Evaluation of the importance of immunological profile for pemphigus vulgaris in the light of necessity to modify compensation theory

According to the “desmoglein compensation theory,” anti-Dsg1 and anti-Dsg3 profiles are crucial for the clinical outcome of pemphigus vulgaris. However, recent studies have highlighted several cases with an incompatibility between the antibody profile and clinical manifestation. Data of 37 patients who had been diagnosed pemphigus vulgaris in our Department between January 2014-June 2016 were retrieved from our clinical database. Patients with ABSIS skin involvement scores, oral mucosa extent and severity scores, anti-Dsg1 and Dsg3 antibody profile were included in this retrospective study. Patients with discordance between clinical manifestations and immunological profile were considered as atypical clinical phenotype. Patients with missing data were excluded. In all 37 patients, Dsg1 and Dsg3 antibody titers at the baseline did not correlate with the concurrent ABSIS scores. At follow up, we detected statistically significant correlations between anti Dsg-1 profile and ABSIS skin involvement scores (p=0.006; r=0.588) and between anti-Dsg3 and ABSIS mucosal extent and severity scores (p=0.058; r=0.431). After treatment, the reduction of Dsg-1 antibody titers was statistically significant in remittent patients (p=0.027). We did not detect statistically significant reduction of Dsg-3 antibodies. Four subjects had incompatible antibody profile and clinical activity. Discordance between phenotype-antibody profile and clinical activity-Dsg titers support the idea that non-Dsg antigens may also be the target for pemphigus autoimmunity. </p

AUTOMATIC ELIMINATION OF SHIP DESIGN PARAMETERS BASED ON DATA ANALYSIS FOR SEAKEEPING PERFORMANCE

In this paper, we are proposing a computer-based system which makes the automatic elimination of ship design parameters based on data analysis for seakeeping performance. Usually engineers do not have enough time to analyse the data. In this case it can be better to use less parameters in the data analysis. But if the investment has the high commercial worth then the engineers must consider and analyse all variables and their effects in the concept design to minimise the risks of further stages of the design. We are mainly focused on ship motions to identify their most influential parameters. By the use of statistics, the backward elimination method is constructed in a software based on the SQL Server Database. The system contains two modules named as “Identification” and “Elimination”. Identification module is used to find out the weakest parameters by the method and then the elimination module avoids these parameters from the final model. In fact the most engineering areas concern with the problem of different parameters and physical issues to construct meta-models to calculate the closest prediction to real values

PER3 VNTR variant and susceptibility to smoking status/substance use disorder in a Turkish population

Background: Substance use and smoking exert devastating impact on sleep, especially hindering the ease of falling asleep, compromising the sleep maintenance, and distorting the sleep cycles. PERIOD genes are believed to play a role in individual differences in sleep timing by influencing circadian. Objective: The aim of this study was to ascertain whether Per3 VNTR variant affects suspectibility of individuals to substance use disorder (SUD) and smoking status in a Turkish population. Methods: A total of 549 subjects, including 212 SUD patients, 160 smoker, and 177 healthy controls, matched by ethnicity, age, and gender, were recruited in a case-control study. Genotyping of Per3 variant was performed using PCR method. Results: When the SUD, smoker groups and controls were compared in terms of 5R/5R, 5R/4R, 4R/4R genotypes, no significant difference was observed. Besides, allele frequencies of Per3 VNTR were similar among the groups. Discussion: Our data indicate that Per3 VNTR variant is not associated with the risk of SUD and smoking status in our population

XRCC4 rs6869366 polymorphism is associated with susceptibility to both nicotine dependence and/or schizophrenia

Background: Oxidative stress induced DNA damage has been assumed to contribute to the etiopathogenesis of schizophrenia (Sch). Smoking prevalence was more common in patients with Sch. The X-ray repair cross-complementation group 4 (XRCC4) gene plays an important role in the repair of DNA double-strand breaks. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether XRCC4 rs6869366 polymorphism has a relationship both in nicotine dependence (ND) and Sch+ND risk. Methods: One hundred and four patients with Sch+ND, 133 subjects with ND only and 70 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. XRCC4 rs6869366 polymorphism was analyzed using PCR-RFLP assay. Results: The frequency of XRCC4 rs6869366 GG genotype was more common in the ND and Sch+ND group than controls (p = 0.001 and p = 0.001, respectively). XRCC4 rs6869366 TT genotype was lower in both ND and Sch+ND group compared to controls (p = 0.001 and p = 0.001, respectively). Also, XRCC4 rs6869366 G allele was higher in Sch+ND group than controls (p = 0.001) while XRCC4 rs6869366 T allele was lower in ND group than healthy controls (p=0.001). XRCC4 rs6869366 GT genotype was lower in ND group than control group (p = 0.003). Discussion: These results suggested that the XRCC4 rs6869366 polymorphism G related genotype/allele was associated with susceptibility to both ND and Sch+ND in a Turkish population

Supramolecular peptide nanofiber morphology affects mechanotransduction of stem cells

