Sandblasting denim using silica has emerged as a new cause of silicosis in Turkey. Following the discovery of several cases of silicosis in (young) workers who used this process, the frequency and ...main occupational risk factors of silicosis among former denim sandblasters in the region of Erzurum (Turkey) were evaluated. Demographic characteristics and information on working conditions were obtained by questionnaire and interview. In addition, spirometry testing was performed and chest radiographs were evaluated according to International Labour Office (ILO) classification of pneumoconioses in 157 former denim sandblasters. All subjects were male, with a mean (range) age of 23 (15-44) yrs. They had worked for a mean (range) of 36 (1-120) months, starting employment at a 17 (10-38) yrs of age. Most subjects (83%) had respiratory symptoms, especially dyspnoea (52%) but also chest pain (46%). Radiological evidence of silicosis (ILO score 1/0 or higher) was present in 77 (53%) out of 145 subjects with interpretable chest radiographs. These subjects had lower forced expiratory volume in one second and forced vital capacity. The risk of silicosis correlated with seniority (i.e. working as a foreman), exposure duration and number of places of work. Considering the high prevalence rate of silicosis in such workplaces, further problems are inevitable in the future unless effective measures are taken.
In this study, vacuum drying (VD), microwave drying (MW) and freeze-drying (FD) alternatives to air drying (AD) were applied to apple samples before explosion puffing drying (EPD). The volumes of ...AD+EPD samples were determined 20% higher than the volume of AD samples. The porosity value and the average pore radius value were obtained by examining the SEM images with the MATLAB program. Porosity values were found between 0.41-0.82 for all drying processes applied. The lowest porosity was found at 180MW, and the highest porosity was found in the FD samples. It is seen that the porosity ratio increases as the microwave power per product increases. Rehydration rates of 180, 360 and 600MW samples were determined as 308, 320 and 336%, respectively. It contributed to the increase in rehydration due to the increase in the porosity of the product with the increase in power density per product in MW drying. There was an increase in the amount of TPC with the combined use of the EPD process. The highest ABTS and DPPH were determined in the FD, FD+EPD and 600MW+EPD samples, respectively. The pre-drying methods and parameters described in the study significantly affected the quality of apples in terms of their physical and chemical properties.
Early degeneration of the knees might occur in patients with multiple sclerosis secondary to balance and walking impairment and muscle weakness. The aims of this study were to evaluate the knee ...joints of patients with multiple sclerosis compared with healthy controls, using ultrasono-graphy, and to investigate whether there is any correlation between femoral cartilage degeneration and disease-related parameters.
Study participants were 79 patients with multiple sclerosis and 60 healthy controls. The disease-related parameters, Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC) osteoarthritis index, visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain severity, and Berg Balance Scale (BBS) scores were recorded. Femoral cartilage and knee effusion were evaluated using ultrasonography.
Femoral cartilages of patients with multiple sclerosis were more degenerated than those of healthy controls. Moreover, patients with multiple sclerosis had more effusion in their knees than did controls. In the multiple sclerosis group there was no correlation between cartilage degeneration grade, amount of effusion, and VAS-pain, BBS, WOMAC and EDSS scores.
Patients with multiple sclerosis may have more rapid degeneration of the knee cartilage and increased effusion compared with healthy controls. Ultrasonography is an effective method to detect these changes. However, cartilage degeneration was not found to be associated with disease-related parameters in multiple sclerosis.
Erythritol tetrapalmitate (ETP) and erythritol tetrastearate (ETS) were synthesized as novel solid‐liquid phase change materials (PCM) by means of the direct esterification reaction of the erythritol ...with palmitic and stearic acids. The ETP and ETS esters were characterized chemically using FT‐IR and 1H NMR techniques. The energy storage properties of the esters were determined by DSC analysis. The results indicated that the ETP and ETS esters synthesized as novel solid‐liquid PCMs are promising materials for thermal energy storage applications at large scale such as solar energy storage, building heating or cooling, indoor temperature controlling, and production of smart textile and insulation clothing.
A new kind of phase change materials can be regarded as potential energy storage material for thermal applications. This study deals with the synthesis and determination of thermal energy storage properties and thermal reliability of erythritol tetrapalmitate and erythritol tetrastearate as novel solid‐liquid phase change materials.
