The relationship between serum paraoxonase levels and carotid atherosclerotic plaque formation in Alzheimer's patients

Low paraoxonase 1 (PON1) activity and carotid atherosclerosis have been suggested to be important risk factors for dementia. However, the studies to date could not fully clarify the relationship between PON1, carotid atherosclerosis and dementia. The present study aimed to measure carotid atherosclerosis and PON1 activity in Alzheimer's Disease and to evaluate the relationship between them. The study included 25 Alzheimer's patients and 25 control subjects, for a total of 50 individuals. The study measured the serum PON1 activity and other biochemical parameters and carotid atherosclerotic plaque values of the participants. The mean paraoxonase activity (31.06±2.31U/L) was significantly lower in the Alzheimer's group compared to the control group (59.05±7.05U/L) (P<0.001). Nonetheless, the carotid plaque values were significantly higher in the patient group (3.02±0.52mm) compared to the control group (1.84±0.45mm) (P<0.001). Furthermore, there was a negative correlation (81.0%) between PON1 activity and carotid plaque in the overall study group (P<0.05). Also serum homocystein level was higher in the patient group (22.15±7.05) compared to the control group (13.30±3.32). In conclusion, our findings show inverse association between PON1 activity and carotid atherosclerosis in Alzheimer patients: the lower the PON1 activity the more progressed the atherosclerotic process in AD

Aortocaval Fistula in a Behcet's Disease Patient

Behcet's disease (BD) is a chronic, recurrent, systemic disease that is characterized by oral and genital ulcers and oculocutaneous inflammatory lesions. Cardiovascular involvement especially large artery involvement is a serious and vital complication of BD. Pseudoaneurysms in the major arteries may be the cause of sudden death in BD. In our case a pulsatile abdominal mass was determined to be an aortic pseudoaneurysm associated with BD and an aortocaval fistula. Here we report this case and a short review of literature because this is the first reported aortocaval fistula in a BD patient in English literature

A Case of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada Disease Associated With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

We report a female patient diagnosed as Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). She has diagnosed as VKH with diminished vision, bilateral serous retinal detachment, the signs of fundus fluorescein angiography and the findings of optical coherence tomography. The patient was referred to the gynecology clinic for her complaints as weight gain, hirsutismus and amenorrhea. She has also been diagnosed with PCOS. With oral steroid treatment, visual acuity has improved and the detachments have resolved within a month. VKH disease may be associated with polycystic ovary syndrome. The two conditions may have a common autoimmune pathogenesis

Calcified fibrous pseudotumor with Castleman disease

Simultaneous calcified fibrous pseudotumor (CFT) and Castleman disease (CD) is an extremely rare association. CD is an uncommon lymphoproliferative disease that can arise in various sites of the body, while CFT is a rare type of benign fibrous lesion that frequently affects children and young adults, occurring as solitary or multiple lesions throughout the human body. Both entities are rare and exhibit typical and diverse histomorphological features. We report the case of a 15-year-old female patient, who, at the age of 13 had a biopsy performed at an external medical center; however, after 4 months the lesion had regrown. This lesion was removed with a surgical operation; however, it regrew 2 years later and was removed a third time. The results of the latter two biopsies were the same: CFT accompanying CD. The histologic examination of the excised lymph node and the surrounding tissue showed hyalinized fibrous tissue containing dystrophic and psammomatous calcification. In this case, the hyaline vascular type of CD was found to be intertwined with a CFT, which hampered the differentiation of whether both entities emerged within the lymph node or if the CFT developed from the soft tissue and then involved the lymph node. Future studies involving larger case series will provide a more precise insight, which should serve to resolve the current uncertaint

Collecting genetic materials and isolating DNAs of grapevine (Vitis spp.) as naturally grown in Ganos Mountains

