Can Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio, Monocyte-to-Lymphocyte Ratio, and Platelet-to-Lymphocyte Ratio at Day +100 be used as a prognostic marker in Multiple Myeloma patients with autologous transplantation?

Background: Recent reports have showed that neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR) are predictors of progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in many types of cancer. This study evaluates the predictive value of NLR, MLR, and PLR for survival in MM patients treated with to ASCT.

Methods: A set of data consisting of 150 patients who underwent autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) for MM was collected retrospectively.

Contained Power Morcellation Versus Transvaginal Extraction for Retrieval of Laparoscopically Removed Myomas: A Comparison of Perioperative Outcomes.

Objective: To evaluate clinical and operative outcomes of transvaginal extraction (TVE) and contained power morcellation (CPM) for myoma retrieval after laparoscopic myomectomy.

Materials And Methods: Prospective data from 35 consecutive cases using CPM were compared with retrospective data of all cases using TVE from December 2014 to January 2017. Patients were matched 1:1 based on myoma diameter.

Unidirectional barbed suture for vaginal cuff closure without backward stitch in total laparoscopic hysterectomy.

Aim: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of unidirectional barbed suture technique for vaginal cuff closure in total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH).

Methods: In a retrospective chart review, data were analyzed from 165 patients who underwent a TLH with an unidirectional barbed suture technique for vaginal cuff closure from January 2012 to June 2016 at tertiary-care university-based teaching hospital and academic affiliated hospital. Vaginal cuff was closed by single layer 3/0 V-Loc unidirectional 9″, 180 day Absorbable Wound Closure Device (Covidien Healthcare, Mansfield, MA) and the suture was not stitched backward to secure distal end.

Whole Exome Sequencing in Early-onset Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

Objective: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multisystem autoimmune disorder. Early-onset, familial, and/or syndromic SLE may reveal monogenic pathologies. The aim of this study was to examine genetic associations in patients with early-onset or familial SLE.

Neurobehavioral effects of long-term maternal fructose intake in rat offspring.

Background: Previous studies have indicated an association between maternal metabolic conditions and general developmental disturbances of the offspring.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the influence of long-term maternal fructose intake during gestation and lactation on neurobehavioral development of rat offspring.

Methods: Twelve female Sprague Dawley rats were received either 30% fructose enriched water (n = 6) or regular tap water (control, n = 6) for 12 weeks.

Biallelic missense variants in ZBTB11 can cause intellectual disability in humans.

Exploring genes and pathways underlying intellectual disability (ID) provides insight into brain development and function, clarifying the complex puzzle of how cognition develops. As part of ongoing systematic studies to identify candidate ID genes, linkage analysis and next-generation sequencing revealed Zinc Finger and BTB Domain Containing 11 (ZBTB11) as a novel candidate ID gene. ZBTB11 encodes a little-studied transcription regulator, and the two identified missense variants in this study are predicted to disrupt canonical Zn2+-binding residues of its C2H2 zinc finger domain, leading to possible altered DNA binding.

Highly selective SGLT2 inhibitor dapagliflozin reduces seizure activity in pentylenetetrazol-induced murine model of epilepsy.

Background: Worldwide, over 10 million individuals suffer from drug-resistant epilepsy. New therapeutic strategies are needed to address this debilitating disease. Inhibition of sodium-glucose linked transporters (SGLTs), which are variably expressed in the brain, has been demonstrated to reduce seizure activity in murine models of epilepsy.

The transcription factor Grainy head primes epithelial enhancers for spatiotemporal activation by displacing nucleosomes.

Transcriptional enhancers function as docking platforms for combinations of transcription factors (TFs) to control gene expression. How enhancer sequences determine nucleosome occupancy, TF recruitment and transcriptional activation in vivo remains unclear. Using ATAC-seq across a panel of Drosophila inbred strains, we found that SNPs affecting binding sites of the TF Grainy head (Grh) causally determine the accessibility of epithelial enhancers.

Is Parenteral Levothyroxine Therapy Safe in Intractable Hypothyroidism?

Case: A 32-year old woman was admitted to the hospital due to intractable hypothyroidism refractory to high dose of oral l-thyroxine therapy. She underwent total thyroidectomy and radioactive iodine therapy due to papillary thyroid cancer. After excluding poor adherence to therapy and malabsorption, levothyroxine absorption test was performed.

Clermont-Ferrand versus Vectec uterine manipulator for total laparoscopic hysterectomy.

Objective: To compare the operation time and performance of two uterine manipulators used for total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH).

Material And Methods: Design: Retrospective cohort analysis. Design classification: Canadian Task Force Classification II-2.

Evaluation of long-term effects of artificial sweeteners on rat brain: a biochemical, behavioral, and histological study.

