HPV testing on self-collected cervico-vaginal material: a new way of woman-friendly cervical screening

Meijer, C.J.L.M. [Promotor]Snijders, P.J.F. [Promotor]Heideman, D.A.M. [Copromotor]Kemenade, F.J. van [Copromotor

Glutamatergic activation of A1 and A2 noradrenergic neurons in the rat brain stem

Aim To analyze the effects of glutamatergic agonists and antagonists on the activation of the A1 and A2 noradrenergic neurons localized in caudal ventrolateral medulla and nucleus tractus solitarii, respectively. Methods Rats were injected with glutamatergic agonists – kainic acid, α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4- isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA), or N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA), and the brain sections were prepared for immunohistochemistry. Before agonist injections, antagonists – 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione or dizocilpine were administered. The expression of c-Fos, as the neuronal activation marker, and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), as the marker of noradrenergic neurons was assessed with dual immunohistochemistry. The percentage of c-Fos-positive noradrenergic neurons relative to all TH-positive neurons in the respective areas of the brain stem was calculated. Results All three glutamatergic agonists significantly increased the number of the c-Fos-positive noradrenergic neurons in both the A1 and A2 area when compared with control animals. Kainic acid injection activated about 57% of TH-positive neurons in A1 and 40% in A2, AMPA activated 26% in A1 and 38% in A2, and NMDA 77% in A1 and 22% in A2. The injections of appropriate glutamatergic antagonists greatly decreased the number of activated noradrenergic neurons. Conclusion Our results suggest that noradrenergic neurons are regulated and/or activated by glutamatergic system and that these neurons express functional glutamate receptors

The broiler meat system in Nairobi, Kenya: using a value chain framework to understand animal and product flows, governance and sanitary risks

Livestock food systems play key subsistence and income generation roles in low to middle income countries and are important networks for zoonotic disease transmission. The aim of this study was to use a value chain framework to characterize the broiler chicken meat system of Nairobi, its governance and sanitary risks. A total of 4 focus groups and 8 key informant interviews were used to collect cross-sectional data from: small-scale broiler farmers in selected Nairobi peri-urban and informal settlement areas; medium to large integrated broiler production companies; traders and meat inspectors in live chicken and chicken meat markets in Nairobi. Qualitative data were collected on types of people operating in the system, their interactions, sanitary measures in place, sourcing and selling of broiler chickens and products. Framework analysis was used to identify governance themes and risky sanitary practices present in the system. One large company was identified to supply 60% of Nairobi’s day-old chicks to farmers, mainly through agrovet shops. Broiler meat products from integrated companies were sold in high-end retailers whereas their low value products were channelled through independent traders to consumers in informal settlements. Peri-urban small-scale farmers reported to slaughter the broilers on the farm and to sell carcasses to retailers (hotels and butcheries mainly) through brokers (80%), while farmers in the informal settlement reported to sell their broilers live to retailers (butcheries, hotels and hawkers mainly) directly. Broiler heads and legs were sold in informal settlements via roadside vendors. Sanitary risks identified were related to lack of biosecurity, cold chain and access to water, poor hygiene practices, lack of inspection at farm slaughter and limited health inspection in markets. Large companies dominated the governance of the broiler system through the control of day-old chick production. Overall government control was described as relatively weak leading to minimal official regulatory enforcement. Large companies and brokers were identified as dominant groups in market information dissemination and price setting. Lack of farmer association was found to be system-wide and to limit market access. Other system barriers included lack of space and expertise, leading to poor infrastructure and limited ability to implement effective hygienic measures. This study highlights significant structural differences between different broiler chains and inequalities in product quality and market access across the system. It provides a foundation for food safety assessments, disease control programmes and informs policy-making for the inclusive growth of this fast-evolving sector

Investigation of Erosion Corrosion Caused by Drinking Water in the Faucet with Computational Fluid Dynamics

In this study, the reason for erosion-corrosion of drinking or mains water in the faucet was investigated by computational fluid dynamics. Pipes used in homes, the service sector, and industry are responsible for transporting different types of fluids from one place to another. Considering the faucet design, the SolidWorks program was used for 3D studies. In-faucet flow analyses were performed using Ansys Fluent, a computational fluid dynamics program based on the finite volume method. In the analyses, lime particles were chosen. At the end of the analysis, the amount of erosion in the faucet was obtained

