[The structure, physiology, and biomechanics of articular cartilage: injury and repair].

Hyaline cartilage which surrounds the articular surfaces and allows for painless movement of synovial joints by reducing friction is composed of chondrocytes embedded within an extracellular matrix made up of a macromolecular framework and water. Due to its avascular, aneural, and hypocellular structure, its response to trauma is very restricted. The main components of the extracellular matrix are water, proteoglycans, collagen, and other proteins and glycoproteins.

[Biosafety profile of laboratory workers at three education hospitals in Izmir, Turkey].

The laboratory personnel in hospitals are at risk in terms of transmission of various infectious diseases. The aim of this study is to evaluate the knowledge, behavior and attitude of the health personnel who work in one university and two state hospitals in Izmir, Turkey, about biosafety. The study is an observational-sectional study.

Axial sarcoidosis mimicking radiographic sacroiliitis.

Involvement of the axial skeleton in sarcoidosis is a rare condition. Herein we report a case with an extensive axial sarcoidosis whose plain radiographs were non-informative. The present case suggested that osseous lesions on sacrum and iliac bones might cause misdiagnosis of sacroiliitis in plain radiographs and advanced imaging may be necessary to make an accurate diagnosis.

The frequency of auditory neuropathy detected by universal newborn hearing screening program.

Objective: Auditory neuropathy/auditory dyssynchrony (AN/AD) has become a well-accepted clinical entity. The combined use of oto-acoustic emissions (OAEs) and auditory brainstem response (ABR) testing in the universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) has led to the easy recognition of this disorder. Although, we are now able to diagnose AN/AD reliably, little is known about its epidemiology, etiology, and especially the frequency of its occurrence.

Cytomegalovirus colitis in a patient with Behcet's disease receiving tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitory treatment.

Anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) inhibitors are effective in the treatment of various inflammatory rheumatic conditions. Increased risks of serious infections are the major issues concerning the long-term safety of these agents. We present a case of a young male Behcet's patient whose disease was complicated by cytomegalovirus (CMV) colitis.

[Helicobacter pylori infection and phagocytosis].

Helicobacter pylori is a chronic infectious agent defined as the major pathogen causing gastritis, gastric and duodenal ulcer, gastric carcinoma and mucosa associated lenfoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma. H. pylori is the only microorganism known to get colonized in human stomach and inhabit in gastric mucosal cells.

[Occupational exposures to blood and body fluids among health care workers: a questionary survey].

The major concern following occupational exposures of the health care workers is the possible transmission of blood-borne pathogens, especially hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This questionary survey was undertaken to determine the frequency and epidemiological characteristics of incidents involving biological exposures to blood and body fluids among health care workers (HCWs), at a University Hospital, in Izmir, Turkey. The survey was conducted using a questionnaire including questions related to demographics and epidemiological information.

[Investigation of Aspergillus galactomannan levels in antimicrobial agents].

The diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis which is a serious infection of immunocompromized patients, depends on the detection of Aspergillus galactomannan antigen in the serum by enzyme immunoassay (EIA) in routine laboratories. However, it has been previously reported that false positive results in Aspergillus galactomannan test may be obtained in the sera of patients sera receiving piperacillin-tazobactam (PIP-TAZ). The aim of this study was to investigate the presence and levels of Aspergillus galactomannan antigen in the content of PIP-TAZ and some other antimicrobial agents that are often used for the treatment of infections in immunocompromised patients.

Quality of life in patients with Takayasu's arteritis is impaired and comparable with rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis patients.

The aims of the study were to assess the health-related quality of life (QOL) in patients with Takayasu's arteritis (TA) by two different generic QOL instruments and to compare the results with those patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), and healthy controls (HC). A cross-sectional study was performed in 51 patients with TA (41 women; mean age 38.4 +/- 13.

[Detection of Candida DNA in simulated blood samples by polymerase chain reaction].

Although blood culture method is accepted as gold standard in the laboratory diagnosis of invasive candidiasis seen in immunocompromised patients, cultivation of blood is considered as not a reliable and rapid method for the diagnosis of candidemia, since it may be negative in approximately half of the patients, slow growth rate of Candida in routine culture media and requirement of large amounts of blood for the isolation. The aim of this study was to detect Candida DNA in simulated blood samples by using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Simulated samples were prepared by using blood samples of healthy volunteers.

[Investigation of the presence of panton-valentin leucocidin (PVL) in Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from clinical samples].

Panton-Valentin leucocidin (PVL) is a cytotoxin which causes tissue necrosis by degradating leucocytes and other cell types. PVL has recently become very up to date as it has been shown to be the major virulance factor of community acquired methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains. In this study, the presence of PVL was investigated in methicillin sensitive and resistant S.

[The evaluation of the techniques used for diagnosis of Entamoeba histolytica in stool specimens].

In this study, stool samples of 9378 patients from different clinics, who presented at the laboratory of the department of parasitology of the Dokuz Eylul University, Faculty of Medicine with several gastrointestinal complaints from January 2004 to May 2006, were examined. All stool samples were examined with the saline-Lugol method and, in suspicious cases, by trichrome staining, cultivation in Robinson's medium and/or antigen detection in stool with the Entamoeba CELISA Path kit. Forty-one cases (0.

[Quantification of papain-induced rat osteoarthritis in relation to time with the Mankin score].

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate structural changes in relation to time with the use of the Mankin scoring system in papain-induced rat osteoarthritis.

