Provenance groups in a Roman jet jewelry collection at Aquincum (Budapest, Hungary) and comparison with jet and jet-like gemstones

Jet and jet-like gemstones are found in graves from the Neolithic, but they became particularly popular during the Bronze Age and the Roman period. To discover their provenance, several techniques were used to determine distinctions between organic materials and occurrences. The present study utilized a combination of Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopic (FTIR) and stable isotope ratio analyses to compare a unique Copper Age black bead („Lelle bead”) with Roman period jet items from the Aquincum Museum’s collection and known jet samples from various locations (UK, Spain, Turkey). Visual and multivariate statistical analyses of FTIR spectra, combined with H%, C%, and stable hydrogen and carbon isotope ratio determinations enabled us to distinguish significant (p < 0.1) groups among the Aquincum collection: „Lelle-type” samples, „Whitby-type” jets, shales, and coals. Some gemstones were positively identified as Whitby jet, whereas some of the others were indistinguishable from the Lelle bead. This study shows that the coupled FTIR and stable isotope analyses can potentially be used to determine the provenance of archaeological artifacts

Problems encountered in conventional HIV 1/2 Algorithms: lack of necessity for immunoblot assays to confirm repeated ELISA reactive results

Background: The use of conventional (serologically based) HIV 1/2 diagnostic algorithms has become controversial in recent years.Objectives: Sera from patients who underwent verification tests were evaluated because repeated ELISA-reactive results demonstrated a HIV1+HIV2 positive band pattern.Methods: The line immunoassay (LIA) test was used for repeated HIV enzyme immunoassays (EIA)-reactive sera in patients at three centers. The Bio-Rad Geenius™ HIV 1/2 and the HIV-1 RNA tests were used. HIV-1 and RNA HIV-2 were investigated using PCR.Results: LIA was used to evaluate 3,224 out of 10,591 samples with repeated ELISA reactivity (30%). We found that 32 (1%) of the sera, along with HIV1 bands and HIV2 gp36 bands, were positive. Only 28 of the 32 verified serum samples with gp36 bands were repeated, and no gp36 band positivity was detected using the Bio-Rad Geenius™ HIV-1/2 confirmatory assay in these serum samples. The HIV-2 proviral DNAs were also negative. Therefore, we excluded the possibility of HIV1+2 co-infection. All samples from the 32 patients were positive for HIV-1 RNA.Conclusion: Our findings highlight the need to exclude confirmatory tests like the LIA test from the current diagnostic HIV algorithm and replace it with rapid HIV-1 and HIV-2 confirmatory immunochromotographic tests.Keywords: HIV, AIDS, HIV-2

Problems encountered in conventional HIV 1/2 Algorithms: lack of necessity for immunoblot assays to confirm repeated ELISA reactive results

Background: The use of conventional (serologically based) HIV 1/2 diagnostic algorithms has become controversial in recent years. Objectives: Sera from patients who underwent verification tests were evaluated because repeated ELISA-reactive results demonstrated a HIV1+HIV2 positive band pattern. Methods: The line immunoassay (LIA) test was used for repeated HIV enzyme immunoassays (EIA)-reactive sera in patients at three centers. The Bio-Rad Geenius\u2122 HIV 1/2 and the HIV-1 RNA tests were used. HIV-1 and RNA HIV-2 were investigated using PCR. Results: LIA was used to evaluate 3,224 out of 10,591 samples with repeated ELISA reactivity (30%). We found that 32 (1%) of the sera, along with HIV1 bands and HIV2 gp36 bands, were positive. Only 28 of the 32 verified serum samples with gp36 bands were repeated, and no gp36 band positivity was detected using the Bio-Rad Geenius\u2122 HIV-1/2 confirmatory assay in these serum samples. The HIV-2 proviral DNAs were also negative. Therefore, we excluded the possibility of HIV1+2 co-infection. All samples from the 32 patients were positive for HIV-1 RNA. Conclusion: Our findings highlight the need to exclude confirmatory tests like the LIA test from the current diagnostic HIV algorithm and replace it with rapid HIV-1 and HIV-2 confirmatory immunochromotographic tests

Diagnosis of comorbid migraine without aura in patients with idiopathic/genetic epilepsy based on the gray zone approach to the International Classification of Headache Disorders 3 criteria

