Assessment of perfluoroalkyl substances levels in tap and bottled water samples from Turkey.

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) draw considerable attention for their potential toxic effects in humans and environment. Drinking water is accepted as one of the major exposure pathways for PFASs. In this study, we measured concentrations of 10 perfluoroalkyl substances in 94 tap water samples collected in two different sampling periods (August 2017 and February 2018) from 33 provinces of Turkey, as well as in 26 different brands of plastic and glass-bottled water samples sold in supermarkets in Turkey.

Validation of the Norwegian survival prediction model in trauma (NORMIT) in Swedish trauma populations.

Background: Trauma survival prediction models can be used for quality assessment in trauma populations. The Norwegian survival prediction model in trauma (NORMIT) has been updated recently and validated internally (NORMIT 2). The aim of this observational study was to compare the accuracy of NORMIT 1 and 2 in two Swedish trauma populations.

Single-motor-unit discharge characteristics in lumbar multifidus muscle of acute low back pain patients.

Acute low back pain (ALBP) causes rapid deterioration of paraspinal muscle function. The underlying neurophysiology is poorly understood. We therefore carried out this observational study in patients with ALBP to characterize motor unit (MU) activity in deep lumbar multifidus (LM) muscle and compare with our previous findings from pain-free subjects.

Etanercept protects ovarian reserve against ischemia/reperfusion injury in a rat model.

Introduction: Etanercept has been widely used in autoimmune diseases for blocking tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), which is an inflammatory cytokine. The anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory effects of etanercept against ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury have been shown for several tissues in rat studies, but to the best of our knowledge, there are no reports on its protective effects following similar injury in ovarian tissue. The aim of this study was to investigate whether etanercept has beneficial effects on ovarian I/R injury, as well as on ovarian reserve.

Body temperature control in rats by muscle tone during rest or sleep.

Aim: To explore the role of tonic motor unit activity in body temperature control.

Methods: Motor unit activity in soleus and several other skeletal muscles was recorded electromyographically from adult rats placed in a climate chamber on a load sensitive floor, which, together with video monitoring, allowed detection of every successive period of movement and no movement.

Results: In the absence of movements during rest or sleep, motor unit activity was exclusively tonic and therefore equivalent to muscle tone as defined here.

The level of accomplishment and satisfaction in activity and participation of adults with cerebral palsy and spastic diplegia.

Background: Orthopaedic surgery is commonly performed in children with cerebral palsy (CP) and spastic diplegia to improve functional mobility. However, no research has quantified levels of accomplishment and satisfaction in daily activities and participation long-term after surgery. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate 1) the level of accomplishment and satisfaction of life habits in adults with CP, 2) whether there were differences between Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels, and 3) associations with contextual factors, functional level and frequency of pain.

Predictors of treatment outcome for youth receiving intensive residential treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Little is known about the predictors of outcome from intensive residential treatment of OCD. This study aimed to examine age, gender, and baseline OCD severity, as well as measures of comorbid anxiety and depressive, internalizing/externalizing, and inattention symptoms, as predictors of treatment outcome in adolescents receiving intensive residential treatment for OCD. The sample comprised 314 adolescents aged 13-17 years with treatment-resistant OCD and a Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale Self-Report (CY-BOCS-SR) total score ≥16.

Biphasic Release of the Alarmin High Mobility Group Box 1 Protein Early After Trauma Predicts Poor Clinical Outcome.

Objectives: The causal role of the prototype alarmin high mobility group box 1 protein in systemic inflammation and remote organ injury after trauma and shock is established in animal models but not in humans. Our aim was therefore to determine high mobility group box 1 protein concentration kinetics with high time resolution during the first hours after trauma in individual patients and investigate the association with outcome.

Design: Prospective single-center observational study.

Effect of taxifolin on oxidative gastric injury induced by celiac artery ligation in rats.

Purpose: To examine the effect of taxifolin on I/R induced gastric injury in rats using biochemical and histopatholohical methods.

Methods: Eighteen albino Wistar male rats equally grouped as; gastric I/R (I/R), 50 mg/kg taxifolin + gastric I/R (TAX+ I/R) and sham operation applied (SHAM). Ischemia induced for 1 hour, and reperfusion induced for 3 hours.

