Circulating matrix metalloproteinases and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases levels in pediatric patients with congenital heart disease: Relationship to cardiac functions.

Objective: The pathological effects of matrix metalloproteinases and their tissue inhibitors in cardiovascular diseases are of considerable interest. In our study, we aimed to determine and evaluate the potential significance of circulating matrix metalloproteinases-2 and 9, tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases-1 and 2 levels in four patient subgroup of pediatric cardiology field and expose pathophysiologic differences between these groups.

Methods: Eighty-seven patients with the diagnosis of congenital heart disease and 47 healthy controls were enrolled in the study.

The effect of glycemic control on CEA, CA 19-9, amylase and lipase levels.

Background: Diabetes mellitus is closely related to pancreas cancer. In this study we aimed to investigate the effect of hyperglycemia on tumor and inflammation markers, as well as pancreatic exocrine functions.

Methods: A total of 98 consecutive diabetic patients with poor glycemic control, and 50 healthy controls were included in the study.

The association of vitamin D deficiency with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Objective: Vitamin D deficiency has been related to diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia and peripheral vascular disease. In this study, we aimed to investigate the role of vitamin D status in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Methods: We included 211 consecutive subjects to examine the presence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Effect of clozapine on white matter integrity in patients with schizophrenia: a diffusion tensor imaging study.

Several diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies have reported disturbed white matter integrity in various brain regions in patients with schizophrenia, whereas only a few studied the effect of antipsychotics on DTI measures. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of 12 weeks of clozapine treatment on DTI findings in patients with schizophrenia, and to compare the findings with those in unaffected controls. The study included 16 patients with schizophrenia who were assessed with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, a neurocognitive test battery, and DTI at baseline and 12 weeks after the initiation of clozapine treatment.

Biocompatibility of glass ionomer cements with and without chlorhexidine.

Objective: The aim of the present study is to evaluate the biocompatibility of glass ionomer cements (GICs) with and without chlorhexidine (CHX) as well as coated with varnish or not using in vitro cytotoxicity test.

Materials And Methods: Biocompatibility of Fuji IX, Fuji IX with varnish, Fuji IX with 1% CHX diacetate and Fuji IX with 1% CHX diacetate with varnish was determined with in vitro cytotoxicity assay by using L929 mouse connective tissue fibroblasts. After 72 h, cell viabilities were evaluated by MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide] assay to determine the effects of the cements on the mitochondrial function and microscopic images were taken by scanning electron microscopy.

Decreased parasympathetic activity in patients with functional dyspepsia.

Objective: Functional dyspepsia (FD) can be described as the presence of symptoms such as bothersome postprandial fullness, early satiation, epigastric pain, and burning without any evidence of structural disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the autonomic nervous system using heart rate variability (HRV) in patients with postprandial distress syndrome and epigastric pain syndrome.

Patients And Methods: The study population included 64 consecutive patients with a diagnosis of FD and 62 age-matched and sex-matched healthy control individuals with no clinical evidence of gastrointestinal, systemic, or cardiovascular diseases.

High-sensitivity C-reactive protein is a strong predictor of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Background/aims: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a clinical term that covers simple fatty liver (SFL) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) is a marker of inflammation. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between steatosis and hs-CRP in patients with ultrasonographically verified NAFLD.

Methodology: We examined 296 consecutive patients.

Latex allergy on anaesthesiologist and anaesthesia managements: are the health workers high risk patients?

Anaphylaxis is defined as a severe, life threating, generalized or systemic hypersensitivity reaction. The most common agent involved in intraoperative anaphylactic reactions is muscle relaxant (61-70%); natural rubber latex (NRL) is the second most implicated agent and the incidence of latex-related anaphylactic reactions is increasing despite increasing awareness and preventive measures taken. Latex is a ubiquitous part of life today.

Psychometric evaluation of the Tilburg Pregnancy Distress Scale-Turkish version (TPDS-T).

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the validity and reliability of the Tilburg Pregnancy Distress Scale-Turkish version (TPDS-T).

Methods: The sample consisted of 214 healthy pregnant women in maternity clinics in an urban center in western Turkey. The instruments included a demographic questionnaire and TPDS-T.

Arteries get confused: an arch variation.

We present a case of an arch anomaly in a 54-year-old female who was admitted to our hospital for magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) to evaluate her right-sided numbness. MRA revealed a truncus bicaroticus, right common carotid artery (CCA) originating right vertebral artery, right subclavian artery arising as the final branch of the descending aortic arch and arch originating left vertebral artery. The possible embryologic mechanism and clinical importance of this previously unreported variant are reviewed.

Use of fluorescent-based amplified fragment length polymorphism to resolve phylogenetic relationships of Colchicum species from Turkey.

The study of phylogenetic relationships between 14 Colchicum taxa spread throughout Turkey was performed using a fluorescent-based amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) technique. Five primer pair combinations were used in AFLP reactions. The data set was analyzed statistically using the NTSYS 2.

Assessment of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-I) level in patients with rheumatic mitral stenosis.

Objectives: Insulin-like growth factor-1 may serve some regulatory function in the immune system. Rheumatic mitral stenosis is related to autoimmune heart valve damage after streptococcal infection. The aim of this study was to assess the level of insulin-like growth factor-1 and its correlation with the Wilkins score in patients with rheumatic mitral stenosis.

Intrathecal bupivacaine or levobupivacaine: which should be used for elderly patients?

Objectives: To compare two intrathecal anaesthetics, bupivacaine and levobupivacaine, for their effects on motor and sensory blockade and haemodynamics in patients aged ≥ 65 years undergoing transurethral resection of the prostate (TUR-P) or transurethral resection of the urinary bladder (TUR-M).

Methods: Patients scheduled to undergo TUR-P or TUR-M were randomized to receive either 3 ml (15 mg) 0.5% isobaric levobupivacaine (group L) or 3 ml (15 mg) of 0.

A new approach to an old hypothesis; phototherapy does not affect ductal patency via PGE2 and PGI2.

Objective: Numerous investigations have demonstrated that phototherapy (PT) directly or indirectly causes ductal patency by photorelaxation effect. In this observational study, we aimed to assess the effect of PT on the incidence of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) together with prostaglandins (PGE2) and (PGI2) levels in preterm infants.

Methods: Preterm infants whose gestational age<34 weeks and who required PT in the first 3 d of life were enrolled in this prospective study.

Effect of nerve localization using a pen device on the success of axillary brachial plexus block.

Objective: The effectiveness of axillary brachial plexus block (ABPB) performed using peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) alone was compared with PNS preceded by nerve localization using a pen device, enabling nerve mapping without puncturing the skin.

Methods: Patients undergoing unilateral hand or forearm surgery suitable for ABPB were randomly assigned to receive either PNS alone (pen - group) or PNS preceded by nerve localization using a pen device (pen + group). Parameters related to the block procedure and patient comfort were assessed.

Microwave method for reference-plane-invariant and thickness-independent permittivity determination of liquid materials.

An attractive transmission-reflection method based on reference-plane invariant and thickness-independent expressions has been proposed for accurate and unique retrieval of complex permittivity of dielectric liquid samples. The method uses both branch-index-independent expressions and a restricted solution set for determining unique and fast complex permittivities. A 2D graphical method has been applied to demonstrate the operation and validation of the proposed method.

Paraneoplastic mononeuritis multiplex as a presenting feature of adenocarcinoma of the lung.

Paraneoplastic neurologic syndromes are observed in less than 0.1% of cancer patients. Neurologic syndromes in lung cancer include Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome, polyneuropathy, cerebellar degeneration, and rarely mononeuritis multiplex.

Wireless displacement sensing enabled by metamaterial probes for remote structural health monitoring.

We propose and demonstrate a wireless, passive, metamaterial-based sensor that allows for remotely monitoring submicron displacements over millimeter ranges. The sensor comprises a probe made of multiple nested split ring resonators (NSRRs) in a double-comb architecture coupled to an external antenna in its near-field. In operation, the sensor detects displacement of a structure onto which the NSRR probe is attached by telemetrically tracking the shift in its local frequency peaks.

Language-dependent performance on the letter fluency task in patients with schizophrenia.

Two types of verbal fluency tasks (letter fluency task; LFT, category fluency task; CFT) have been widely used to assess cognitive function in people with psychiatric diseases including schizophrenia. The task demand of the LFT is considered to vary across languages, as the cognitive process largely relies on sound and writing systems. Specifically, a sound unit for a letter (s) and a manner of association between them are assumed to be related with the performance.

Brain metastases in HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer patients who received chemotherapy with or without trastuzumab.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess whether trastuzumab usage is a risk factor for the development of brain metastasis (BM) in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC) and factors affecting survival after development of BM.

Materials And Methods: One hundred thirty-two patients treated with (treatment group) or without trastuzumab (control group) with brain metastasis were retrospectively analyzed.

Results: Ninety of the 132 HER2-positive MBC patients were in the treatment group and 42 were in the control group.

Follow up of a family with asymptomatic compound long QT syndrome mutations.

Long QT syndromes (LQTS) are a cause of syncope and sudden death and present as a long QT interval on the surface ECG. The mortality of the condition may be quite variable among affected individuals. Hundreds of mutations in more than ten genes are identified as responsible for almost all patients with LQTS.

Plasma fetuin-A levels are reduced in patients with hypothyroidism.

Objective: To determine plasma fetuin-A levels in hypothyroid patients before and after treatment with l-thyroxine (T4) and to determine the relation between plasma fetuin-A levels with cardiovascular risk factors.

Design: A prospective, controlled, single-blind study.

Methods: Forty-four treatment-naive female patients diagnosed with hypothyroidism and 39 age- and sex-matched control subjects were enrolled.

Osteomyelitis or Charcot neuro-osteoarthropathy? Differentiating these disorders in diabetic patients with a foot problem.

Both osteomyelitis and Charcot neuro-osteoarthropathy (CN) are potentially limb-threatening complications of diabetic neuropathy, but they require quite different treatments. Almost all bone infections in the diabetic foot originate from an infected foot ulcer while diabetic osteoarthropathy is a non-infectious process in which peripheral neuropathy plays the critical role. Differentiating between diabetic foot osteomyelitis and CN requires careful evaluation of the patient, including the medical history, physical examination, selected laboratory findings, and imaging studies.