Methods: Osteoarthritis was induced in 21 male Wistar rats by injecting an admixture of 4% papain (10 microl) and its activator 0.03 M cycteine (10 microl) into the right knee joints on the first, fourth, and seventh days.

[Extremity saving surgery and reconstruction for tumors of the scapula].

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the results of extremity saving surgery and reconstruction with a scapular prosthesis in patients with scapula tumors.

Methods: Seven patients (1 woman, 6 men; mean age 53 years; range 39 to 75 years) underwent partial or total scapulectomy followed by reconstruction with fibular autograft (n=1) or a scapular prosthesis (n=6) for bone or soft tissue scapular tumors. Latissimus dorsi muscle flap was used for the reconstruction of soft tissues.

[Short communication: investigation of intestinal coccidia in patients with diarrhea].

The intestinal protozoa have been increasingly identified in immunocompromised patients. In this study, stool samples of 554 patients [288 male, 266 female; 11 (2%) of them were immunocompromised] with diarrhea were examined between June 2004 and June 2005 in the Parasitology Laboratory of Dokuz Eylul University Hospital, Izmir, Turkey, in order to investigate the prevalence of intestinal coccidia. After formalin-ethyl acetate sedimentation procedure, the samples were examined by both native lugol and Kinyoun acid-fast staining methods for the detection of Cryptosporidium, Cyclospora and Isospora spp.

[The distribution of intestinal parasites detected in the Dokuz Eylul University Medical Faculty Hospital between 2003 and 2004].

A retrospective evaluation of the data from 7,712 patients with gastrointestinal complaints who presented at the parasitology laboratory of the Dokuz Eylul University Medical Faculty Hospital between January 2003 and December 2004 was carried out. Fecal samples of all patients were examined using native-Lugol and the trichrome staining method after sedimentation by the fecal concentration tube. One or more parasites were detected in 495 (6.

[In vivo development of Trichinella spiralis in rats].

The causative agent is Trichinella spiralis which lives in the intestines in adult form or in skeletal muscles in larval form. After ingestion of raw or undercooked infected meat that contains larvae of trichinella, these larvae enter the blood and the lymphatic circulation. They usually settle in the skeletal muscles and develop further.

[Evaluation of patients presenting with a suspicion of cystic echinococcosis to the serology laboratory of the Parasitology Department of Dokuz Eylül University Medical Faculty].

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a zoonosis, caused by the metacestode form of Echinococcus granulosus. The diagnosis of CE is difficult using the clinical features of the disease and it depends on the combination of serological methods aimed at determining the specific antibody response and on imaging techniques that support the serology. In this study, 465 patients who presented with a suspicion of CE to the serology laboratory of the Parasitology Department of Dokuz Eylul University between January 2003 and June 2004 were evaluated.

[Use of the Western Blot assay in the diagnosis of trichinosis.].

Trichinosis is a worldwide parasitic disease acquired by the consumption of raw or uncooked meat containing encysted larva. The western blot (WB) technique has an important role in the serological diagnosis of trichinosis as a confirmatory test. In our study, IgG antibodies specific for Trichinella were found in the sera of 25 patients with trichinosis seropositivity by In house ES ELISA.

[Case report: taeniasis, is it a cause of psychiatric and neural symptoms?].

The most frequent symptom of taeniasis is the discharge of proglottids (93.7%). Gravid proglottids which do not have uterine pores are damaged when they exit the anus by their movement.

[The importance and validity of anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgG, IgM, IgA antibodies and IgG avidity tests in the diagnosis of Toxoplasmosis infection during pregnancy.].

Detection of specific IgG, IgM and IgA antibodies by enzyme immunoassay (EIA) tests are not always sufficient in the diagnosis of early and late Toxoplasma gondii infection during pregnancy. For this reason, the specific IgG avidity test should be used to detect primary toxoplasmosis infection. In this study, an investigation was made of the serological status of pregnant women who were suspected of having primary or late toxoplasmosis as well as the importance and relationship of specific anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgG, IgM and IgA antibodies and specific IgG avidity in their sera.

[An imported case of mixed malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium ovale.].

Malaria caused by Plasmodium species is an important parasitic infection in Turkey as in the rest of the world. Malaria cases originating in our country are caused by P. vivax; those caused by other Plasmodium spp.

[The importance of antinuclear (ABA) and anti-double stranded dna (anti-dsDNA) antibodies in the diagnosis of connective tissue diseases.].

Connective tissue diseases (CTD) are characterized by the presence of autoantibodies against several tissues. These autoantibodies occur against cell membrane, cell receptors, plasma proteins, and cytoplasmic and nuclear components. In laboratories, anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA) and anti-double stranded DNA (anti-dsDNA) antibodies are widely used in diagnosis of CTD.

[The prevalence of Enterobius vermicularis in schoolchildren and affecting factors].

This study was carried out in order to determine the factors affecting the presence of Enterobius vermicularis in schoolchildren. This investigation was a cross-sectional and analytic study. The dependent variable was the presence of parasites and the independent variables were the characteristics of the children, families, houses, toilets and drinking water.

The thickness and the lengths of the anterior wall of adult maxilla of the West Anatolian Turkish people.

The maxilla is the key structure on facial formation and stability. The knowledge about maxillary thickness and dimensions is crucial during facial reconstruction including this bone. In this study, anthropometric measurements of anterior wall of the maxilla on the dry human skulls were aimed.