Image-guided microneurosurgical management of small arteriovenous malformation: role of neuronavigation and intraoperative Doppler sonography.

Introduction: The goal of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and reliability of neuronavigation and intraoperative microvascular Doppler sonography (MDS) for identifying afferent (feeding) and efferent (draining) vessels as well as for controlling the totality of the surgical resection of arteriovenous malformations (AVMs).

Methods: Between June 2000 and November 2005, twenty-five patients with small arteriovenous malformations (grades I-III) underwent microsurgical removal at our institution. A passive-marker-based neuronavigation system (Brain Lab, Munich, Germany), and an intraoperative MDS (Multi Dop X system, DWL, Germany) were used in this surgery.

Novel evidence suggesting an anti-oxidant property for erythropoietin on vancomycin-induced nephrotoxicity in a rat model.

1. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of oxidative stress in renal injury and to determine whether erythropoietin (EPO) acts as an anti-oxidant in vancomycin (VCM)-induced renal impairment. 2.

Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) has a potential role in CAPE-induced apoptosis of CCRF-CEM cells via effecting human telomerase reverse transcriptase activity.

Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) is one of the most effective components of propolis which is collected by honey bees. The aim of this study was to investigate the cytotoxic and apoptotic effects of CAPE in the CCRF-CEM cell line and to clarify the role of serine/threonine protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) and human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) activity as an underlining mechanism of CAPE-induced apoptosis. Trypan blue dye exclusion test and XTT methods were used to evaluate the cytotoxicity and ELISA based oligonucleotide detection, which can be seen during apoptosis, was used to determine apoptosis.

Proton MR spectroscopy: higher right anterior cingulate N-acetylaspartate/choline ratio in Asperger syndrome compared with healthy controls.

Background And Purpose: One former study reported higher prefrontal N-acetylaspartate (NAA) levels in patients with Asperger syndrome (AS). The objective of the current study was to test the hypothesis that patients with AS would have higher dorsolateral prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortex NAA/creatine (Cr) and that NAA/Cr would be correlated with symptom severity.

Materials And Methods: NAA/choline (Cho), NAA/Cr, and Cho/Cr values revealed by (1)H-MR spectroscopy in 14 right-handed male patients with AS (6 medicated with risperidone), 17-38 years of age, diagnosed by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, criteria were compared with those of 21 right-handed male controls frequency-matched by age and intelligence quotient scores.

Immunohistochemical expression of connexin 43 and occludin in the rat testis after epididymal and vasal ligation.

Objective: To describe the effects of epididymal and vasal ligation, in an experimental rat model, by using connexin 43 and occludin immunohistochemistry as well as transmission electron microscopy.

Design: Comparative and controlled experimental research study.

Setting: University animal research and histology laboratories in Turkey.

Removal of trihalomethanes from drinking water by nanofiltration membranes.

Chlorine reacts with the natural organic matter (NOM) in waters and forms disinfection by-products (DBP). Major of these by-products are trihalomethanes (THM) and haloacetic acids (HAA). They have been known to cause cancer and other toxic effects to human beings.

Intratracheal ectopic thyroid: case report and review.

Intratracheal ectopic thyroid tissue is a rare abnormality that can cause airway obstruction. The symptoms can easily be confused with those of bronchial asthma. We describe the case of a 40-year-old man with subglottic thyroid tissue and multinodular goiter who had been misdiagnosed earlier with bronchial asthma.

[Unnecessary test repeats in viral hepatitis serology].

Inappropriate laboratory testing constitutes a vast burden regarding the cost and the workload for health care system. Unnecessary repetition of tests is one of the most common reasons accounting for inappropriate laboratory utilization. A wide spectrum of tests are utilized to diagnose hepatitis A and B infections in Turkey because of the high seroprevalence rates.

The role of extracellular matrix and activin-A in in vitro growth and survival of murine preantral follicles.

Extracellular matrix plays a key role in cell growth, survival, and differentiation in a wide array of tissue types through integrin-mediated signaling pathways and its interaction with growth factors. This study investigates the role of extracellular matrix and its interaction with activin-A on in vitro growth and survival of mouse preantral follicles. Preantral follicles isolated from 14-day-old immature mouse ovaries were cultured either 3 dimensionally using basement membrane matrix (growth factor - reduced matrigel) or 2 dimensionally on cover slips coated with a single component of extracellular matrix (fibronectin, collagen, or laminin), on polylysine (negative control), or in standard culture plates in a serum-free culture medium with or without activin-A for 7 days.

Labor induction at term: a comparison of the effects of 50 microg and 25 microg vaginal misoprostol.

Purpose Of Investigation: To compare the effects of 50 microg of vaginal misoprostol with 25 microg for labor induction at term.

Methods: One hundred and forty-seven pregnant women with indications for labor induction and cervical Bishop's score of < or = 6 were randomly assigned to receive either 50 microg (n = 74) or 25 microg (n = 73) of vaginal misoprostol every four hours until either a Bishop's score of > or = 8 or adequate uterine contraction frequency had been achieved. Induction-to-vaginal-delivery time was considered the primary outcome measure.

