European Position Paper on Rhinosinusitis and Nasal Polyps 2020

The European Position Paper on Rhinosinusitis and Nasal Polyps 2020 is the update of similar evidence based position papers published in 2005 and 2007 and 2012. The core objective of the EPOS2020 guideline is to provide revised, up-to-date and clear evidence-based recommendations and integrated care pathways in ARS and CRS. EPOS2020 provides an update on the literature published and studies undertaken in the eight years since the EPOS2012 position paper was published and addresses areas not extensively covered in EPOS2012 such as paediatric CRS and sinus surgery. EPOS2020 also involves new stakeholders, including pharmacists and patients, and addresses new target users who have become more involved in the management and treatment of rhinosinusitis since the publication of the last EPOS document, including pharmacists, nurses, specialised care givers and indeed patients themselves, who employ increasing self-management of their condition using over the counter treatments. The document provides suggestions for future research in this area and offers updated guidance for definitions and outcome measurements in research in different settings. EPOS2020 contains chapters on definitions and classification where we have defined a large number of terms and indicated preferred terms. A new classification of CRS into primary and secondary CRS and further division into localized and diffuse disease, based on anatomic distribution is proposed. There are extensive chapters on epidemiology and predisposing factors, inflammatory mechanisms, (differential) diagnosis of facial pain, allergic rhinitis, genetics, cystic fibrosis, aspirin exacerbated respiratory disease, immunodeficiencies, allergic fungal rhinosinusitis and the relationship between upper and lower airways. The chapters on paediatric acute and chronic rhinosinusitis are totally rewritten. All available evidence for the management of acute rhinosinusitis and chronic rhinosinusitis with or without nasal polyps in adults and children is systematically reviewed and integrated care pathways based on the evidence are proposed. Despite considerable increases in the amount of quality publications in recent years, a large number of practical clinical questions remain. It was agreed that the best way to address these was to conduct a Delphi exercise. The results have been integrated into the respective sections. Last but not least, advice for patients and pharmacists and a new list of research needs are included.Peer reviewe

The singular ideal and the socle of incidence rings

Let R be a ring with identity and I(X, R) be the incidence ring of a locally finite partially ordered set X over R. In this paper, we compute the socle and the singular ideal of the incidence ring for some X in terms of the socle of R and the singular ideal of R, respectively.WOS:0006400699000142-s2.0-8510552850

Effect of different dose gamma radiation and refrigeration on the chemical and sensory properties and microbiological status of aqua cultured sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax)

Quality and shelf life of non-irradiated and irradiated (2.5 and 5 kGy) sea bass in ice conditions and stored at +4 degrees C were investigated by measurement in microbiological, chemical sensory analyses. Microbial counts for non-irradiated sea bass samples were higher than irradiated fish. Among chemical indicators of spoilage, total volatile base nitrogen (TVB-N) values increased to 36.44 mg/100 g for nonirradiated sea bass during iced storage, whereas for irradiated fish lower values of 25.26 mg/100 g and 23.61 mg/100 g were recorded at 2.5 and 5 kGy, respectively (day 17). Trimethylamine (TMA-N) values and thiobarbituric acid (TBA) values for irradiated samples were lower than that for non-irradiated samples. Acceptability scores for odour, taste and texture of cooked sea bass decreased with storage time. The sensory scores of sea bass stored in control and 2.5-5 kGy at +4 degrees C were 13 and 15 days, respectively. The results obtained from this study showed that the shelf life of sea bass stored in ice, as determined by overall acceptability of all data, is 13 days for nonirradiated sea bass and 15 days for 2.5 kGy irradiated and 17 days for 5 kGy irradiated sea bass. Published by Elsevier Ltd

The effects of modified atmosphere and vacuum packaging on quality of chub mackerel