The aim of the present study was to compare the effects of artificial sweeteners (aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose) on rat brain. Twenty-four adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were included in the study. The control group (n = 6) received regular tap water, whereas other groups received aspartame (3 mg/kg/day, n = 6,) or saccharin (3 mg/kg/day, n = 6) or sucralose (1.

Effect of the allopregnanolone and allotetrahydrodeoxycorticosteron on spike-wave discharges in the EEG of absence epilepsy rat models.

Absence epilepsy is a generalized nonconvulsive type of epilepsy that is characterized by spike-wave discharges (SWD) with a frequency of 2.5-4 Hz in the EEG. The activation of the GABAergic system in central nervous system suppresses convulsive seizures but exacerbates absence seizures.

Endogenous c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) activity marks the boundary between normal and malignant granulosa cells.

Granulosa cell tumor of the ovary (GCT) is a very rare tumor, accounting for only 2% of all ovarian tumors. It originates from sex cords in the ovary and can be divided into adult (95%) and juvenile (5%) types based on histologic findings. To date, no clear etiologic process has been identified other than a missense point mutation in the FOXL2 gene.

Intensive care unit nurses' knowledge of medication administration via enteral tubes.

Background: Medication administration via enteral tubes is a complex and key application for which nurses in intensive care units are responsible.

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate drug administrations via enteral tubes by nurses in intensive care units.

Methods: This research was conducted using a descriptive and cross-sectional research design.

Parathyroid hormone in washout fluid seems to be superior to cytology for localization of the lesion in MIBI-negative patients with primary hyperparathyroidism.

Background/aim: Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is characterized by increased calcium (Ca) and parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels. Surgical removal of the culprit hyperfunctioning parathyroid gland is the preferred treatment. In this study, we aimed to determine whether PTH-washout or cytological examination of suspicious lesions was superior in MIBI-negative patients diagnosed with PHPT.

Epigenotype and phenotype correlations in patients with Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome.

Bilgin B, Kabaçam S, Taşkıran E, Şimşek-Kiper PÖ, Alanay Y, Boduroğlu K, Utine GE. Epigenotype and phenotype correlations in patients with Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome. Turk J Pediatr 2018; 60: 506-513.

Comparison of Hand Function Between Children With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus and Children Without Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus.

Purpose: This study compared the hand function of children between the ages of 8 and 12 years with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) with that of children without diabetes.

Methods: The Modified Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function Test and the Purdue Pegboard Test were used to assess hand function. The Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.

Inhibitory effects of oxytocin and oxytocin receptor antagonist atosiban on the activities of carbonic anhydrase and acetylcholinesterase enzymes in the liver and kidney tissues of rats.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of oxytocin (OT), atosiban, which is an OT receptor antagonist, and OT-atosiban chemicals injected to rats on the activities of carbonic anhydrase (CA) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) enzymes in liver and kidney tissues of rats. For this purpose, four different groups, each consisting of six rats (n = 6), were formed (control group, OT administered group, atosiban administered group, and both OT and atosiban administered group). The rats were necropsied 60 min after intraperitoneal injection of chemicals into the rats.

Human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells secrete endocannabinoids that stimulate in vitro hematopoietic stem cell migration effectively comparable to beta-adrenergic stimulation.

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) is a well-known hematopoietic stem cell (HSC)-mobilizing agent used in both allogeneic and autologous transplantation. However, a proportion of patients or healthy donors fail to mobilize a sufficient number of cells. New mobilization agents are therefore needed.

Homozygous indel mutation in CDH11 as the probable cause of Elsahy-Waters syndrome.

Two sisters from a consanguineous couple were seen in genetics department for facial dysmorphic features and glaucoma. They both had broad foreheads, hypertelorism, megalocorneas, thick eyebrows with synophrys, flat malar regions, broad and bulbous noses, and mild prognathism. Both had glaucoma, younger one also had cataracts and phthisis bulbi.

Effects of extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields on morphine analgesia and tolerance in rats.

Several studies have demonstrated that the electromagnetic fields produce analgesic activity. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic fields (EMF) on morphine analgesia and tolerance in rats. In the study, 78 adult male Wistar albino rats (approximately 240 ± 12 g) were used.

Intraoperative endoscopic ultrasound guidance for laparoscopic excision of invisible symptomatic deep intramural myomas.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of intraoperative endoscopic ultrasound guidance for excision of symptomatic deep intramural myomas that are not otherwise visible at laparoscopy. Seventeen patients with symptomatic deep intramural myomas who underwent laparoscopic myomectomy with intraoperative endoscopic ultrasound guidance were followed up and reported. All myomas were removed successfully.