347 research outputs found

    Prevalence of tick-borne haemoparasites in small ruminants in Turkey and diagnostic sensitivity of single-PCR and RLB

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    Background: Tick-borne haemoparasitic diseases (TBHDs), caused by Theileria, Babesia, Anaplasma and Ehrlichia, are common in regions of the world where the distributions of host, pathogen and vector overlap. Many of these diseases threaten livestock production and some also represent a concern to human public health. The primary aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of the above-mentioned pathogens in a large number of blood samples (n = 1979) collected from sheep (n = 1727) and goats (n = 252) in Turkey. A secondary aim was to assess the diagnostic sensitivity of a number of species-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and the reverse line blotting (RLB) assay. DNA samples were screened using species-specific PCR for the presence of Theileria ovis, Theileria sp. MK, T. lestoquardi, T. uilenbergi, T. luwenshuni, Babesia ovis, Anaplasma ovis and A. phagocytophilum while RLB was undertaken to test for the presence of all known Theileria, Babesia, Anaplasma and Ehrlichia species. The diagnostic sensitivity of these two approaches was then compared in terms of their ability to detect single species and mixed infections. Results: Overall, 84 and 74.43% of the small ruminants sampled were identified as hosting one or more pathogen(s) by species-specific PCR and RLB respectively. The presence of Theileria sp. OT1, T. luwenshuni and T. uilenbergi in Turkey was revealed for the first time while the presence of Babesia motasi, B. crassa and T. separata in Turkish small ruminants was confirmed using molecular methods. A high prevalence of mixed infection was evident, with PCR and RLB approaches indicating that 52.24 and 35.42% of animals were co-infected with multiple species, respectively. More than 80% of the mixed infections contained T. ovis and/or A. ovis. The RLB approach was found to be capable of detecting mixed infections with species such as Theileria sp. OT1, Theileria sp. OT3, T. separata, B. crassa and Babesia spp. Conclusion: The results indicated that pathogens causing TBHDs are highly prevalent in sheep and goats in Turkey. The diagnostic sensitivity of species-specific single PCR was generally higher than that of RLB. However, the latter approach was still capable of identifying a high proportion of individuals containing mixed-species infections. The use of species-specific single PCR is recommended to accurately estimate pathogen prevalence and to identify co-infected hosts

    Bone Marrow Edema and Pseudocyst as a Very Rare Complication of Familial Mediterranean Fever: A Case Report

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    Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is one of the most common autoinflammatory diseases. FMF is a disease that characterized by recurrent fever, transient and self-limiting polyserositis, responds well to the treatment of colchicine. In 95% of patients, the first attack occurs with severe abdominal pain. The first attack frequency that starts with pleuritic chest pain, pleural effusion and fever are lower than 10%. Ninety percent of the cases are younger than 20 years old. After 40 years old, it is rarely diagnosed (1.25%). In this case report; we wanted to present an FMF case diagnosed after 40 years old in the context of the patient's clinical follow-up, treatment, and literature, since it is very rare to diagnose in this age group, and unexpected complications can occur

    Serum Ischemia-Modified Albumin Concentration and Ischemia-Modified Albumin/Albumin Ratio in Hyperemesis Gravidarum

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    Aim:Hyperemesis gravidarum (HEG) is characterized by severe nausea and vomiting, weight loss and nutritional deficiency. Although exact cause of this condition is still a matter of debate, contribution of oxidative stress to pathogenesis of HEG was demonstrated in some studies. The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic value of ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) concentration and IMA/albumin ratio (IMAR) in HEG patients.Methods:One patient group and two control groups were constituted. Pregnant subjects with HEG were included in HEG group (n = 31) and age-, gestational age-, and body mass index (BMI)-matched healthy pregnant women in control group (n = 30). The second control group was constituted from age- and BMI-matched non-pregnant women (n=30). Serum IMA, IMAR blood glucose, albumin, urea, creatinine, alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase levels were measured in all subjects.Results:Serum median IMA levels [0.55 (0.43-0.68)] was found to be elevated in HEG patients compared with pregnant [0.52 (0.34-0.61)] and non-pregnant controls [0.48 (0.27-0.57)] (p=˂0.001). IMAR levels were also found to be significantly elevated in HEG patients compared to both control groups. According to correlation analysis, IMA and IMAR levels were only correlated with C-reactive protein levels.Conclusion:Elevated levels of IMA and IMAR in HEG patients might be due to ischemic intrauterine environment

    Sigara içen ve içmeyen kronik periodontitisli hastalarda başlangıç periodontal tedavinin dişeti oluğu sıvısı myeloperoksidaz seviyeleri üzerine etkisi