Quality and shelf life of filleted chub mackerel packaged in air, vacuum (VP) and modified atmosphere packing (MAP) (O-2/CO2/N-2, 5%/70%/25%) conditions and stored at +4 degrees C were investigated by measurement of sensory, chemical and microbiological analyses. Acceptability scores for odour, taste and texture of cooked air packaged, VP and MAP chub mackerel decreased with storage time. The sensory scores of chub mackerel stored in air, VP and MAP at +4 degrees C were 10 and 12 days, respectively. Total volatile basic nitrogen and trimethylamine nitrogen values gave acceptable results for up to 9 days for the chub mackerel stored in air, VP and 11 days for MAP storage. VP fillets presented the lowest thiobarbituric acid values. Mesophilic counts for air-VP and MAP samples exceeded 6 log CFU g(-1) after 7 and 11 days of cold storage, respectively. The results obtained from this study showed that the shelf life of chub mackerel stored in cold storage (+4 degrees C), as determined by overall acceptability of all data, is 9 days for air-packaged and VP fish and 12 days for MAP fish

Macrophage and dendritic cell subset composition can distinguish endotypes in adjuvant-induced asthma mouse models

Asthma is a heterogeneous disease with neutrophilic and eosinophilic asthma as the main endotypes that are distinguished according to the cells recruited to the airways and the related pathology. Eosinophilic asthma is the treatment-responsive endotype, which is mainly associated with allergic asthma. Neutrophilic asthma is a treatment-resistant endotype, affecting 5-10% of asthmatics. Although eosinophilic asthma is well-studied, a clear understanding of the endotypes is essential to devise effective diagnosis and treatment approaches for neutrophilic asthma. To this end, we directly compared adjuvant-induced mouse models of neutrophilic (CFA/OVA) and eosinophilic (Alum/OVA) asthma side-by-side. The immune response in the inflamed lung was analyzed by multi-parametric flow cytometry and immunofluorescence. We found that eosinophilic asthma was characterized by a preferential recruitment of interstitial macrophages and myeloid dendritic cells, whereas in neutrophilic asthma plasmacytoid dendritic cells, exudate macrophages, and GL7(+) activated B cells predominated. This differential distribution of macrophage and dendritic cell subsets reveals important aspects of the pathophysiology of asthma and holds the promise to be used as biomarkers to diagnose asthma endotypes

Selection and Molecular Characterization of Promising Plum Rootstocks (Prunus cerasifera L.) among Seedling-Origin Trees

The plum (Prunus cerasifera Ehrh) has been used worldwide both as a genetic source for breeding new rootstocks and as clonal rootstock for many Prunus species. Considering situations where wild relatives of plums are endangered, in-depth characterization of rootstock traits of genetic diversity of plum germplasm of Turkey with many ecogeographical locations is crucial. In the present study, therefore, three steps were followed for the selection of rootstock candidates among the plum germplasm grown in the Middle Euphrates. This region is characterized by an extremely hot climate with extremely warm summers and very low precipitation in summers. Initially, 79 rootstock candidates were selected based on rootstocks traits, and Myrobalan 29C was also used for the control rootstock in all steps. Hardwood cuttings were taken from each rootstock candidate, and after the rooting process in rootstock candidates, 39 rootstock candidates outperforming other candidates were selected according to root characteristics. Based on rooting ability, forty rootstock candidates with the longest root length below 33.50 mm, root number below 3.00, and rooting cutting number below 30.00% were eliminated. The second step of the study focused on the dwarfing characteristics of 39 rootstock candidates, and 13 and Myrobalan 29C out of 39 rootstock candidates’ dwarfing traits showed value higher compared to the other 26 rootstock candidates. Results indicated that the vigor of rootstock candidates was usually found to be strong (26), intermediate (4), and weak (9). Moreover, 13 out of 39 rootstock candidates’ dwarfism trait was better than the other 26 rootstock candidates. In Step 3, some morphological, physiological, and molecular evaluations were conducted in 13 rootstock candidates and the Myrobalan 29C clone, and there were significant differences between both rootstock candidates and the parameters evaluated. PCA has also been indicated that the reference rootstock Myrobalan 29C was grouped with 63B62, 63B69, and 63B14. The highest genetic similarity was found between 63B11 and 63B16, as well as between 63B76 and 63B66, while the lowest genetic similarity was observed between 63B72 and 63B61 candidates. Overall, the findings presented here provide valuable information about the level of rootstock candidates that could potentially be superior among previously uncharacterized plum cultivars in this plum-growing region of Turkey