Ganos Dağları Trakya’nın güneyinde 40° 35’ ve 40° 52’ K ile 26° 58’ ve 27° 27’ D arasındayer almaktadır. Kuzeydoğu-Güneybatı yönünde uzanmaktadır. Tekir Dağları’nın 945 m rakımile en yüksek yeridir. 2014 yılı vejetasyon periyodunda yürütülen araştırmada örnekleme üçfarklı yöntem izlenerek yapılmıştır. Arkeolojik kazılar sonucunda eski yerleşimlerin olduğubilinen alanlar ve yakınlarında; köylerde yaşayan kişilerin belirttiği asmalardan ve asmabulunması olasılığı olan bölge ve dere yataklarının aranması şeklinde yapılmıştır. Örnekler40° 53’ K ile 27° 26’ D ve 40° 35’ K ile 27° 00’ D koordinatları arasından toplanmıştır.“Second Edition of the OIV Descriptor List for GrapeVarieties and Vitis Species” listesindeyer alan 29 tanımlama karakteri kullanılarak irdelenmiştir. Alınan yaprak ve sürgün ucuörnekleri fotoğraflanmış ve incelenen özellikler açısından değerlendirilmiştir. ÖrneklerinDNA’ları “Doyle & Doyle DNA Ekstrasyon Protokolü” kullanılarak izole edilmiştir. Eldeedilen DNA’lar buzdolabında muhafaza altına alınmıştır. Sonuç olarak Ganos Dağları’nınkuzey yamaçlarında yaklaşık 600 m, güney yamaçlarında ise 700-750 m rakımlardan sonraVitis vinifera ssp. silvestris ve Vitis vinifera ssp. sativa örneklerine rastlanmamıştır. Köy ileyerleşim yerlerine uzak ve yoğun ormanlık alanlarda (aşırı gölge) bulunan bazı derelerde deörnek bulunmadığı; genellikle su bulunan nemli alanlarda, etrafı açık, kayalık derelerdeyetiştiği görülmüştür. Bu asmaların arasından gelecekte ıslah çalışmalarında kullanılmak üzereyeni bireylerin eldesi ihtimali olduğundan vejetatif materyal alınarak in-vivo’da saklanmasınınuygun olacağı ön görülmüştür.Ganos Mountains, lied on north-east and south-west direction are located in the south of Trakya Region in 40° 35’ and 40° 52’ N ile 26° 58’ ve 27° 27’ E coordinates. Ganos Mountains are the highest point of Tekir Mountains with 945 m altitude. Research was conducted in the vegetation period in 2014; sampling survey carried out using three different methods. Searching grapevines in the well-known oldest settlement areas which were about archaeological excavation areas; also asking the villagers, and some districts and riverbeds. Grapevine samples are collected between 40° 53' N and 27° 26' E and 40° 35' N 27° 00' D coordinates. Samples were examined on 29 identification characters according to the “Second Edition of the OIV’s Descriptor List for Grape Varieties and Vitis Species” list. Grapevine leaves and shoot apex samples were photographed and evaluated. Samples DNAs content were isolated using the “Doyle & Doyle DNA Extraction Protocol”. DNAs were preserved in refrigerator. As a result, in the northern slopes of the Ganos Mountains about 600 m altitude, while the southern slopes above 700-750 m altitude; neither Vitis vinifera ssp. silvestris nor Vitis vinifera ssp. sativa grapevine samples were found. Far from the villages and settlements also densely forested areas (excessive shade) and streams there was no samples found; while moist areas with water, open areas and rocky creek was have samples. It is foreseen that; in order touse in the future breeding programs these vegetative materials are kept in-vivo conditions

Calcified fibrous pseudotumor with Castleman disease

Simultaneous calcified fibrous pseudotumor (CFT) and Castleman disease (CD) is an extremely rare association. CD is an uncommon lymphoproliferative disease that can arise in various sites of the body, while CFT is a rare type of benign fibrous lesion that frequently affects children and young adults, occurring as solitary or multiple lesions throughout the human body. Both entities are rare and exhibit typical and diverse histomorphological features. We report the case of a 15-year-old female patient, who, at the age of 13 had a biopsy performed at an external medical center; however, after 4 months the lesion had regrown. This lesion was removed with a surgical operation; however, it regrew 2 years later and was removed a third time. The results of the latter two biopsies were the same: CFT accompanying CD. The histologic examination of the excised lymph node and the surrounding tissue showed hyalinized fibrous tissue containing dystrophic and psammomatous calcification. In this case, the hyaline vascular type of CD was found to be intertwined with a CFT, which hampered the differentiation of whether both entities emerged within the lymph node or if the CFT developed from the soft tissue and then involved the lymph node. Future studies involving larger case series will provide a more precise insight, which should serve to resolve the current uncertaint

Effect of the C/N ratio modification on the corrosion behavior and performance of carbonitride coatings prepared by cathodic arc deposition

This study focuses on investigating carbonitride coatings, specifically CNTi-(Zr, ZrNb, and ZrSi), as promising candidates for enhancing the durability and efficiency of Ti6Al4V materials used in nuclear fusion technology. X-ray diffraction analysis identified distinct phases, including TiN, ZrN, ZrC, and TiC. The corrosion studies showed complete degradation of the TiN, ZrC, and ZrN phases in the TiZrCN coating after tests, while the TiC phase exhibited relative stability. The surface morphologies and elemental mapping analysis demonstrated the loss of homogeneity in element distribution after corrosion process. The addition of Si and Nb elements into TiZrCN significantly influenced the coatings' corrosion behavior, with breakaway corrosion observed in CNTi- (Zr and ZrSi) coatings and localized corrosion in CNTi-(ZrNb) coatings. Notably, the CNTi-(ZrSi) coating formed an oxide phase in the presence of NaCl, whereas the CNTi-(ZrNb) coating exhibited continuous resistance and a low corrosion rate. Irradiation was carried out for the generation of active isotopes, showing that no radioactive isotopes were formed in any of the investigated samples