Suitability of foramen magnum measurements in sex determination and their clinical significance

Background: The foramen magnum provides a transition between fossa cranii posterior and canalis vertebralis. Medulla oblongata, arteria vertebralis and nervus accessorius spinal part pass through the foramen magnum. In this study, we aimed to make the morphometric measurements of the foramen magnum on computed tomography (CT) and to determine the feasibility of sex determination based on these measurements. Besides sex determination, from a clinical aspect, it is important to know the measurements of the foramen magnum in the normal population in terms of diseases characterised by displacement of the posterior fossa structures through foramen magnum to upper cervical spinal canal such as Chiari malformations and syringomyelia. Materials and methods: All the data for our study was obtained retrospectively from 100 patients (50 males, 50 females) who had a CT scan of the head and neck region in Adnan Menderes University Hospital, Department of Radiology. To examine the foramen magnum in each and every occipital bone, we measured the foramen magnum’s anteroposterior diameter, transverse diameter, the area of the foramen magnum and its circumference. Results: We found that men have a higher average value than women in our study. According to Student’s t-test results; in all measured parameters, there is significant difference between the genders (p < 0.05). When multivariate discriminant function test is performed for all four measurements, the discrimination rate is 64% for all women, 70% for all men and 67% for both genders. Conclusions: As a result of our study, the metric data we obtained will be useful in cases where the skeletons’ sex could not be determined by any other methods. We believe that, our study may be useful for other studies in determining of sex from foramen magnum. Our measurements could give some information of the normal ranges of the foramen magnum in normal population, so that this can contribute to the diagnosis process of some diseases by imaging. (Folia Morphol 2018; 77, 1: 99–104)  

The effect of erythropoietin on healing of obstructive vs nonobstructive left colonic anastomosis: an experimental study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Anastomotic leakage is an important problem following primary resection in the left colon and is even more prominent when obstruction is present. We aimed to evaluate the possible effects of erythropoietin on the healing of anastomosis under both obstructive and non-obstructive states.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Forty male Wistar albino rats were divided into four groups. In group I, two cm left colonic resection and primary anastomosis were done. In group II, left colon were completely ligated and 24 hours later animals were re-operated for segmental resection. The same procedures were performed for rats in group III and IV in respect to group I and II and, 500 IU/kg a day erythropoietin were given in the latter two groups for seven days. For the quantative description of anastomotic healing mechanical, biochemical and histopathological parameters were employed on the seventh day and the animals were sacrificied.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Although erythropoietin had positive effects on bursting pressure in group IV when compared to group II, it has no effect in group III. Despite the increased tissue hydroxyproline levels in group IV, erythropoietin failed to show any effects in group III.</p> <p>Erythropoietin had positive effects on neovascularization, fibroblast proliferiation and storage of collagen in group IV.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We failed to find any direct and evident effects of erythropoietin on healing of left colonic anastomosis. On the other hand, erythropoietin might prevent negative effects of obstruction on healing.</p

Association between frontal sinus development and persistent metopic suture

Background: Frontal sinuses are 2 irregular cavities, placed between 2 lamina of frontal bone. Expansion continues during childhood and reaches full size after puberty. Persistent metopic suture is one of the factors that are related to abnormal frontal sinus development. In this study, we want to discuss about the coexistence of persistent metopic suture and abnormal frontal sinus development using radiological techniques.Materials and methods: In this retrospectively planned study, images of 631 patients were examined, 217 (34.4%) of them were men and 414 (65.6%) of them were women. Brain computed tomography and magnetic resonance images were retrieved from the electronic archive for analysis.Results: In this study, frontal sinus development is categorised as right side atrophy, left side atrophy, bilateral atrophy and bilaterally developed sinuses. The presence of metopic suture was accepted as persistent metopic suture. Frontal sinus atrophy was found in 22.7% and persistent metopic sutures were found in 9.7% of overall.Conclusions: In this study, no significant results were detected that were relatedto the frontal sinus agenesis or dismorphism associated with persistent metopicsuture. We conclude that, although publications propounding metopism thatleads to abnormal frontal sinus development are present in the literature, noreasonable explanation has been mentioned in these articles; and we believe thatthese findings are all incidental.