Genetic Deficiency and Biochemical Inhibition of ITK Affect Human Th17, Treg, and Innate Lymphoid Cells.

Purpose: Interleukin-2-inducible T cell kinase (ITK) is an important mediator of T cell receptor signaling. Loss of function mutations in ITK results in hypogammaglobulinemia and CD4+ T cell loss in humans, and the patients often present with EBV-associated B cell lymphoproliferative syndrome. Itk-deficient mice show loss of T cell naivety, impaired cytolytic activity of CD8+ T cells, and defects in CD4+ T cell lineage choice decisions.

The Effectiveness of a Flexible Locked Intramedullary Nail and an Anatomically Contoured Locked Plate to Treat Clavicular Shaft Fractures: A 1-Year Randomized Control Trial.

Background: Displaced and shortened clavicular shaft fractures can be treated operatively with intramedullary or extramedullary fixation. The aim of the present study was to compare the union rates and functional outcomes of displaced and/or shortened clavicular shaft fractures treated with a flexible locked intramedullary nail or with an anatomically contoured locked plate.

Methods: Seventy-two patients with acute displaced and/or shortened clavicular shaft fractures underwent randomly assigned management with either an intramedullary locked nail or an anatomically contoured locked plate.

Secretoneurin Is an Endogenous Calcium/Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase II Inhibitor That Attenuates Ca-Dependent Arrhythmia.

Background: Circulating SN (secretoneurin) concentrations are increased in patients with myocardial dysfunction and predict poor outcome. Because SN inhibits CaMKIIδ (Ca/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IIδ) activity, we hypothesized that upregulation of SN in patients protects against cardiomyocyte mechanisms of arrhythmia.

Methods: Circulating levels of SN and other biomarkers were assessed in patients with catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT; n=8) and in resuscitated patients after ventricular arrhythmia-induced cardiac arrest (n=155).

miR-29b Mediates the Chronic Inflammatory Response in Radiotherapy-Induced Vascular Disease.

As a consequence of the success of present-day cancer treatment, radiotherapy-induced vascular disease is emerging. This disease is caused by chronic inflammatory activation and is likely orchestrated in part by microRNAs. In irradiated versus nonirradiated conduit arteries from patients receiving microvascular free tissue transfer reconstructions, irradiation resulted in down-regulation of miR-29b and up-regulation of miR-146b.

Fingolimod Alters Tissue Distribution and Cytokine Production of Human and Murine Innate Lymphoid Cells.

Sphingosine-1 phosphate receptor 1 (S1PR1) is expressed by lymphocytes and regulates their egress from secondary lymphoid organs. Innate lymphoid cell (ILC) family has been expanded with the discovery of group 1, 2 and 3 ILCs, namely ILC1, ILC2 and ILC3. ILC3 and ILC1 have remarkable similarity to CD4+ helper T cell lineage members Th17 and Th1, respectively, which are important in the pathology of multiple sclerosis (MS).

Performance evaluation of the X-sight spine tracking system for abdominal tumors distal to spine: A 2D dosimetric analysis.

The X-sight spine tracking system was integrated with Cyberknife unit to deliver radiosurgery treatments for spinal tumors without fiducial placement. However the tracking system can also be used for the treatment of abdominal tumors located in a certain distance from the spine. The aim of our study is to evaluate the tracking performance of the X-sight spine system for abdominal tumors distal to spine based on the 3 factors: tumor distance from the reference vertebra, the angle of tumor with the vertebra, and the amplitude of tumor motion due to respiration.

Cost-Effectiveness Comparison of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccines in Turkish Children.

Background: The 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) is used for universal infant vaccination in Turkey.

Objectives: To assess the cost effectiveness of replacing PCV13 with pneumococcal nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae protein D conjugate vaccine (PHiD-CV).

Methods: A Markov cohort model with monthly cycles following 1 cohort of infants over a 10-year time horizon was used.

The -P1104A Autoimmune Protective Variant Limits Coordinate Signals Required to Generate Specialized T Cell Subsets.

TYK2 is a JAK family member that functions downstream of multiple cytokine receptors. Genome wide association studies have linked a SNP (rs34536443) within encoding a Proline to Alanine substitution at amino acid 1104, to protection from multiple autoimmune diseases including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and multiple sclerosis (MS). The protective role of this SNP in autoimmune pathogenesis, however, remains incompletely understood.

Acute kidney injury in trauma patients admitted to the ICU: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Purpose: To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of acute kidney injury (AKI) in trauma patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU).

Methods: We conducted a systematic literature search of studies on AKI according to RIFLE, AKIN, or KDIGO criteria in trauma patients admitted to the ICU (PROSPERO CRD42017060420). We searched PubMed, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, UpToDate, and NICE through 3 December 2018.

Three-dimensional modelling of the femur and humerus in adult male guinea pigs (guinea pig) with computed tomography and some biometric measurement values.

Background: Guinea pig is a species belonging to the Caviidae family of the Rodentia order and is frequently used in experimental studies. Biomedical imaging methods are used in the diagnosis and treatment of many diseases in medicine. Among these methods, computed tomography (CT) is one of the most important imaging methods.

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of glycopeptides bearing rare N-glycan sequences with or without bisecting GlcNAc.

N-Linked glycopeptides have highly diverse structures in nature. Herein, we describe the first synthesis of rare multi-antennary N-glycan bearing glycan chains on 6-OH of both α1,6- and α1,3-linked mannose arms. To expedite divergent generation of N-glycan structures, four orthogonal protective groups were installed at the branching points on the core tetrasaccharide, which could be removed individually without affecting one another.

Decreased mortality, laparotomy, and embolization rates for liver injuries during a 13-year period in a major Scandinavian trauma center.

Background: Although non-operative management (NOM) has become the treatment of choice in hemodynamically normal patients with liver injuries, the optimal management of Organ Injury Scale (OIS) grades 4 and 5 injuries is still controversial. Oslo University Hospital Ulleval (OUHU) has since 2008 performed angiography only with signs of bleeding. Simultaneously, damage control resuscitation was implemented.

Topical Ketoprofen Versus Placebo in Children Presenting With Ankle Sprain to the Emergency Department: A Randomized Controlled Study.

Objective: Despite the favorable data concerning topical agents use in outpatient clinics, they are not commonly in emergency departments (EDs). The present study aimed to compare the effect of 2.5% topical ketoprofen (gel form) to placebo in children presenting with ankle sprain to the ED.

Precision implantation with positional confirmation of fine-wire EMG electrodes in the deep posterior neck muscles.

Precise electrode placement is essential for obtaining useful electromyographic (EMG) recordings. Our aim was to develop a protocol for computerized-tomography (CT) guided fine-wire (FW) electrode placement that permits confirmation of the final electrode position in the deep posterior cervical multifidus (CM). FW-EMG electrodes were custom-made from three 50-µm diameter Teflon-insulated platinum/iridium wires.

The comparison of the results after spinal fusion with or without iliac screw insertion in the treatment of neuromuscular scoliosis.

Introduction: Neuromuscular scoliosis leads to a wide range of spinal disorders which disturb the musculoskeletal system. The aim of this study is to compare the clinical and radiological results of posterior spinal fusion with and without extending the instrumentation to iliac bones in treatment of neuromuscular scoliosis.

Methods: Medical records and radiographies of 36 patients with neuromuscular scoliosis who underwent posterior instrumentation between 2011 and 2015 were reviewed.

SAMPL6 host-guest challenge: binding free energies via a multistep approach.

In this effort in the SAMPL6 host-guest binding challenge, a combination of molecular dynamics and quantum mechanical methods were used to blindly predict the host-guest binding free energies of a series of cucurbit[8]uril (CB8), octa-acid (OA), and tetramethyl octa-acid (TEMOA) hosts bound to various guest molecules in aqueous solution. Poses for host-guest systems were generated via molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and clustering analyses. The binding free energies for the structures obtained via cluster analyses of MD trajectories were calculated using the MMPBSA method and density functional theory (DFT) with the inclusion of Grimme's dispersion correction, an implicit solvation model to model the aqueous solution, and the resolution-of-the-identity (RI) approximation (MMPBSA, RI-B3PW91-D3, and RI-B3PW91, respectively).