Intake of divalent copper and nickel onto natural zeolite from aqueous solutions: a study in mono- and dicomponent systems.

In this study, the noncompetitive and competitive adsorption process of copper (II) and nickel (II) ions on the natural zeolite were examined in simulated wastewater in a batch system with respect to concentration, pH and temperature. Optimum pH values were found as 5,0 for adsorption of copper and nickel ions on the zeolite. The effect of initial concentration and ambient temperature on the yield of adsorption was examined at this pH value.

Inhibitory effect of adenosine on intimal hyperplasia and proliferation of smooth muscle cells in a carotid arterial anastomosis animal model.

Purpose: The effect of adenosine (9-β-0-ribifuranosyladenine) on the endothelial cell proliferation and neointimal hyperplasia is investigated in the rabbit carotid artery anastomosis model.

Methods: Twenty-eight New Zealand white rabbits were arranged in four groups of seven animals each. The right carotid arteries of each animal were transsected and re-anastomosed.

Equilibrium, hysteresis and kinetics of cadmium desorption from sodium-feldspar using rhamnolipid biosurfactant.

In this study, the sorption/desorption equilibruim and the desorption kinetics of Cd by rhamnolipid biosurfactant from Na-feldspar as a soil component were investigated. The linear, Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms adequately fitted the equilibrium sorption data with regression coefficients ranging from 0.9836 - 0.

Rupture of the tricuspid valve due to smashing the chest into the steering wheel.

A 32-year-old man was urgently referred to our hospital with severe tricuspid insufficiency following a car accident. The completely flail anterior leaflet, due to the rupture of the papillary muscles, was revealed by a two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography. In the operation, we also detected a tear on the anterior leaflet and the rupture of numerous chordae tendineae of the other leaflets.

The transseptal approach to the mitral valve during multivalvular surgery.

Aim: We investigated the short and mid-term outcome of the transseptal approach to the mitral valve during multivalvular surgery.

Methods: Within a three-year period ending in May 2010, we used the transseptal approach in performing mitral valve surgery in 62 patients. Procedures performed were: mitral valve replacement and tricuspid annuloplasty in 40 patients, both aortic and mitral valve replacement with tricuspid annuloplasty in 13 patients, mitral valve and tricuspid valve replacement in eight patients and mitral valve repair and tricuspid annuloplasty in addition to coronary artery bypass surgery in one patient.

Figure-of-eight versus prophylactic sternal weave closure of median sternotomy in diabetic obese patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting.

Background: Sternal dehiscence is a serious and potentially devastating complication after median sternotomy, especially in diabetic obese patients. The optimal technique for sternal closure is unclear in these patients.

Methods: The purpose of this prospective randomized study was to compare the incidence of sternal dehiscence after prophylactic sternal weave and figure-of-eight suturing in diabetic obese patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

Acid phosphatase production by Rhizopus delemar: a role played in the Ni(II) bioaccumulation process.

The microbial growth and activity of acid phosphatase enzyme during the growth of Rhizopus delemar in the presence or absence of Ni(II) ions were investigated. An increase in initial Ni(II) ion concentration inhibited both growth rate of R. delemar and acid phosphatase activity.

Infected giant lymphangioma circumscriptum treated with a combination therapy.

Lymphangioma circumscriptum is an uncommon benign disorder of skin and subcutaneous tissues characterized by dilated lymphatic channels. It is an uncommon vascular tumor and it rarely becomes infected. We report a 20-year-old man who had an infected giant tumor in his left thigh.

A study on the inhibition kinetics of bioaccumulation of Cu(II) and Ni(II) ions using Rhizopus delemar.

The microbial growth and simultaneous bioaccumulation of Cu(II) and Ni(II) ions during the growth of Rhizopus delemar in molasses medium was investigated in a batch system. The level of Cu(II) and Ni(II) bioaccumulation and microbial growth was dependent on pH, molasses sucrose concentration and initial Cu(II) and Ni(II) ion concentrations. An increase in initial total metal ion concentration inhibited both the growth rate of fungus and the bioaccumulation capacity.

Exploring at the molecular level the effects of blood and blood-insulin cardioplegias used during open-heart surgeries on myocardial prevention.

Aim: The aim of this study was to measure the changes in the levels of soluble adhesion molecules involved in acute inflammation during ischemia-reperfusion in adults who underwent open-heart surgery using blood and blood-insulin cardioplegia and to examine the differences in tissue damage at the molecular level as a consequence of insulin's effect on myocardial energy metabolism.

Methods: Non diabetic 36 patients were enrolled. Blood cardioplegia was used at all cases; insulin and glucose were added at the study group.

Effects of retinoic acid on compensatory lung growth.

Background: We investigated the effect of Retinoic acid in the growth of contralateral lung after pneumonectomy.

Methods: Twenty one adult male Wistar albino rats from the same colony were used. They were divided into three groups (Group A, B and C).

Insulin-blood cardioplegia decreases matrix metalloproteinase activity in ischaemia-reperfusion injury during coronary artery bypass surgery.

Reperfusion of myocardium during coronary bypass activates matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) with changes occurring in the levels of tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) in the myocardium. This study investigated the effects of insulin-blood cardioplegia on MMP activity and TIMP levels during reperfusion. Non-diabetic patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft with cardiopulmonary bypass were randomized into a control group (n = 12) or an insulin group (n = 12).

[Surgical treatment in non-small cell lung cancer invading to the chest wall (T3) and vertebra (T4)].

The involvement of the chest wall (T3) or the vertebra (T4) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is seen at a ratio between 3-8% in patient's undergone surgery. The most important factors affecting the survival in both T3 and T4 tumors are the absence of lymph node invasion and a complete resection application. Amount of 162 cases were subjected to operation due to NSCLC between January 2004-July 2006.