Dual-localized PPTC7 limits mitophagy through proximal and dynamic interactions with BNIP3 and NIX

PPTC7 is a mitochondrial-localized phosphatase that suppresses BNIP3- and NIX-mediated mitophagy, but the mechanisms underlying this regulation remain ill-defined. Here, we demonstrate that loss of PPTC7 upregulates BNIP3 and NIX post-transcriptionally and independent of HIF-1α stabilization. Loss of PPTC7 prolongs the half-life of BNIP3 and NIX while blunting their accumulation in response to proteasomal inhibition, suggesting that PPTC7 promotes the ubiquitin-mediated turnover of BNIP3 and NIX. Consistently, overexpression of PPTC7 limits the accumulation of BNIP3 and NIX protein levels, which requires an intact catalytic motif but is surprisingly independent of its targeting to mitochondria. Consistently, we find that PPTC7 is dual-localized to the outer mitochondrial membrane and the matrix. Importantly, anchoring PPTC7 to the outer mitochondrial membrane is sufficient to blunt BNIP3 and NIX accumulation, and proximity labeling and fluorescence co-localization experiments demonstrate that PPTC7 dynamically associates with BNIP3 and NIX within the native cellular environment. Collectively, these data reveal that a fraction of PPTC7 localizes to the outer mitochondrial membrane to promote the proteasomal turnover of BNIP3 and NIX, limiting basal mitophagy

Seismicity and Improved Velocity Structure in Kuwait

The Kuwait National Seismic Network (KNSN) began operation in 1997 and consists of nine three-component stations (eight short-period and one broadband) and is operated by the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research. Although the region is largely believed to be aseismic, considerable local seismicity is recorded by KNSN. Seismic events in Kuwait are clustered in two main groups, one in the south and another in the north. The KNSN station distribution is able to capture the southern cluster within the footprint of the network but the northern cluster is poorly covered. Events tend to occur at depths ranging from the free surface to about 20 km. Events in the northern cluster tend to be deeper than those in south, however this might be an artifact of the station coverage. We analyzed KNSN recordings of nearly 200 local events to improve understanding of seismic events and crustal structure in Kuwait, performing several analyses with increasing complexity. First, we obtained an optimized one-dimensional (1D) velocity model for the entire region using the reported KNSN arrival times and routine locations. The resulting model is consistent with a recently obtained model from the joint inversion of receiver functions and surface wave group velocities. Crustal structure is capped by the thick ({approx} 7 km) sedimentary rocks of the Arabian Platform underlain by normal velocities for stable continental crust. Our new model has a crustal thickness of 44 km, constrained by an independent study of receiver functions and surface wave group velocities by Pasyanos et al (2006). Locations and depths of events after relocation with the new model are broadly consistent with those reported by KISR, although a few events move more than a few kilometers. We then used a double-difference tomography technique (tomoDD) to jointly locate the events and estimate three-dimensional (3D) velocity structure. TomoDD is based on hypoDD relocation algorithm and it makes use of both absolute and relative arrival times. We obtained {approx}1500 absolute P and S arrival times and {approx}3200 P and S wave arrival time differences. Event locations do not change greatly when 3D velocity structure is included. Three-dimensional velocity structure, where resolvable, does not differ greatly from our optimized 1D model, indicating that the improved 1D model is adequate for routine event location. Finally, we calculated moment magnitudes, MW, for nearly 155 events using the coda magnitude technique of Mayeda et al., (2003). The fact that most of the relocated events occur below the known sedimentary structures extending to 7 km suggests that they are tectonic in origin. Shallow events within the sedimentary crust in the (southern) Minagish region may be related to oil field activities, although the current study cannot unambiguously determine the source of current seismicity in Kuwait. The improved velocity model reduces the scatter of travel time residuals relative to the locations reported in the KNSN bulletin and may be used for ground motion prediction and hazard estimate studies in Kuwait