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    Objective: Smoking is an enviromental risk factor in the onset and progression of periodontal diseases. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of smoking on clinical parameters and GCF MPO levels after initial periodontal therapy in patients with chronic periodontitis. Material and method: The study included 17 (the average 44,5±6.0) smoker and 18 (42.3±3.2) non-smoker patient with chronic periodontitis as evidenced by clinically and radiographically. Clinical periodontal evaluations were performed by using plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), probing depth (PD) scores and clinical attachment level (CAL) at baseline and four weeks after initial periodontal therapy. Gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) was collected from four different space with deep periodontal pocket (pocket depth 9 4 mm) in maxilla. DOS MPO samples were assessed by kinetic spectrophotometer method. Results: At baseline, there were no significant diffirences in clinical periodontal parameters between smokers and non-smokers. All clinical periodontal parameters were significantly decreased after initial periodontal therapy in both groups. All parameters in smokers were lower than non-smokers at 4 weeks after therapy. The GCF MPO levels were significantly decreased only in non-smokers. Conclusion: Within the limits of this study, we found that smoking effects periodontal healing negatively.   ÖZET Amaç: Sigara kullanımı, periodontal hastalıkların başlamasında ve ilerlemesinde önemli çevresel risk faktörüdür. Bu çalışmada kronik periodontitis teşhisi konulmuş hastalarda sigaranın, başlangıç periodontal tedavinin klinik parametreler ve dişeti oluğu sıvısı (DOS) myeloperoksidaz (MPO) düzeylerine etkisininin değerlendirilmesi amaçlanmaktadır. Gereç ve Yöntem: Çalışmaya kronik periodontitis tanısı konmuş, sigara içen 17 (yaş ortalaması 44,6 ± 6.0) hasta ile sigara içmeyen 18 (yaş ortalaması 42,3 ± 3,2) hasta olmak üzere toplam 35 birey dahil edildi. Hastaların klinik değerlendirilmesinde başlangıç ve 1. ayda plak indeksi (P3) ve gingival indeks (G3), sondalama cep derinliği (SCD), klinik ataşman seviyesi (AS) ölçümleri yapıldı. Üst çene anterior bölgeden cep derinliği 94mm sahip 4 bölgeden dişeti oluğu sıvısı toplandı. DOS örneklerinin MPO içeriği, kinetik spektrofotometrik yöntemle tayin edildi. Bulgular: Başlangıçta sigara içen ve içmeyen gruplar arasında klinik parametreler açısından fark bulunamadı. Periodontal tedavi sonrasında başlangıca göre klinik parametrelerde sigara içen ve içmeyen grupta anlamlı derecede azalma gözlendi. Periodontal tedavi sonrasında sigara içen gruba göre sigara içmeyen grupta daha fazla iyileşme gözlendi. DOS MPO aktivitesinde tedavi sonrasında sigara içmeyen grupta anlamlı derecede azalma gözlenirken sigara içen grupta fark gözlenmedi. Sonuç: Bu çalışmanın sınırları içerisinde, sigaranın periodontal tedavi sonrasında iyileşmeyi olumsuz yönde etkilediği gözlenmiştir. Anahtar kelimeler: Myeloperoksidaz, sigara, periodontiti

    The Existence of Innovation Factors In the Vision and Mission Statements of Organizations, the Case of Fortune 100 Companıes of Turkey

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    In this study, factors that are considered to be determinants of organizational innovation were sought in organizations’ vision and mission statements. Those factors and criteria that are used to measure innovativeness of organizations have been identified and categorized previous studies. Those criteria were translated into patterns of expressions which can take place in organizations’ vision and mission statements. Then, these elements were sought in vision and mission statements of 2013’s top 100 companies that were published in Fortune Magazine Turkey via content analysis method which is one of the qualitative research methods. According to the statements, it is assessed that, companies are focused on product and service innovations by tracking customer demands and they are insufficient at using external sources of knowledge and innovation in-house processe

    Comparative analysis of the potential effect of phase I therapy on gingival crevicular fluid myeloperoxidase levels in non-diabetic and diabetic patients with periodontitis

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    Objectives: To evaluate the effect of periodontal therapy on clinical parameters as well as on myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity in the gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and of systemically healthy individuals.Materials and Methods: 24 type 2 DM patients subjects, and 21 systemically healthy individuals, both groups with chronic periodontitis, and systemically and periodontally healthy individuals were enrolled. Periodontal clinical parameters, namely periodontal probing depth (PD), plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), clinical attachment level (CAL), and gingival bleeding time index (GBI), as well as GCF MPO activity, were assessed before and 3 months after non-surgical periodontal therapy. GCF enzyme activity was spectrophotometrically analyzed. Possible correlation between clinical periodontal status and MPO activity was also evaluated.Results: Despite the relatively stable clinical measures and GCF MPO content in the periodontally-healthy subjects, the clinical periodontal status improved, as significant reductions were observed in all of the clinical parameters in periodontitis patients with and without diabetes (p<0.05). GCF MPO activity presented with significant reductions in both of the periodontally-diseased groups after phase I treatment (p<0.05), however it could not reach to the level of periodontal health (p<0.05).Conclusions: Periodontal inflammation is likely to play the major role in the higher MPO activity observed at diseased sites, while diabetes mellitus do not seem to further increase the production of this enzyme. Periodontal treatment can provide successful improvement in clinical periodontal parameters and reduction in enzyme profile of GCF in diabetics

    Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in the Differential Diagnosis of Psychiatric Disorders: Two Case Reports

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    Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a prion disease manifesting with signs of impaired conscious and mental state, cerebellar ataxia, myoclonus, and loss of vision. Since the disease progresses rapidly to death, it is important to distinguish it from other diseases. The exact diagnosis is made by postmortem histopathological analysis of the brain. The diagnosis of CJD is difficult because the clinical presentation varies between cases. In this paper, we present two cases of CJD. The first case was a 50-year-old male who was admitted with agitation, impaired consciousness and involuntary movements for three months. The second case was a 70-year-old male presented with forgetfulness, total loss of vision in the form of conversion disorder and ataxia. Diagnostic support was provided by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electroencephalography (EEG). Increased cerebrospinal fluid concentration of 14.3.3 protein was determined. As a result, prion disease was considered in these cases due to rapid progression of the neuropsychiatric symptoms. Repeated EEG and MRI are useful for diagnosis in these patients. Although there is not effective treatment, diagnosis of the condition is very important in terms of preventive measures

    The Sufficiency of Assistant and Intern Doctors’ Knowledge About Basic and Advanced Life Support: A Survey Study

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    Objective:We aimed to evaluate the level of assistant and intern doctors’ knowledge about basic and advanced life support.Material and Methods: In this study, the current knowledge of 357 assistant and intern doctors at the hospital of Cumhuriyet University was reviewed via a questionnaire of 40 questions about basic and advanced life support. The participants' consent was received before administering the questionnaire. The findings were reported in figures and percentages. While the Kruskal-Wallis Variance analysis test was used for statistical calculations, the chi-square test was used for statistical comparisons. p<0.05 was accepted as significant. This study consists of questions prepared about the recent changes in the guide for cardiopulmonary resuscitation by the American Heart Association (AHA) released in 2010.Results: This study weights the answers from both of the participant groups equally even though the practical experience of assistant doctors is greater than the interns’. The ratio of right answers to the questions about general knowledge of basic and advanced life support is found to be low in this particular study. However, assistant doctors aged between 20-30 achieve a higher rate of true answers compared to the other participant doctors.Conclusions:This study has concluded that the knowledge level of assistant and intern doctors is insufficient and not up-to-date. It has also shown that insufficient knowledge may cause danger, given the fact that basic and advanced life support cannot be applied effectively without correct and accurate information

    Maternal Height and Infant Body Mass Index Are Possible Risk Factors for Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip in Female Infants

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    Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is a wide-spectrum disease with a multifactorial etiology and, despite its prevalence, no definitive etiology has yet been established. The aim of this study was to investigate new risk factors for DDH by evaluating newly defined potential risk factors. A total of 71 infants were separated into 2 groups:Group I, 28 female first-born infants diagnosed with DDH and their mothers;and Group II, 43 healthy female first-born infants and their mothers. The maternal height and weight before pregnancy, infant height and weight at birth, and body mass index (BMI) of both mother and infant were determined. Calculations were made of the ratios between these parameters. Of the examined risk factors, only maternal height and the ratio of maternal height to infant BMI (MH/I-BMI) were found to be significant for DDH in infants. In conclusion, the results of this study show that a short maternal height and a low MH/I-BMI increase the risk of DDH. Further studies with a larger series are necessary to confirm these results

    Evaluation of Physical Exercise'S Effects on Low Back Pain Among University Students With Short Form-36 and Oswestry Disability Index

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    DergiPark: 762681tmsjAims: This study aims to investigate the main effects of physical exercise on lower back pain with the Short Form-36 Health Survey and Oswestry Disability Index scores. Methods: University students between 18-25 years old who suffer from low back pain were enrolled in the study. Short Form-36 Health Survey and Oswestry Disability Index were used as the reference scales of lower back pain and quality of life, respectively. There are some questions in the questionnaire to scale the average comfort of the place they sleep and sit during the day, which is the result of the Personal Comfort Score. The Mann-Whitney U test was used for non-normal distributed variables. Correlation and Linear Regression were used to analyze data. SPSS 25.0 was used for all statistical analysis. Results: A total of 139 university students (94 females, 45 males) were included in the study. The median age was 20 years (IQR=2) for female students and 20 years (IQR=1) for male students. Oswestry Disability Index scores of fe- male students were higher, while Short Form-36 scores were lower than the male students. Male students' physical functioning scores were higher than female students. Each one-unit increase in Personal Comfort Score is associated with an increase in the rate between the energy/fatigue (3.34 units). Body Mass Index considerably affected the pain and Oswestry Disability Score, an increase in one unit of baseline BMI upsurged the Short Form-36 pain score to 0.13, and Oswestry disability score to 0.55. Conc- lusion: In our study, Body Mass Index is found to be associated with Oswestry Disability Index and Short Form-36 score, which are used for the severity of low back pain and defining the life quality and of patients. PCS had a positive correlation between energy/fatigue. In addition, There was a positive correlation between physical exercise and general health score
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