BackgroundMigraine without aura (MwoA) is a very frequent and remarkable comorbidity in patients with idiopathic/genetic epilepsy (I/GE). Frequently in clinical practice, diagnosis of MwoA may be challenging despite the guidance of current diagnostic criteria of the International Classification of Headache Disorders 3 (ICHD-3). In this study, we aimed to disclose the diagnostic gaps in the diagnosis of comorbid MwoA, using a zone concept, in patients with I/GEs with headaches who were diagnosed by an experienced headache expert.MethodsIn this multicenter study including 809 consecutive patients with a diagnosis of I/GE with or without headache, 163 patients who were diagnosed by an experienced headache expert as having a comorbid MwoA were reevaluated. Eligible patients were divided into three subgroups, namely, full diagnosis, zone I, and zone II according to their status of fulfilling the ICHD-3 criteria. A Classification and Regression Tree (CART) analysis was performed to bring out the meaningful predictors when evaluating patients with I/GEs for MwoA comorbidity, using the variables that were significant in the univariate analysis.ResultsLonger headache duration (&lt;4 h) followed by throbbing pain, higher visual analog scale (VAS) scores, increase of pain by physical activity, nausea/vomiting, and photophobia and/or phonophobia are the main distinguishing clinical characteristics of comorbid MwoA in patients with I/GE, for being classified in the full diagnosis group. Despite being not a part of the main ICHD-3 criteria, the presence of associated symptoms mainly osmophobia and also vertigo/dizziness had the distinguishing capability of being classified into zone subgroups. The most common epilepsy syndromes fulfilling full diagnosis criteria (n = 62) in the CART analysis were 48.39% Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy followed by 25.81% epilepsy with generalized tonic-clonic seizures alone.ConclusionLonger headache duration, throbbing pain, increase of pain by physical activity, photophobia and/or phonophobia, presence of vertigo/dizziness, osmophobia, and higher VAS scores are the main supportive associated factors when applying the ICHD-3 criteria for the comorbid MwoA diagnosis in patients with I/GEs. Evaluating these characteristics could be helpful to close the diagnostic gaps in everyday clinical practice and fasten the diagnostic process of comorbid MwoA in patients with I/GEs