Black cohosh and fluoxetine in the treatment of postmenopausal symptoms: a prospective, randomized trial.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of fluoxetine and black cohosh in the treatment of women with postmenopausal symptoms. A total of 120 healthy women with menopausal symptoms were recruited to this prospective study with a follow-up period of 6 mo. They were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups and were treated with fluoxetine or black cohosh.

Genistein causes regression of endometriotic implants in the rat model.

Objective: To determine the effects of raloxifene and genistein on experimentally induced endometriosis in a rat model.

Design: Prospective, randomized animal study.

Setting: Animal surgery laboratory in a university hospital.

Hemangiopericytoma of the parotid gland: a case report.

Hemangiopericytomas are uncommon neoplasms of vascular origin that mostly arise from extremities, retroperitoneum, and pelvic fossa. They are rarely found in the parotid gland. A 35-year-old female patient presented with a swelling in the right preauricular region.

Vibration characteristics of grafts for the tympanic membrane.

Perforation of the tympanic membrane occurs frequently as a result of infection, external trauma, and high-level impulsive sound pressure, such as that associated with an explosion. Many different surgical techniques can be used to repair the tympanic membrane and ossicles. Clinical operations such as tympanoplasty are undertaken to repair the damaged tympanic membrane and ossicles, thus improving hearing and reducing the chance of infection.

Effect on astigmatism of the location of clear corneal incision in phacoemulsification of cataract.

Purpose: To investigate the refractive results of clear corneal incision performed at the steepest meridian of pre-existing corneal astigmatism.

Methods: One hundred eighty-two patients with astigmatism > 0.75 diopters (D) were evaluated.

PCR and serology were effective for identifying Chlamydophila pneumoniae in a lower respiratory infection outbreak among military recruits.

During endemic infections, the sensitivity of diagnostic tests and rapid diagnosis of the respiratory tract pathogens is particularly important. Utilization of just one diagnostic technique, such as serological tests or polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based detection methods, during outbreaks of lower respiratory tract infections (LRI) can result in some of the patients being missed. In this study we aimed to investigate the etiology of LRI in military recruits in Izmir, Turkey, among whom several pneumonia cases have been reported and 47 patients have been hospitalized.

Anaerobic treatment of a chemical synthesis-based pharmaceutical wastewater in a hybrid upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor.

In this study, performance of a lab-scale hybrid up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor, treating a chemical synthesis-based pharmaceutical wastewater, was evaluated under different operating conditions. This study consisted of two experimental stages: first, acclimation to the pharmaceutical wastewater and second, determination of maximum loading capacity of the hybrid UASB reactor. Initially, the carbon source in the reactor feed came entirely from glucose, applied at an organic loading rate (OLR) 1 kg COD/m(3) d.

Impact of obesity on ventilatory function.

Objective: Although obesity was found to be associated with severe impairment of ventilation, most of the study population has been morbidly obese adults. We aimed to explore the effects of mild obesity on ventilatory function in the pediatric age group.

Methods: In a cross-sectional controlled study, 80 patients (M/F: 35/45), who were evaluated in our outpatient clinic with the complaint of excess body weight, with no history of asthma or other atopic diseases were studied and compared to a control group of 50 normal weight children controlled for age and sex.

Histopathologic findings in women with postmenopausal bleeding: implication for endometrial thickness and circulating levels of sex steroid hormones.

Objective: The aim of this study is to compare the relationship between estrone (E1), estradiol (E2), androgens, and prolactin blood levels on the one hand, and endometrial thickness and related histopathologic results on the other, in postmenopausal women admitted with uterine bleeding.

Methods: The study was conducted in Gazi University School of Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic with a total of 128 patients. The study group consisted of 64 postmenopausal patients admitted with uterine bleeding, whereas the control group consisted of 64 healthy postmenopausal women.

Prediction of preterm delivery among women with threatened preterm labor.

Background/aims: To determine predictive values of fetal fibronectin and phosphorylated insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 (phIGFBP-1) in cervicovaginal secretions and ultrasonographic measurement of cervical length for delivery <35 weeks in patients with uterine contractions.

Methods: Our study included 51 women between 24 and 35 weeks' gestation with uterine contractions and 90 controls. Cervicovaginal samples were analyzed for presence of fetal fibronectin and phIGFBP-1.

The effect of raloxifene in association with vitamin D on vaginal maturation index and urogenital symptoms in postmenopausal osteoporotic women.

In elderly women with osteoporosis, raloxifene treatment with vitamin D supplementation improves vaginal maturation index and vaginal pH.

Role of intercellular communications in breast cancer multicellular tumor spheroids after chemotherapy.

Tumor heterogeneity is an important feature that is especially involved in tumor aggressiveness. Multicellular tumor spheroids (MTS) may provide some benefits in different steps for investigation of the aggregation, organization, differentiation, and network formation of tumor cells in 3D space. This model offers a unique opportunity for improvements in the capability of a current strategy to detect the effect of an appropriate anticancer agent.

Automatic detection of malignant tumors in mammograms.

Detection of malignant tumors at an early stage is an important first step in diagnosis of the cancerous regions in mammograms. Although many detection schemes have been presented, they are still not adequate to safely eliminate all risks. In this paper we propose classification schemes of unknown test mammograms using fractal analysis and spatial moments distributions as image processing techniques.