quinic acid and chlorogenic acid decreased the DNA damage induced by X-ray irradiation and provided a significant radioprotective effect. Quinic acid decreased the presence of irradiation-induced DNA damage by 5.99-53.57% and chlorogenic acid by 4.49-48.15%, as determined by the alkaline comet assay. The results show that quinic acid and chlorogenic acid may act as radioprotective compounds. Future studies should focus on determining the mechanism by which these phenolic acids provide radioprotection. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved