Probiotic potential and wound-healing activity of Pediococcus pentosaceus strain AF2 isolated from Herniaria glabra L. which is traditionally used to make yogurt.

Probiotics have been a part of our lives for centuries, primarily through fermented foods. They find applications in various fields such as food, healthcare, and agriculture. Nowadays, their utilization is expanding, highlighting the importance of discovering new bacterial strains with probiotic properties suitable for diverse applications.

Effect of pulse methylprednisolone on prognosis in SARS-CoV-2 patients with severe pneumonia.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of pulse methylprednisolone treatment on prognosis in severe COVID-19 pneumonia.

Patients And Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 128 patients hospitalized in our clinic for severe COVID-19 between March 2020 and February 2021. Standard treatment (plaquenil, favipravir, low molecular weight heparin, and antibiotics when necessary) was given to the patients in accordance with the Turkish Ministry of Health guidelines.

First isolation of a probiotic candidate Enterococcus mundtii from Herniaria glabra L. and evaluation of its wound healing activity.

In this study focused on probiotic properties of bacterium isolated from Herniaria glabra L. is a medicinal plant. The bacterium was isolated from H.

Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on smoking habits in a tertiary hospital.

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify changes in smoking behaviors along with the reasons thereof, 1 year after the pandemic started. Alterations in the smoking behavior of patients were investigated in the study.

Patients And Methods: Patients admitted to our Smoking Cessation Outpatient Clinic between March 1st, 2019, and March 1st, 2020, and registered in the Tobacco Addiction Treatment Monitoring System (TUBATIS) were evaluated.

Can FVC/DLCO predict pulmonary hypertension in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease?

Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate pulmonary function parameters in patients who did and did not have pulmonary hypertension, and the roles of forced vital capacity (FVC)/diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide (DLCO) and FVC/DLCO/alveolar volume (VA) values in patients with COPD accompanied by pulmonary hypertension.

Patients And Methods: This study included patients with stable and advanced COPD (groups C and D), who presented to the Chest Diseases outpatient clinic at our hospital. Parameters of age and sex, use of long-term oxygen therapy at home, and pulmonary function parameters were evaluated.

Comparison of clinical and radiological characteristics of COVID-19 patients with and without pneumothorax and/or pneumediastinum.

Introduction: Pneumothorax (PTX) and pneumomediastinum (PM) are frequently encountered in patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and complicate the management of these patients. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the risk factors that cause PTX/PM complications in patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 pneumonia and the effects of these complications on the course of the disease.

Materials And Methods: A total of 503 patients with COVID-19 hospitalized in the COVID-19 ward or intensive care unit (ICU) between September 2020 and December 2020 were included in the study.

Effects of Hybrid Coaching on Middle School Teachers' Teaching Skills and Students' Academic Outcomes in General Education Settings.

We examined effects of hybrid coaching delivered face-to-face and via smartphone to train middle school general educators to use a simultaneous prompting procedure during instruction on academic core content with sixth-grade students with intellectual disability in general education classrooms. We also measured student outcomes. We used a multiple probe design across four student-teacher dyads in the study.

Comparative Analysis of Three Different Drug Distribution Schemes for Smoking Cessation.

Objective: This study aimed to compare the success rate of 3 different drug prescription policies: Free drugs with online system prescription, free drugs with doctor's prescription, and drugs paid for by patients with doctor's prescription.

Material And Methods: The effect of 2 different Ministry of Health (MoH) projects with free-of-charge and self-payment pharmacotherapies for smoking cessation were compared. Patients who completed 6 months of pharmacotherapy and follow-up were evaluated.

The relation between staging fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomog- raphy/computed tomography metabolic parameters and tumor necrosis rate in pediatric osteosarcoma patients.

Background/aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the contribution of fluorine-18 (F-18) fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging in staging of pediatric osteosarcoma patients and also to evaluate the ability of metabolic parameters from the primary tumor to predict tumor necrosis rate (TNR).

Material And Methods: F-18 FDG-PET/CT imaging was performed in staging 37 pediatric osteosarcoma patients. The metabolic pa- rameters SUVmax (maximum standardised uptake value), MTV (metabolic tumour volume), and TLG (total lesion glycolysis) were measured from the primary tumor.

Can PET-CT predict diagnostic success in ultrasonography-guided transthoracic fine needle aspiration biopsies in lung cancers?

Objective: To examine any correlations between tumor maximum standard uptake values (SUVmax) in positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) and homogeneous/heterogeneous tumor FDG uptake in PET-CT, and the diagnostic success of the procedure in thoracic ultrasonography (US)-guided transthoracic fine needle aspiration biopsy (TFNAB).

Methods: The files of patients who underwent thoracic US-guided TFNAB between 2013 and 2018 were examined. Patients who underwent thoracic US-guided TFNAB and were diagnosed as having primary lung cancer were considered as the US-TFNAB diagnostic group.

Protective effects of dantrolene and methylprednisolone against spinal cord injury-induced early oxidative damage in rabbit bladder: A comparative experimental study.

Background: Spinal cord injury (SCI) may cause dysfunction in the bladder and many distal organs due to systemic inflammatory response and oxidative stress-related injury.

Objectives: We investigated the preventive effects of dantrolene (DNT) and methylprednisolone (MP) on stress-induced tissue damage in rabbit bladder with SCI.

Material And Methods: A total of 35 rabbits were included in this study and they were divided into 5 groups: group 1 - control, group 2 - SCI only, group 3 - SCI and DNT, group 4 - SCI and MP, and group 5 - SCI and DNT+MP.

Can We Predict Bleomycin Toxicity with PET-CT?

Aim: Bleomycin is an antitumor antibiotic used successfully to treat a variety of malignancies, predominantly germ cell tumors and Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL). The major limitation of bleomycin therapy is the potential for life-threatening interstitial pulmonary fibrosis. Early identification of asymptomatic patients who may develop toxicity is important.

Ultrasonographic evaluation of lung parenchyma involvement in sarcoidosis.

Purpose: To use ultrasonography (USG) for the evaluation of lung parenchyma in patients with sarcoidosis, andto compare the USG findings with the results of a high-resolution computerized tomography (HRCT) and pulmonary function test-carbon monoxide diffusion test (PFT-DLCO), which are commonly used methods in the evaluation of parenchymal involvement in sarcoidosis.

Material And Methods: Patients with sarcoidosis and healthy controls were enrolled in the study between January 2015 and December 2017. The clinical findings, HRCT and PFT-DLCO results of all subjects were recorded, and USG findings and comet tail artifact (CTA) measurements were recorded by another pulmonologist.

Can positron emission tomography/computed tomography be predictive of diagnostic success in endobronchial biopsies performed through a fiber-optic bronchoscopy in lung cancer?

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of homogeneous/heterogeneous (necrotic) involvement and maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) value of the lesion on positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) of patients who underwent fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FOB) for prediagnosis of lung cancer and biopsy for endobronchial lesion on the diagnostic success of biopsy procedure.

Methods: Between January 2014 and December 2016, patients with final diagnosis of pulmonary malignancy as determined by FOB biopsy and patients who failed to be diagnosed by FOB biopsy and diagnosed with pulmonary malignancy by a different diagnostic method were examined. These patients were divided into two groups as those with diagnosis by FOB biopsy (Group 1) and those who failed to be diagnosed by this method and diagnosed with pulmonary malignancy by a different diagnostic method (Group 2).

A New Modality for the Diagnosis of Bleomycin-induced Toxicity: Ultrasonography.

Objective: To evaluate the role of ultrasonography (USG) in the diagnosis of bleomycin-induced pulmonary toxicity (BT).

Material And Methods: The study included patients with suspected BT during treatment with bleomycin due to various oncologic diseases between June 2015 and May 2017. The patients initially underwent clinical and high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) examinations and pulmonary function tests (PFT)-diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO), followed by registration of USG findings-number of comet tail artifact (CTA) images by a different pulmonologist.

Relationship of asymmetric dimethylarginine levels with disease severity and pulmonary hypertension in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) has emerged as a risk marker for many conditions related to pulmonary hypertension (PH); however, little is known about ADMA and symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) plasma concentrations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Our interest centers on the role of ADMA in regulation of endothelial function in COPD and secondary PH. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the serum ADMA, SDMA, and L-arginine concentrations in COPD and its association with PH.

The Effect of Boric Acid and Borax on Oxidative Stress, Inflammation, ER Stress and Apoptosis in Cisplatin Toxication and Nephrotoxicity Developing as a Result of Toxication.

The development of treatment protocols that can reduce side effects in chemotherapy applications is extremely important in terms of cancer treatment. In this context, it was aimed to investigate the effects of boric acid and borax on cisplatin toxicity (nephrotoxicity) in rats. In the experimental phase, eight groups were formed from rats.

Efficacy of safranal to cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of safranal on cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity and oxidative stress in rats. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups. The control group received physiological saline; animals in Group 2 received only safranal and in Group 3 received only cisplatin; 5 days of safranal treatment was performed following administration of cisplatin for the animals in Group 4; 5 days of safranal pretreatment was applied to the animals in Group 5 before administration of cisplatin.

Vitamin D Deficiency in Patients Referred for Evaluation of Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

Study Objectives: A recent study reported an association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and low vitamin D levels. In this study, we measured vitamin D levels in patients referred for evaluation of suspected OSA and sought to identify associated risk factors for vitamin D deficiency. Our objective was to determine whether evaluations of patients with suspected OSA should include routine screening for vitamin D deficiency.

Simultaneous Determination of Sildenafil and Tadalafil in Legal Drugs, Illicit/Counterfeit Drugs, and Wastewater Samples by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography.

A sensitive analytical method was developed for the simultaneous determination of sildenafil and tadalafil in legal drugs, illicit/counterfeit drugs, and wastewater samples. Chromatographic separation of two analytes was achieved on a C18 column with a mobile phase including 50 mM phosphate buffer at pH 6.0 and acetonitrile (35 + 65, v/v) at the flow rate of 1.

The Effect of Pulmonary Function Testing on the Success of Smoking Cessation.

Background: In several studies, low spirometric levels have been shown to increase the success rates of smoking cessation, whereas other studies have indicated that pulmonary function has no effects on quitting smoking. Given the fact that there are contradictory results on this subject, we aimed to investigate the effect of identifying airway obstruction via spirometry and its explanation to subjects on the success rate of smoking cessation in the short term.

Methods: Subjects who were admitted to the smoking cessation out-patient clinic, underwent pulmonary function tests (PFTs) and completed at least 3 months of the cessation program following their admittance were included in the study.

Can a Computer-Based Prescription of Free Medication Increase Smoking Cessation Rates Efficiently?

Objectives: In 2011, in the context of a research project, bupropion and varenicline were distributed to smoking cessation clinics by the Ministry of Health of Turkey to be prescribed free of charge by a computer-based system. In the present study, we compared smoking cessation rates between patients who were prescribed free medications during the period of the project and those who had to pay for their medication.

Material And Methods: Six hundred four patients who applied during the project period were given either bupropion or varenicline, which were prescribed using an algorithm-based computer system.

Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in Zimbabwe.

The present study examines intimate partner violence (IPV) reported by a sample of women in Zimbabwe to explore factors associated with the problem. Findings from the study indicate an important role of gender relationships in violence against women. The effects of gender inequalities on the likelihood of IPV vary with types of violence, but husband's patriarchal behaviors increase the likelihood of all forms of violence.

Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration in diagnosing intrathoracic tuberculous lymphadenitis.

Aims: Patients with suspected tuberculosis without pulmonary lesions and with intrathoracic lymphadenopathy often pose a diagnostic challenge. The aim of this study was to describe the diagnostic utility of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) in patients with isoleted intrathoracic lymphadenopathy due to tuberculosis (TB).

Materials And Methods: Cases with tuberculous lymphadenitis (TBLA) as the final diagnosis were analysed among patients in whom EBUS-TBNA had been performed.

The Effects of Babesiosis on Oxidative Stress and DNA Damage in Anatolian Black Goats Naturally Infected with Babesia ovis.

Background: A reactive oxygen and nitrogen intermediate produced during an inflammatory response is the important part of host-defense strategies of organisms to kill the parasite. However, it is not well known whether these intermediates cause DNA damage and oxidative stress in goats infected with Babesia ovis. The purpose of this study was to clarify the effects of babesiosis on basal levels of DNA damage and oxidative status of goats naturally infected with B.