Chirality and morphology are essential factors for protein function and interactions with other biomacromolecules. Extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins are also similar to other proteins in this sense; however, the complexity of the natural ECM makes it difficult to study these factors at the cellular level. The synthetic peptide nanomaterials harbor great promise in mimicking specific ECM molecules as model systems. In this work, we demonstrate that mechanosensory responses of stem cells are directly regulated by the chirality and morphology of ECM-mimetic peptide nanofibers with strictly controlled characteristics. Structural signals presented on l-amino acid containing cylindrical nanofibers (l-VV) favored the formation of integrin β1-based focal adhesion complexes, which increased the osteogenic potential of stem cells through the activation of nuclear YAP. On the other hand, twisted ribbon-like nanofibers (l-FF and d-FF) guided the cells into round shapes and decreased the formation of focal adhesion complexes, which resulted in the confinement of YAP proteins in the cytosol and a corresponding decrease in osteogenic potential. Interestingly, the d-form of twisted-ribbon like nanofibers (d-FF) increased the chondrogenic potential of stem cells more than their l-form (l-FF). Our results provide new insights into the importance and relevance of morphology and chirality of nanomaterials in their interactions with cells and reveal that precise control over the chemical and physical properties of nanostructures can affect stem cell fate even without the incorporation of specific epitopes

Les différences culturelles et leur impact sur la relation soignant-soigné

Ce travail porte sur les différences culturelles et leur impact sur la relation soignant-soigné lors d’une hospitalisation. Ainsi la problématique de recherche est centrée sur l’identification des difficultés et des spécificités présentes lorsque le soignant entre en relation avec un patient d’une culture différente. Le but de cette étude est d’identifier les difficultés et les obstacles liés à la culture, présents dans la relation soignant-soigné. Le deuxième but est de mettre en évidence les connaissances acquises au sujet des soins culturellement adaptés ainsi que les besoins nécessaires dans une perspective de combler les lacunes présentes afin d’être efficace dans ce domaine. Les résultats des onze recherches étudiées démontrent que les obstacles principaux de la relation soignant-soigné quant à la différence culturelle sont : les problèmes liés à la communication, la méconnaissance culturelle mutuelle, les difficultés relationnelles, le manque des compétences interculturelles ainsi que la présence du racisme dans le milieu des soins. De plus, les résultats analysés mettent en évidence que créer une relation professionnelle auprès des patients de différentes cultures comprend plusieurs éléments desquels il faut tenir compte. Ceux-ci sont : la compréhension, la communication non verbale et les concepts (non jugement, respect, empathie) qui caractérisent la relation soignant-soigné. Pour conclure, ce travail a permis de récolter des informations au sujet de la différence culturelle et son impact sur la relation soignant-soigné. Ces informations analysées ont mis en évidence la nécessité de développer des compétences culturelles approfondies dans les soins. Puis cette étude expose quelques outils permettant de faciliter une relation complexifiée par la différence culturelle

AUTOMATIC ELIMINATION OF SHIP DESIGN PARAMETERS BASED ON DATA ANALYSIS FOR SEAKEEPING PERFORMANCE

In this paper, we are proposing a computer-based system which makes the automatic elimination of ship design parameters based on data analysis for seakeeping performance. Usually engineers do not have enough time to analyse the data. In this case it can be better to use less parameters in the data analysis. But if the investment has the high commercial worth then the engineers must consider and analyse all variables and their effects in the concept design to minimise the risks of further stages of the design. We are mainly focused on ship motions to identify their most influential parameters. By the use of statistics, the backward elimination method is constructed in a software based on the SQL Server Database. The system contains two modules named as “Identification” and “Elimination”. Identification module is used to find out the weakest parameters by the method and then the elimination module avoids these parameters from the final model. In fact the most engineering areas concern with the problem of different parameters and physical issues to construct meta-models to calculate the closest prediction to real values

What hospitality and tourism higher educators learned from COVID-19: A case of Turkiye

Among all the sectors, the hospitality and tourism sector has been detrimentally affected by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This research aimed to determine how changes have been experienced specifically in the Turkish tourism higher education and tourism sector. Twenty-seven academics from the hospitality and tourism education departments were interviewed. Most agreed that restrictions have limited student access to hands-on practical courses and internships, which are crucial to developing necessary competencies. Moreover, the results showed the curriculum does not always meet the needs of the hospitality industry for a trained and skilled workforce. The challenge is to decide what else should be taught and what methods and teaching approaches should be used. As a result, industry-academia cooperation is necessary to reassess the curriculum programs to meet sector needs considering the pandemic impacts

Assessment of pulmonary function by impulse oscillometry and spirometry in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus

Aim To assess the lung functions with impulse oscillometry (IOS) and spirometry in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Methods Fifty-one children with T1DM, and sex- and age-matched 53 healthy control (HC) subjects were included in this study. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory characteristics of the subjects were recorded and their pulmonary functions were analyzed by IOS and spirometry. Results In IOS, zR5, zR10, and zR20 levels were higher in children with T1DM compared with HCs (P = .019,P = .017, andP = .002, respectively). In spirometry, zFEF75 and zFEF25-75 were lower in children with T1DM compared with HCs (P = .025,P = .001, respectively). In IOS, zR5-20 (P = .008,P = .005, respectively) and zAX (P = .013,P = .009, respectively) were significantly lower in good-controlled group compared with moderate- and poor-controlled group. In spirometry, zFEF25-75 was significantly higher in good-controlled group compared with moderate- and poor-controlled group (P = .005,P = .009, respectively). HbA1c was positively correlated with zR5-20 value (r = .339;P = .017) in male children with T1DM. The duration of the disease was positively correlated with zR5-20 (r = .290;P = .043) and zFres (r = .358;P = .010). According to the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis to estimate optimal cut-offs to discriminate good control level of T1DM (HbA1c < 7%), a zR5-20 <= 2.28 demonstrated a 75.0% sensitivity and 82.9% specificity, with an area under the curve of 0.805 ([confidence interval, 0.615-0.995];P = .007). Conclusions This study showed subclinical impairment of lung functions which is associated with disease duration and the degree of metabolic control in children with T1DM