Cationic core-shell nanoparticles CS-PCL carrying chemotherapeutic drug MMC to bladder tumors result in longer survival rate (p<0.05) with increased nanoparticle localization in bladder cancer tissue ...with favorable safety profile and no systemic uptake of the drug.
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Mitomycin C (MMC) has shown potent efficacy against a wide spectrum of cancers and is clinical first choice in superficial bladder tumors. However, intravesical chemotherapy with MMC has been ineffective due to periodical discharge of the bladder and instability of this drug in acidic pH, both resulting in high rate of tumor recurrence and insufficiency to prevent progression. Nanocarriers may be a promising alternative for prolonged, effective and safe intravesical drug delivery due to their favorable size, surface properties and optimum interaction with mucosal layer of the bladder wall. Hence, the aim of this study was to evaluate and optimize cationic core-shell nanoparticles formulations (based on chitosan (CS) and poly-ϵ-caprolactone (PCL)) in terms of antitumor efficacy after intravesical administration in bladder tumor induced rat model. Antitumor efficacy was determined through the parameters of survival rate and nanoparticle penetration into the bladder tissue. Safety of the formulations were evaluated by histopathological evaluation of bladder tissue as well as observation of animals treated with MMC bound to nanoparticles. Results indicated that chitosan coated poly-ϵ-caprolactone (CS-PCL) nanoparticles presented the longest survival rate among all treatment groups as evaluated by Kaplan–Meier plotting. Histopathological evaluation revealed that cationic nanoparticles were localized and accumulated in the bladder tissue. As intravesical chemotherapy is a local therapy, no MMC was quantified in blood after intravesical instillation indicating no systemic uptake for the drug which could have subsequently led to side effects. In conclusion, core-shell type cationic nanoparticles may be effective tools for the intravesical chemotherapy of recurrent bladder tumors.
Recent research on placental, embryo, and brain organoids suggests that the COVID-19 virus may potentially affect embryonic organs, including the brain. Given the established link between SARS-CoV-2 ...spike protein and neuroinflammation, we sought to investigate the effects of exposure to this protein during pregnancy. We divided pregnant rats into three groups: Group 1 received a 1 ml/kg saline solution, Group 2 received 150 μg/kg adjuvant aluminum hydroxide (AAH), and Group 3 received 40 μg/kg spike protein + 150 μg/kg AAH at 10 and 14 days of gestation. On postnatal day 21 (P21), we randomly separated 60 littermates (10 male–female) into control, AAH-exposed, and spike protein-exposed groups. At P50, we conducted behavioral analyses on these mature animals and performed MR spectroscopy. Subsequently, all animals were sacrificed, and their brains were subject to biochemical and histological analysis. Our findings indicate that male rats exposed to the spike protein displayed a higher rate of impaired performance on behavioral studies, including the three-chamber social test, passive avoidance learning analysis, open field test, rotarod test, and novelty-induced cultivation behavior, indicative of autistic symptoms. Exposure to the spike protein (male) induced gliosis and neuronal cell death in the CA1-CA3 regions of the hippocampus and cerebellum. The spike protein-exposed male rats exhibited significantly greater levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-17 (IL-17), nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), and lactate and lower levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) than the control group. Our study suggests a potential association between prenatal exposure to COVID-19 spike protein and neurodevelopmental problems, such as ASD. These findings highlight the importance of further research into the potential effects of the COVID-19 virus on embryonic and fetal development and the potential long-term consequences for neurodevelopment.
Graphical Abstract
The main objective of this study is to obtain conformable analogs of some
inequalities and to examine some integral inequalities for functions whose
modulus of first derivatives are convex and ...concave. We obtain
generalizations including conformable fractional integrals by separating a;
b interval to s equal subintervals.
nema
Background
Alport syndrome (AS) is an inherited glomerular disease caused by mutations in
COL4A3
,
COL4A4
, or
COL4A5
. Associations between clinical manifestations and genotype are not yet well ...defined. Our study aimed to define clinical and genetic characteristics, establish genotype–phenotype correlations, and determine prognosis of AS in children.