NRF2 mRNA expression in spermatozoa in men with low sperm motility

Yüksek Lisans TeziErkek faktörü, infertilite için önemli bir etiyolojik sebep olarak karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Erkek infertilitesi için bilinen sebeplerin dışında son dönemde ilgi çeken bir yenisi eklenmiştir; oksidatif stres. Vücuttaki antioksidanlar ve reaktif oksijen türleri (ROT) arasındaki dengesizlik sonucu ortaya çıkan oksidatif stres, spermlere zarar vermekte ve infertiliteye sebep olabilmektedir. Oksidatif strese karşı önemli hücresel savunma mekanizmalarından biri transkripsiyon faktörü nükleer faktör eritroid 2 (NF-E2) ilişkili faktör 2 (NRF2)'dir. NRF2, ROT'a karşı koruma için önemli olan antioksidan enzimleri kodlayan genlerin bazal ve indüklenebilir transkripsiyonunu düzenlemektedir. Antioksidan enzimler insan spermatogenezisinde önemli rol oynamaktadır. İnsan seminal plazma ve spermatozoada bulunan süperoksit dismutaz (SOD) önemli antioksidan enzimlerden biridir. Çalışmamıza 41 asthenozoospermik ve oligoasthenozoospermik olgudan oluşan çalışma grubu ile 48 sağlıklı bireyden oluşan normozoospermik kontrol gurubu dahil edildi. Bu çalışmada asthenozoospermi ve oligoasthenozoospermi olgularında, spermatogenez için önemli olduğu bilinen NRF2 antioksidan genin mRNA ekspresyon düzeyinin ve erkek üreme sisteminde önemli bir antioksidan enzim olan seminal plazma SOD aktivitesinin sperm fonksiyonları ile olan ilişkisinin araştırılması amaçlandı. Olguların spermatozoalarında NRF2 antioksidan genin mRNA ekspresyon düzeyi için kantitatif real-time ters transkriptaz polimeraz zincir reaksiyonu ve seminal plazma SOD aktivitesi için ise kolorimetrik yöntem kullanıldı. Araştırmamız sonucunda, çalışma grubunun NRF2 antioksidan genin mRNA ekspresyon düzeyi kontrol grubu ile istatistiksel olarak karşılaştırıldığında anlamlı bir fark saptanmadı (P=0.633). Ayrıca NRF2 mRNA ekspresyon düzeyinin spesifik sperm fonksiyon parametreleri (P>0.05) ve seminal plazma SOD aktivitesi ile aralarında bir ilişki olmadığı belirlendi (P=0.533). Çalışma grubunun seminal plazma SOD aktivitesi kontrol grubu ile kıyaslandığında anlamlı bir fark saptanmadığını gözlemledik (P=0.502). Seminal plazma SOD aktivitesinin spesifik sperm fonksiyon parametreleri ile de aralarında bir ilişki olmadığı (P>0.05) saptandı. Bu nedenle, verilerimiz NRF2 mRNA ekspresyonunun ve seminal plazma SOD aktivitesinin düşük sperm hareketliliği olan erkeklerde anlamlı bir fark göstermediğini ve spesifik sperm fonksiyon parametreleri ile ilişkili olmadığını göstermektedir. Bu veriler, insan spermatogenezisinde önemli rol oynadığı düşünülen NRF2 geninin erkek infertilitesi ile ilişkili ROT'un tahmin edilmesinde ve ayrıca SOD aktivitesinin sperm fertilizasyon potansiyelini belirlemede yeterli bir belirteç olarak kullanılmasının uygun olmadığını düşündürdü. Ancak, çalışmamızda çalışma ve kontrol grubu sınırlı sayıda ele alındı. Daha geniş bir populasyonda daha fazla araştırma yapılmasının uygun olacağı düşünüldü.The most essential etiology that is accepted for infertility is the male factor. The common causes of male infertility factor has been added a new interesting cause in a list which is called: oxidative stress. It is usually caused by imbalance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidants in the metabolism. Oxidative stress may disturb sperm and causes infertility. The transcription factor nuclear factor erythroid 2 (NF-E2) related factor 2 (NRF2) is one of the most important cellular defense mechanisms against oxidative stress. NRF2 regulates basal and inducible transcription of genes encoding antioxidant enzymes important for the protection against ROS. The antioxidant enzymes play an important role in spermatogenesis. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is one of the most important antioxidant enzyme found in human seminal plasma and spermatozoa. In this study included 41 patients with asthenozoospermia and oligoasthenozoospermia and also 48 healthy individuals with normozoospermia. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of mRNA expression of antioxidant gene Nfr2 that is known to be important for spermatogenesis and also the seminal plasma SOD activity which is an important antioxidant enzymes in the male reproductive system effect on sperm functions in asthenozoospermia and oligoasthenozoospermia cases. In this study, quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was used for detecting mRNA expression levels of the NRF2 antioxidant gene in ejaculated spermatozoa and colorimetric method was also used to evaluate seminal plasma SOD activity. There was no significant difference in the mRNA expression level of the NRF2 antioxidant gene between the patient group and the control group (P=0.633). There was also no relationship detected between NRF2 mRNA expression level and specific sperm function parameters (P>0.05). In addition, there was no relationship between NRF2 mRNA expression level and seminal plazma SOD activity (P=0.553). We observed that there was no difference in seminal plasma SOD activity levels between the control group and the patient group (P=0.502). There also was no relationship between seminal plasma SOD activity and specific sperm function parameters (P>0.05). Therefore, these data indicated that NRF2 mRNA expression level and seminal plasma SOD activity did not show any significant difference in men with low sperm motility and that these factors were not related to specific sperm function parameters. As a result, it is thought that the NRF2 gene, which plays an important role in human spermatogenesis, cannot be suitable for use as a marker in the prediction of ROS related male infertility. In addition, this study showed that the SOD activity is not a sufficient marker to determine sperm fertilization potential. However, the patient and control groups were limited in this study. More studies in a larger population are required

