Assessment Of Adolescent Attachment Styles Via Narrative Responses To The Thematic Stimulus

Objective: The aim of this research is to develop a new protocol with a projective test and qualitative assessment approach for investigating mental representations effective for the formation of attachment styles and to examine its psychometric properties. Method: Thirty-three adolescents who admitted to the Division of Adolescent Medicine of Hacettepe University participated to the study. The Adolescent Attachment Protocol (AAP) and Relationship Styles Questionnaire (RSQ) were used. Results: The ICC scores among judges for Adolescent Attachment Protocol (between 0.78 and 0.87) were found statistically significant. Principle component analysis revealed that four main dimensions (Self, Other, Avoidance, and Dependency) are gathered under one factor that predicted 63% of the main change. It has been determined that similarity of the attachment classifications done by Adolescent Attachment Protocol and Relationship Styles Questionnaire were %58. Qualitative evaluations pointed out a considerable differentiation between secure and insecure attachment styles in terms of themes. Conclusion: The psychometric properties of newly developed Adolescent Attachment Protocol according to self-report scale and its strength and weakness to assess mental representations is discussed in the light of the relevant literature.WoSScopusTr-Dizi

Two pronounced Chlorella strains for efficient biodiesel feedstock production

WOS: 000474619300003In this study, two indigenous Chlorella strains were evaluated for triacylglycerol (TAG) production and related parameters during 10 days of N-deprivation. The strains were identified based on morphological characteristics and genomic information, named as Chlorella sp. IMU12 and Chlorella sp. IMU17. Time-dependent reduction of growth was accompanied by decreased chlorophyll content, reduced oxygen evolution ratio, and elevated carotenoid content of both strains cultivated in N-free Bold's basal medium. Nitrogen deprivation induced total lipid and neutral lipid content in both strains, supported by FTIR measurement of TAGs. Chlorella sp. IMU17 showed higher production of TAGs as a response to N-deprivation. Strikingly, relative polysaccharide content showed a rapid increase on the first days and a noticeable reduction was recorded especially after 5 days of N-deprivation while TAG production showed a gradual increase during the whole period of N-deprivation in both strains. Starch might be a predominant form of carbon storage in the short term and the continuous increase of TAG production might be supported by degradation of starch in a longer period of N-deprivation. FAME analysis of lipids showed that the saturation level of the fatty acids of both strains meets the European standard EN 14214 requirements. Lastly, N-deprivation stimulated a significant reduction of PUFA production in Chlorella sp. IMU17. Thus, Chlorella sp. IMU17 might stand as a promising candidate for biodiesel feedstock production with its low PUFA content and a concomitant induction of saturation of fatty acids as a clear response to N-deprivation.Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK)Turkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Arastirma Kurumu (TUBITAK) [112Y029]; Research Fund of Istanbul Medeniyet UniversityIstanbul Medeniyet University [FBA-2012-185]This study was supported by grants from the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK, Project #112Y029) and the Research Fund of Istanbul Medeniyet University (Project #FBA-2012-185)

Serum Copper and Ceruloplasmin Levels in Children and Adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Objective: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common neuropsychiatric disorder seen in childhood. It is characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that is inappropriate for the age and developmental level of the child. Although the number of studies investigating the neurobiological basis of ADHD is increasing, there is still no clear understanding of the mechanisms of the disorder. Serum copper and ceruloplasmin levels may play a role in the neurobiology of ADHD due to their effects on oxidative mechanisms and the dopaminergic-catecholaminergic system. However, the results of studies investigating the serum levels of copper in patients with ADHD are contradictory. Moreover, serum ceruloplasmin levels have not yet been studied. The aim of the current study was to compare the serum copper and ceruloplasmin levels in children and adolescents with ADHD to the levels found in healthy controls. Method: This study included 43 children and adolescents (32 males, 11 females) with ADHD, who did not have any neurological, systemic, or comorbid psychiatric disorders, except for oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and 32 gender and age-matched healthy controls (23 males, 9 females). Levels of serum copper and ceruloplasmin were compared between the two groups. Approximately 47% of the children with ADHD had comorbid ODD. The level of serum copper was measured using atomic absorption spectrophotometry, and serum ceruloplasmin was measured using nephelometry. Results:The mean level of serum copper was 17.3 +/- 3.2 mu g/dL in the ADHD group, and 16.9 +/- 2.6 in the control group. This difference was not significant (p=0.538). The mean serum ceruloplasmin level was 37.6 +/- 6.9 mu g/dL in the group with ADHD, and 36.9 +/- 6.4 mu g/dL in the control group; this difference between groups was not significant (p=0.685). Moreover, no significant difference was observed between the groups with ADHD with or without ODD comorbidities and the control group for either levels of serum copper (p=0.845), or ceruloplasmin (p=0.878). Conclusion: This study showed that serum copper and ceruloplasmin levels do not differ between children and adolescents with ADHD compared with controls. Although our results suggest that serum ceruloplasmin and copper do not have a direct role in the neurobiology of ADHD, there is a need for future studies with larger patient groups

Levels of depression, anxiety and behavioural problems and frequency of psychiatric disorders in children with chronic idiopathic urticaria.