Methods
A total of 87 children with AS from 10 pediatric nephrology centers, whom had genetic analyses performed at the Hacettepe University Nephrogenetics Laboratory between February 2017 and February 2019, were included. Data regarding demographics, family history, clinical and laboratory characteristics, histopathological and genetic test results, treatments, and yearly follow-up results were retrospectively analyzed.
Results
Of 87 patients, 16% presented with nephrotic syndrome. In patients with nephrotic syndrome, kidney biopsy findings showed focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) in 79%, and
COL4A3
mutations were the leading genetic abnormality (50%). Twenty-four percent of all patients progressed to chronic kidney disease (CKD). The rate of progression to CKD and the decline in the glomerular filtration rate of the patients with
COL4A3
mutation were higher than other mutation groups (
p
< 0.001 and
p
= 0.04, respectively). In kidney survival analysis, nephrotic syndrome presentation, histopathology of FSGS,
COL4A3
mutations, and autosomal recessive inheritance were found as independent risk factors for earlier progression to CKD. Cyclosporin A treatment did not improve kidney survival.
Conclusions
We emphasize that genetic testing is important for patients suspected as having AS. Furthermore,
COL4A
mutations should be considered in patients with FSGS and steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome. This approach will shed light on the prognosis of patients and help with definitive diagnosis, preventing unnecessary and potentially harmful medications.
Graphical abstract
The authors' aim was to investigate whether serum neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio might be used as a predictive biomarker to help differentiate active from inactive chronic otitis media (COM).
Two ...hundred fifty-nine patients having inactive COM received tympanoplasty without mastoidectomy and were identified as Group 1. On the other hand, 254 patients having active COM received tympanoplasty with mastoidectomy and were identified as Group 2. Routine hemogram tests were performed preoperatively for both the groups. By performing a chart review, white blood cell count, red blood cell count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, platelet, and mean platelet volume values were compared between the groups in an age-matched and sex-matched manner.
A total of 513 COM patients with age range of 7 to 65 years were included in the study. Two hundred seventy-five patients (53.6%) were male, 238 were (46.4%) female. Preoperatively both serum neutrophil and lymphocyte counts were significantly higher in Group 2 (P = 0.015 and P = 0.004, respectively). However, the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratios between the groups were not significantly different (P = 0.511).
No statistically significant differences were identified from preoperative neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratios between patients having active COM and inactive COM.
Level NA.
Group A rotaviruses are the most common causative agent of acute gastroenteritis among children less than 5 years of age throughout the world. This sentinel surveillance study was aimed to obtain ...baseline data on the rotavirus G and P genotypes across Turkey before the introduction of a universal rotavirus vaccination program.
Rotavirus antigen-positive samples were collected from 2102 children less than 5 years of age who attended hospitals participating in the Turkish Rotavirus Surveillance Network. Rotavirus antigen was detected in the laboratories of participating hospitals by commercial serological tests such as latex agglutination, immunochromatographic test or enzyme immunoassay. Rotavirus G and P genotypes were determined by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using consensus primers detecting the VP7 and VP4 genes, followed by semi-nested type-specific multiplex PCR.
RT-PCR found rotavirus RNA in 1644 (78.2%) of the samples tested. The highest rate of rotavirus positivity (38.7%) was observed among children in the 13 to 24 month age group, followed by children in the age group of 25 to 36 months (28.3%). A total of eight different G types, six different P types, and 42 different G-P combinations were obtained. Four common G types (G1, G2, G3, and G9) and two common P types (P8 and P4) accounted for 95.1% and 98.8% of the strains, respectively. G9P8 was the most common G/P combination found in 40.5% of the strains followed by G1P8 (21.6%), G2P8 (9.3%), G2P4 (6.5%), G3P8 (3.5%), and finally, G4P8 (3.4%). These six common genotypes included 83.7% of the strains tested in this study. The rate of uncommon genotypes was 14%.
The majority of the strains analyzed belonged to the G1-G4 and G9 genotypes, suggesting high coverage of current rotavirus vaccines. This study also demonstrates a dramatic increase in G9 genotype across the country.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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