The Known Genetic Defects in Common Variable İmmunodeficiency

Yaygın değişken immünyetmezlik (YDİY), immünyetmezlik hastalıklarının nispeten sık görülen bir şekli olup, immünglobulin üretiminde eksiklik ve primer antikor yetmezliği ile giden heterojen bir hastalık grubudur. Son yıllarda, tanımlanan çeşitli monogenik defektlerin YDİY'in klinik ve laboratuvar bulgularındaki değişkenliği belirlediği ve immünopatogenezinde rol oynadığı anlaşılmıştır. Bu derlemede, YDİY ile ilişkili olan ICOS (inducible co-stimulator), TACI (transmembrane activator and calcium-modulator and cyclophilin ligand interactor), CD19, MSH5 (MutS Homologue 5 Mutations), BAFF-R (B cell activating factor receptor), CD20, CD81, CD21, LRBA (lipopolysaccharide-responsive beige-like anchor) molekül defektleri ve bunların genetik temellerinin gözden geçirilmesi amaçlanmıştır.Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is a relatively common form of immunodeficiency disorders which constitutes a mixed group of heterogeneous conditions linked by lack of immune globulin production and primary antibody failure. Recently, it is understood that various monogenic defects determine the variability in phenotype and have roles in the immunopathogenesis of CVID. In this review, the molecular defects related to CVID which are ICOS (inducible co-stimulator), TACI (transmembrane activator and calcium-modulator and cyclophilin ligand interactor), CD19, MSH5 (MutS Homologue 5 Mutations), BAFF-R (B cell activating factor receptor), CD20, CD81, CD21, LRBA (lipopolysaccharide-responsive beige-like anchor), and their genetic basis were aimed to be reviewed

FIXED POINTS OF (alpha, phi)-MEIR-KEELER CONTRACTIVE MAPPINGS IN GENERALIZED RECTANGULAR b-METRIC SPACES

The main objective of this work is to develop fixed point results for (alpha, phi)-Meir-Keeler contractive mappings in generalized rectangular b-metric spaces and to investigate the uniqueness of fixed points.WOS:00057716000000

Farklı içecekler içerisinde bekletilen estetik restoratif materyallerin ışık geçirgenliklerinin değerlendirilmesi

Amaç: Restoratif materyallerin doğal görünümü için ışık geçirgenliği çok önemli faktörlerden bir tanesidir. Bu çalışmanın amacı farklı solüsyonlarda bekletilen dental materyallerin ışıkgeçirgenliği değişimlerinin değerlendirilmesidi

The value of F-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography in carcinoma of an unknown primary: diagnosis and follow-up

WOS: 000272915000010PubMed ID: 19952921Background The management of the patients with carcinoma of an unknown primary represents a difficult challenge in oncology. F-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG PET/CT) has provided new insights in the diagnosis, staging, and follow-up of oncological patients. Aim This study aimed to investigate the value of FDG PET/CT in clarifying the primary site in our patients with histologically proven tumor metastasis (HPM) or with a high clinical suspicion of malignancy, and the clinical impact of this technique on the management of these patients. Methods In total 94 patients from two centers underwent FDG PET/CT imaging; 78 patients with HPIVI and 16 patients with a clinical suspicion of malignancy. The histology and/or follow-up data were used as the gold standard. Hypermetabolic findings at the site of the pathological CT changes or at physiological FDG uptake sites were the criteria for malignancy. PET/CT findings were analyzed for the identification of the primary tumor site, for the relationship with survival, and also for the effect in chemotherapy monitoring. Results Primary malignancy was discovered in 53 of 90 patients (59%) histologically and 37 (41%) patients' primary tumor sites were not found during the study period. Amongst 90 patients, five (6%) were normal on FDG PET/CT. Of 85 patients (94%) with pathological findings on FDG PET/CT, 27 patients (32%) had solitary and 58 (68%) patients had multiple organs affected. Regarding the whole study population, a sensitivity of 74% and a specificity of 78% were calculated for FDG PET/CT imaging. Regarding the patients with HPM, the sensitivity and specificity values were 84 and 81%, respectively. The mean survival time of the patients with disseminated disease was significantly shorter than those of the patients with single or no lesion (13.44 +/- 1.61, 20.98 +/- 2.0 and 26.67 +/- 2.73 months, respectively, P = 0.014). In seven of eight patients, follow-up FDG PET/CT scans effectively monitored the patients' therapies. Conclusion Whole-body FDG PET/CT has to be considered a useful method, especially in an early phase of the diagnostic workup of patients with carcinoma of an unknown primary syndrome, to optimize the management. Nucl Med Commun 31:59-66 (C) 2010 Wolters Kluwer Health vertical bar Lippincott Williams & Wilkins