Cervical mediastinoscopy versus computed tomography for detecting enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes in non-cancerous lung diseases.

Cervical mediastinoscopy (CM) is considered to be the gold standard for evaluating mediastinal lymph nodes. The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic yield of computed tomography (CT) and CM for detecting enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes in non-malignant pulmonary diseases. We retrospectively investigated the correlation and differentiation between chest CT and CM findings in terms of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV), in 30 patients with granulomatous lung disease diagnosed by CM and isolated enlarged lymph nodes seen on CT scans.

Mutation analysis of the Vangl2 coding region revealed no common cause for Tetralogy of Fallot.

Vangl2 (Van Gogh-like 2) protein acts via non-canonical Wnt signalling to regulate polarized cell movements during development of the proximal outflow tract in vertebrate embryos. Recently, it has been shown that mutations of the Vangl2 gene cause aortic arch defects that are characteristic of the loop-tail (Lp) mouse and they have also became a strong candidate for causing congenital outflow tract defects in humans. Thus, in this study Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF), which comprises a group of syndromes that constitutes the most frequent cause of congenital cardiac outflow abnormalities in humans, was analysed for mutations within all coding regions of the Vangl2 gene.

Chest-wall metastasis in a patient who underwent liver transplantation due to hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma is a common malignancy. It may cause extrahepatic metastases through haematogenous or lymphatic dissemination or direct invasion. Furthermore, methods such as fine-needle aspiration biopsies performed to obtain a diagnosis or percutaneous ethanol injection and radiofrequency hyperthermia performed for treatment may also cause tumour dissemination.

Erythropoietin attenuates neuronal injury and potentiates the expression of pCREB in anterior horn after transient spinal cord ischemia in rats.

Background: Recent studies have suggested that EPO activates the CREB transcription pathway and increases BDNF expression and production, which contributes to EPO-mediated neuroprotection. We investigated whether EPO has a neuroprotective effect against ISCI in rats and examined the involvement of CREB protein phosphorylation in this process.

Methods: Spinal cord ischemia was produced by balloon occlusion of the abdominal aorta below the branching point of the left subclavian artery for 5 minutes, and rHu-EPO (1000 U/kg BW) was administered intravenously after the onset of the reperfusion.

Glutamine administration enhances the healing of lung parenchymal injuries and reduces air leakage in rats.

Beneficial effects of glutamine on wound healing are well known. Parenchymal injuries in the lung cause air leakage that resolves with wound healing. We aimed to determine the effect of glutamine on the healing of lung injuries.

Pulmonary segmental artery ratio: an alternative to the pulmonary artery index in patients with tetralogy of fallot.

The objective of this study was to determine a reliable, alternative ratio to the pulmonary artery (PA) index, which will help to estimate the adequacy of postoperative pulmonary blood flow in patients with tetralogy of Fallot. We propose the pulmonary segmental artery ratio (PSAR), which is an angiographic measure for the quantitative standardization of the total number of pulmonary segmental arteries in a patient. The expected value of the PSAR is 1 and it is constant after the 16(th) week of intrauterine life.

Intracutaneous versus transcutaneous suture techniques: comparison of sternal wound infection rates in open-heart surgery patients.

In open-heart surgery, sternal wound infection after median sternotomy is a critical complication. The intracutaneous suture is conventionally used in closing sternal incisions. In this prospective, randomized, controlled clinical trial, intracutaneous and transcutaneous suture techniques for closing the sternum were compared with respect to postoperative sternal wound infections and cosmetic results.

Cavernous sinus syndrome caused by a metastasis of a thymic carcinoid tumor.

Thymic carcinoid tumors belong to the group of mediastinal tumors, but are quite rare and usually carry a very poor prognosis. This report illustrates a case in which a thymic carcinoid tumor that had led to cavernous sinus syndrome was treated successfully. This is the first case report of a thymic carcinoid to metastasize to the cavernous sinus.

Catheter-associated recurrent intracardiac thrombosis and factor V Leiden mutation in a child with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Patients with cancer have an increased risk for thromboembolism, which might be related to several factors including central venous catheters and chemotherapeutics. Congenital prothrombotic risk factors might also contribute to thrombotic events. In this report, we present a catheter-related recurrent intracardiac thrombosis in a boy with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and factor V Leiden mutation.

Platelet scintigraphy results of heparin versus streptokinase treatment in acute deep vein thrombosis.

Objective: The aim of the study was to document the therapeutic effects and primary recanalization ratios of either streptokinase or heparin in the therapeutic process of deep vein thrombosis (DVT). The results are obtained with the help of platelet scintigraphy.

Design: The investigation was planned as a randomized, controlled and prospective study, including 20 patients within two groups.

Effects of basic fibroblast factor (bFGF) on MMP-2, TIMP-2, and type-I collagen levels in human lung carcinoma fibroblasts.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMP's) and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMP's) possess a preponderant role in the metabolism of the major extracellular matrix protein, collagen, and are thought to be important in the mechanism of tumor invasion. Lung cancer occupies the first position in mortality and the second position in incidence, among all cancers. In the present investigation, we studied the effect of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) on collagen, matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), and tissue metalloproteinase inhibitor-2 (TIMP-2) levels in normal and carcinoma lung tissue fibroblast cultures.

Early protective effects of iloprost, a stable prostacyclin analog, during spinal cord ischemia in a rabbit model.

Spinal cord ischemia may develop into paraplegia in some cases during operation of the thoracoabdominal aorta. This is attributable to the vulnerability of spinal motor neurons to ischemia. In this study, iloprost was used as an agent to decrease the severity of ischemia and reperfusion injury to the spinal cord motor neurons.