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Calcium channel antibodies in patients with absence epilepsy

Autoimmunity has aroused interest in the last years as a contributory mechanism of epilepsy, especially in epilepsies with unknown cause or therapy resistance. Since the relationship of absence epilepsy (AE) with calcium channels is well established, we aimed to investigate related antibodies in patients diagnosed with AE. Consecutive patients with typical absence seizures having either childhood absence epilepsy (CAE) or juvenile absence epilepsy (JAE) with generalized spike and wave discharges on electroencephalography (EEG) were included after their consent. The patients were diagnosed according to the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) 2010 criteria. Antibodies against P-Q type voltage gated calcium channels (VGCC) and T-type VGCC subunit Cav3.2 (encoded by the CACNA1H gene) were investigated by RIA and ELISA, respectively. We searched for these antibodies in 32 patients with AE and 53 patients with focal epilepsy of unknown cause (FEOUC) as the disease control group; furthermore, 30 healthy persons served as the healthy controls. Eleven patients (34.3%) with AE had CAE and the remaining patients had JAE. Only a 47-year-old female FEOUC patient, who also had systemic lupus erythematosus with normal MRI scans showed antibodies against P-Q type VGCC, whereas no antibody positivity could be found in other FEOUC and AE patients and healthy controls. Our results might suggest that calcium channel antibodies do not play an important role in the pathophysiology of AE. Further studies with larger groups of other epileptic syndromes are needed to confirm our results

Severe renal failure and hyperammonemia in a newborn with propionic acidemia: effects of treatment on the clinical course

Neonatal-onset propionic acidemia (PA), the most common form, is characterized by poor feeding, vomiting, and somnolence in the first days of life in a previously healthy infant, followed by lethargy, seizures, and can progress to coma if not identified and treated appropriately. It is frequently accompanied by metabolic acidosis with anion gap, ketonuria, hypoglycemia, hyperammonemia, and cytopenias. PA is caused by deficiency of propionyl-CoA carboxylase (PCC), the enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of propionyl-CoA to methylmalonyl-CoA. Herein, we report a case of 3-day-old neonate with PA presented with acute renal failure and metabolic acidosis was effectively treated by peritoneal dialysis and conventional methods

Expression changes of genes associated with apoptosis and survival processes in Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive degeneration of the dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra, presumably due to increased apoptosis and oxidative stress. To investigate whether PD-induced survival/apoptosis gene expression changes can serve as prognostic biomarkers of PD, we measured expression levels of phosphatidylinosito1-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway factors and additional apoptotic and anti-apoptotic factors in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of PD patients (n = 50) and healthy controls (n = 50) by real time PCR. Expression levels of apoptotic factors phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) and mitochondrial apoptosis-inducing factor 1 (AIFM1) were significantly decreased, anti-apoptotic factors DJ-1 and Akt-1 were significantly increased and anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 was significantly decreased in PD patients. Expression levels of AIFM1 were significantly correlated with Hoehn Yahr scores. Moreover, PD patients with postural instability showed significantly reduced expression levels of anti-apoptotic DJ-1, Akt-1 and mTOR than PD patients without postural instability. Expression profiles of brain samples of mice with rotenone-induced PD model and PBMC samples of PD patients showed remarkable resemblance. Our results indicate that the anti-apoptotic PI3K/Akt pathway is over activated in PD, presumably as an effort to compensate for increased neuronal apoptosis and oxidative stress. By contrast, patients with postural instability show reduced anti-apoptotic factor expression suggesting that this compensating mechanism fails in patients with this particular motor symptom. PBMC expression levels of AIFM1 might serve as a biomarker of disability and disease progression in PD. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

Impact of fingolimod on CD4+T cell subset and cytokine profile of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis patients

Fingolimod inhibits the egress of lymphocytes from lymphatic tissues and also directly affects their functions by modulation of the sphingosine-1 -phosphate receptor 1 (S1P1). Our aim was to evaluate the impact of fingolimod on diverse CD4+ T cell subsets, and cytokines

The cerebral blood flow deficits in Parkinson's disease with mild cognitive impairment using arterial spin labeling MRI.

Parkinson's disease (PD) with mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI) is currently diagnosed based on an arbitrarily predefined standard deviation of neuropsychological test scores, and more objective biomarkers for PD-MCI diagnosis are needed. The purpose of this study was to define possible brain perfusion-based biomarkers of not only mild cognitive impairment, but also risky gene carriers in PD using arterial spin labeling magnetic resonance imaging (ASL-MRI). Fifteen healthy controls (HC), 26 cognitively normal PD (PD-CN), and 27 PD-MCI subjects participated in this study. ASL-MRI data were acquired by signal targeting with alternating radio-frequency labeling with Look-Locker sequence at 3 T. Single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping for rs9468 [microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) H1/H1 versus H1/H2 haplotype] was performed using a Stratagene Mx3005p real-time polymerase chain-reaction system (Agilent Technologies, USA). There were 15 subjects withMAPTH1/H1 and 11 subjects withMAPTH1/H2 within PD-MCI, and 33 subjects withMAPTH1/H1 and 19 subjects withMAPTH1/H2 within all PD. Voxel-wise differences of cerebral blood flow (CBF) values between HC, PD-CN and PD-MCI were assessed by one-way analysis of variance followed by pairwise post hoc comparisons. Further, the subgroup of PD patients carrying the riskyMAPTH1/H1 haplotype was compared with noncarriers (MAPTH1/H2 haplotype) in terms of CBF by a two-samplettest. A pattern that could be summarized as "posterior hypoperfusion" (PH) differentiated the PD-MCI group from the HC group with an accuracy of 92.6% (sensitivity = 93%, specificity = 93%). Additionally, the PD patients withMAPTH1/H1 haplotype had decreased perfusion than the ones with H1/H2 haplotype at the posterior areas of the visual network (VN), default mode network (DMN), and dorsal attention network (DAN). The PH-type pattern in ASL-MRI could be employed as a biomarker of both current cognitive impairment and future cognitive decline in PD