Evaluation of hemodynamic perfusion MR images

Perfusion normally refers to the delivery of blood at the level of capillaries. Hemodynamic perfusion magnetic resonance (MR) imaging has been used in clinics for a series of applications including tumor characterization (histological type diagnosis and grading), diagnosis and the follow up of stroke, and several other disorders

Preserving the Knowledge of the Past Through Virtual Visits: From 3D Laser Scanning to Virtual Reality Visualisation at the Istanbul catalca Incegiz Caves

Cultural landscapes are those that are shaped through the combined forces of cultural and natural activity, typically over a long period that may reach back to historic and prehistoric times. Amongst these, the documenting, modelling and visualisation of cave landscapes have always been particularly important for scientific communities such as speleology. In the current state of the art, terrestrial laser scanning provides a level of documentation of objects whose accuracy cannot be achieved by conventional methods. In addition to the highly accurate metric and geometric information, visual information brings incredible richness to the presentation of data. Virtual reality (VR) allows individuals to immerse themselves within virtual environments to explore monuments and other cultural heritage sites up close. More and more, VR systems are available at lower prices and are not only limited to VR labs. In this paper, we present research on the generation of a virtual 3D model of the Incegiz caves, located at the catalca district of Istanbul, Turkey, and its integration within the Unity 3D game engine. This project, carried out as a collaboration between BIMTAS, a company of the Greater Municipality of Istanbul, Turkey and the Photogrammetry & Laser Scanning Lab of the HafenCity University Hamburg, Germany, aimed at developing an immersive and interactive VR visualisation of the cave for the HTC Vive Pro VR system. The entire workflow, from data acquisition to VR visualisation, is described here in detail with particular emphasis given to the 3D modelling of the cave and its integration within a VR environment

Identification of novel neutralizing single-chain antibodies against vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2

Human vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptor (VEGFR-2/kinase domain receptor [KDR]) play a crucial role in angiogenesis, which makes the VEGFR-2 signaling pathway a major target for therapeutic applications. In this study, a single-chain antibody phage display library was constructed from spleen cells of mice immunized with recombinant human soluble extracellular VEGFR-2/KDR consisting of all seven extracellular domains (sKDR D17) to obtain antibodies that block VEGF binding to VEGFR-2. Two specific single-chain antibodies (KDR1.3 and KDR2.6) that recognized human VEGFR-2 were selected; diversity analysis of the clones was performed by BstNI fingerprinting and nucleotide sequencing. The single-chain variable fragments (scFvs) were expressed in soluble form and specificity of interactions between affinity purified scFvs and VEGFR-2 was confirmed by ELISA. Binding of the recombinant antibodies for VEGFR-2 receptors was investigated by surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy. In vitro cell culture assays showed that KDR1.3 and KDR2.6 scFvs significantly suppressed the mitogenic response of human umbilical vein endothelial cells to recombinant human VEGF165 in a dose-dependent manner, and reduced VEGF-dependent cell proliferation by 60% and 40%, respectively. In vivo analysis of these recombinant antibodies in a rat cornea angiogenesis model revealed that both antibodies suppressed the development of new corneal vessels (p < 0.05). Overall, in vitro and in vivo results disclose strong interactions of KDR1.3 and KDR2.6 scFvs with VEGFR-2. These findings indicate that KDR1.3 and KDR2.6 scFvs are promising antiangiogenic therapeutic agents