Role of serum cathelicidin in diagnosis of patient with prostatitis and prostate carcinoma

Background: This study investigated the diagnostic role of 75 levels measured in serum prostatitis and prostate carcinoma and in the differentiation of these two conditions. Methods: The study was conducted with 75 patients histopathologically diagnosed with prostate carcinoma or prostatitis and followed up at the Departments of Urology and Medical Oncology and 21 healthy male subjects. Serum cathelicidin levels were investigated using the ELISA method. Statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS for Windows 22.0 package software. Compliance of the variables to normal distribution was examined using visual and analytic methods. In the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, cases with a p value of greater than 0.05 were accepted as normal distribution. Results: A total of 75 patients including 45 diagnosed with prostate carcinoma and 30 diagnosed with prostatitis, as well as 21 healthy control subjects were included in the study. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) was detected as 23 (4–1200) ng/mL in the patients with prostate carcinoma and as 9.85 (3.9–405 ng/mL) in the patients with prostatitis. The cathelicidin levels were diagnostically significant when assessed by ROC analysis in the prostate cancer, prostatitis and control groups (p = 0.005). The cutoff values derived from the ROC curve analysis were 3.5151 ng/mL for distinguishing prostate cancer from prostatitis, 2.2620 ng/mL for prostate cancer versus control group and 1.2340 ng/mL for prostatitis versus control group. Conclusions: In this study we showed that the serum cathelicidin levels were significantly higher in the patients diagnosed with prostate carcinoma. Measurement of serum cathelicidin levels could be used as a diagnostic marker in prostate carcinoma as well as facilitating differential diagnosis to strengthen the diagnostic suspicion before prostate biopsy and distinguish the diagnosis from prostatitis cases. © 2022, The Author(s)

Synthesis, characterization of a new polyacrylic acid superabsorbent, some heavy metal ion sorption, the adsorption isotherms, and quantum chemical investigation

Poly(acrylic acid/Kryptofix 23-Dimethacrylate) superabsorbent polymer [P (AA/Kry23-DM) SAP] was synthesized by solution polymerization to remove Co, Ni, Cu, Cd, Mn, Zn, Pb, Cr, and Fe ions in water and improve the quality of the water. Kry23-DM cross-linker (1,4,7,13,16-Pentaoxa-10,19 diazo cyclohexene icosane di methacrylate) was synthesized using Kry23 and methacryloyl chloride. The characterization of the molecules was done by FTIR, TGA, DSC, and SEM techniques. The effects of parameters such as pH, concentration, and the metal ion interaction on the heavy metal ions uptaking of SAP was investigated. It was observed that P (AA/Kry23-DM) SAP has maximum water absorption, and the absorption increases with the pH increase. Adsorption rates and sorption capacity, desorption ratios, competitive sorption (qcs), and distribution coefficient (log D) of P(AA/Kry23-DM) SAP were studied as a function of time and pH with the heavy metal ion concentration. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms of the P (AA/Kry23-DM) SAP were investigated to verify the metal uptake. Molecular mechanic (MM2), Assisted Model Building with Energy Refinement (AMBER), and optimized potentials for liquid simulations (OPLS) methods. were used in quantum chemical calculations for the conformational analysis of the cross-linker and the SAP. ∆H0 f calculations of the cross-linker and the superabsorbent were made using Austin Model 1(AM1) method. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Can NLR, PLR and LMR be used as prognostic indicators in patients with pulmonary embolism? Author’s reply on commentary

We appreciate the comments made by Dr Bedel and colleagues. NLR, PLR and LMR are affected by various diseases such as oncological, collagen tissue, inflammatory, or severe renal/liver diseases [1]. Because of this, we have listed some of the above-mentioned disorders in the tables. Hematological diseases, collagen tissue disease, inflammatory diseases, congenital heart disease, or severe renal/liver disease were therefore excluded from the study. However, the presence of malignancy did not affect our results in regression analysis. Platelets swell until 120 minutes in ethylene diamine tetra acetic (EDTA) and until 60 minutes in citrate [2]. Authors suggest that optimal measuring time should not exceed 120 minutes. The blood samples of the patients were taken within 1 hour after their emergency admission. All blood samples in our study were tested within 1 hour of collection [3]. We used EDTA for whole blood anticoagulation. The mean duration of symptoms prior to admission was 5.04 ± 6.9 days. The drugs such as corticosteroids affect inflammatory parameters. Therefore, we excluded inflammatory diseases without emphasizing corticosteroids or other anti-inflammatory drugs

Laparoscopic adrenalectomy: Our clinical experiences with the first 10 patients

Objectives: The aim of this study is to present the resultsof our first ten laparoscopic adrenalectomy cases whichwere performed in our clinic.Materials and methods: Between December 2010 andSeptember 2012 the standard transperitoneal laparoscopicadrenalectomy was performed on 10 patients.Data of patients such as age, weight, height, operationtime, hospitalization time, complications, size of adrenalmass and pathological diagnosis were retrospectively reviewedand recorded from the hospital records.Results: Three of ten patients were male and seven ofthem were female. The mean age of the patients was42.12±11.4 (21-55) years. Mean operation time was recordedas 136±23.6 (100-190) min. Mean tumor size was7.1±2.7 (5-12) cm. None of the patients required bloodtransfusion. Mean hospital stay was 2.3±1.2 (2-6) days.Pathological diagnoses of masses were pheocromacytomain two patients, adrenal adenoma in six, myelolipomain one and pseudocist in one.Conclusions: According to our experience with the limitednumber of the first ten cases, transperitoneal laparoscopicadrenalectomy is a safe and effective treatmentmodality, associated with minimal morbidity. To obtainmore reliable information larger series with long-term resultsof laparoscopic adrenalectomy is needed.Key words: Laparoscopy, adrenalectomy, experience,transperitonea

Is CONUT score a prognostic index in patients with diffuse large cell lymphoma?

Background/aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) score on the prognosis in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Materials and methods: The present study was a retrospective study. The CONUT score was calculated based on serum albumin, total cholesterol and lymphocyte levels. This study included a total of 266 patients, 131 (49.2%) were female and 135 (50.8%) were male. The median follow-up period was 51 months (range: 1-190). Results: The median age was 64 years. The cut off CONUT was 1.5. There was a significant difference between patients with high (>_ 2) or low (_ 65 years (HR = 1.80, p = 0.028), Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) > 1 (HR = 2.04, p = 0.006), stage IIIA-IVB disease (HR = 2.75, p = 0.001) and the CONUT score (HR = 1.15, p = 0.003) were found statistically significant. In the multivariate analysis for PFS, age >_ 65 years (HR = 2.02, p = 0.007), stage IIIA-IVB disease (HR = 2.42, p = 0.002) and the CONUT score (HR = 1.19, p = 0.001) were found to be significant parameters. Conclusion: High CONUT score reduces OS and PFS in DLBCL. CONUT score is an independent, strong prognostic index in patients with DLBCL

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

To what extent can we use tendency survey data in forecasting the growth rate?

Üçlü (yukarı, aşağı ve değişmez gibi) kategoride yanıt içeren nitel yöneliş anket sonuçlarından nicel değişme oranlarına ulaşmayı amaçlayan çalışmalar Carlson-Parkin (1975) ve daha sonra Pesaran (1984 ve 1987)’ın çalışmaları ile büyük bir yaygınlık kazandı. Biz bu çalışmada, olasılık ya da doğrusal-olmayan regresyon yöntemlerine dayanan bu sayısallaştırma tekniklerini, TCMB tarafından aylık olarak yayınlanan ‘Genel Gidişat’ anket sonuçlarına uyguladık. Anket yanıt kategorilerinden sanayi büyüme hızını tahmin etmeye çalıştık. Ancak, yanıtlarda ‘aynı / değişme yok’ kategorisinin %60 gibi çok yüksek bir oranda çıkması, sistematik olarak ‘noksan-tahmin’e yol açtı. Bu engeli, büyüme ve küçülme dönemleri için ayrı ölçek katsayısı hesaplayarak aşmaya çalıştık. Çalışmanın ilk kısmında anket sonuçlarını bağlı olasılıklar çapraz (contingency) tablosu incelemesine tâbi tutarak iç tutarlılığını irdeledik. Daha sonra, olasılık ve regresyon yöntemlerine dayanan değişik modeller uygulayarak büyüme oranı tahminleri türettik. Anket sonuçları, imalat sanayisinde dönüm noktaları ve kriz dönemlerinin tahmininde başarılı sonuçlar verdi. Son olarak, sapmasızlık ve dikeylik sınamaları yaparak türettiğimiz tahmin serilerinin rasyonel bekleyişler hipotezinin (RBH) empoze ettiği özellikleri taşıyıp taşımadığına baktık. Sonuçlar, RBH öngörülerini değil, adaptif bekleyiş modellerini destekler nitelikte çıkmaktadır.Publisher's Versio

Benign ve malign adneksiyal kitlelerin ayrımında cerrahi öncesi serum vasküler endotelyal büyüme faktörü (VEGF) ve migrasyon inhibitör faktör (MIF) düzeylerinin karşılaştırılması ve over kanseri saptanan olgularda prognostik faktörler ile ilişkisinin belirlenmesi

Amaç: Bu çalışmada amaç, benign ve malign adneksiyal kitlelerin ayrımında cerrahi öncesi elde edilen serum vasküler endotelyal büyüme faktörü (VEGF) ve migrasyon inhibitör faktör (MIF) düzeylerinin karşılaştırılması ve bu faktörlerin over kanseri saptanan olgularda prognostik faktörler ile ilişkisinin belirlenmesidir. Metod: Ege Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Kadın Hastalıkları ve Doğum Anabilim Dalı'na Kasım 2010-Mart 2012 tarihleri arasında başvuran, 21 malign ve 20 benign adneksiyal kitlesi olan olgu çalışmaya dahil edilmiştir. Hastalardan cerrahi öncesi serum örneği alınıp, -80°C'de saklanmıştır. Cerrahi işlem sonrası hastalar, patoloji sonuçlarına göre benign ve malign olmak üzere iki gruba ayrılmış, ayrıca bu hastaların yaşı, CA125 düzeyleri, hastalığın evresi, tümör derecesi, assit varlığı ve optimal sitoredüksiyon yapılıp yapılamadığı kaydedilmiştir. Ardından serum örnekleri RayBio® Human VEGF ELISA Kit ve RayBio® Human MIF ELISA Kit ile çalışılmış; hastaların cerrahi öncesi serum VEGF ve MIF değerleri hesaplanarak kaydedilmiştir. Serum değerleri 450 nm'de Thermo Scientific® Multiscan FC spektrometre cihazı ile ölçülmüştür. Bulgular: Her iki grup arasında, preoperatif serum VEGF, MIF değerleri arasında anlamlı farklılık saptanmaz iken (p>0,05); CA125 değeri malign grupta anlamlı yüksek saptanmıştır (p0,05). Sonuç: Anjiogenez faktörleri olan VEGF ve MIF'in, over tümörlerinde maligniteyi öngörebilecek bir belirteç olarak kullanımı sınırlıdır. Prognostik faktörlerle ilişkisi net ortaya konulamamıştır. Literatürde karşıt görüşü savunan fikirlerin de olması nedeniyle, bu konunun aydınlığa kavuşabilmesi için olgu sayısının yüksek olduğu, çok merkezli çalışmalara gereksinim vardır