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Objective: Imatinib is a commonly used first generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). The efficacy has been reported as very high even in recent studies. Material and methods: A retrospective analysis was made of newly diagnosed CML patients treated with Imatinib as a first-line agent from January 2010 to January 2020. The patients were classified as those who obtained an adequate response and those for whom treatment was discontinued due to inadequate efficacy. The two groups were compared to analyze factors predicting the efficacy of the agent. Results: Evaluation was made of a total of 47 CML patients, comprising 20 females (42.6%) and 27 males (57.4%) with a median age of 55 years. Imatinib was discontinued in 19 patients because of inadequate response, and 28 patients were still continuing the treatment at the end of median 33.3 months follow-up duration. At the end of follow-up, there were 44 survivors (93.6%), and 3 non-survivors (6.4%). Median Bcr-Abl (IS, %) at the time of diagnosis in patients with response was higher than patients in discontinued group (67.6 [0.0-291.4] vs 41.9 [0.0-208.5], p=0.022). All other disease and demographic characteristics were similar in both groups (p>0.05). Conclusion: Almost 10 years of follow-up demonstrated that there is still an unmet need to determine factors predicting the response to Imatinib in CML patients. Larger population-based studies are required to specify patients with high risk at the time of diagnosis to monitor closely.

As in many countries, there is neither a surveillance system nor a study to reveal the hemodialysis (HD) related infection rates in Turkey. We aimed to investigate the infection rate among HD outpatients and implement CDC’s surveillance system. A multicenter prospective surveillance study is performed to investigate the infection rate among HD patients. CDC National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) dialysis event (DE) protocol is adopted for definitions and reporting. During April 2016–April 2018, 9 centers reported data. A total of 199 DEs reported in 10,035 patient-months, and the overall DE rate was 1.98 per 100 patient-months. Risk of blood culture positivity is found to be 17.6 times higher when hemodialysis was through a tunneled catheter than through an arteriovenous fistula. DE rate was significantly lower in patients educated about the care of their vascular access site. Staphylococcus aureus was the most causative microorganism among mortal patients. Outcomes of DEs were hospitalization (73%), loss of vascular access (18.2%), and death (7.7%). This first surveillance study revealed the baseline status of HD related infections in Turkey and showed that CDC National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) DE surveillance system can be easily implemented even in a high workload dialysis unit and be adopted as a nationwide DE surveillance program.

Amaç: Bu çalışma serum 25(OH)D3 düzeyiyle kan eozinofil sayısı arasındaki ilişkisi değerlendirmek amacıyla yapıldı. Yöntem: Ocak 2020-Aralık 2021 tarihleri arasında İç Hastalıkaları Polikliniğine başvuran hastalar retrospektif olarak değerlendirildi. Eş zamanlı serum 25(OH)D3 vitamin düzeyi ile tam kan sayımı bakılan 1424 hasta alındı. Hastalar 25(OH)D3 düzeyine göre gruplara ayrıldı. Gruplar arasında tam kan parametreleri karşılaştırıldı. Bulgular: Hastaların ortalama yaşı 39,17±15,74 olup, 1133’ü (%79,6) kadın idi. Tüm hastaların ortalama D vitamini düzeyi 16,79±12,58 ng/mL olarak tespit edildi. Hastaların %69,5’inde D vitamini eksikliği, %19,1’inde D vitamini yetersizliği saptandı. Gruplar, eozinofil sayısına göre karşılaştırıldı. D vitamini eksik olan Grup 1’de eozinofil sayısı, D vitamini yetersiz olan Grup 2 ve D vitamini yeterli olan Grup 3’e göre anlamlı daha yüksek saptandı (sırasıyla p:0.011 ve p:0.008). Grup 2’de, Grup 3’e göre eozinofil sayısı anlamlı daha yüksekti (p:0.014). Sonuç: D vitamini eksikliğinin daha yüksek kan eozinofil sayısı ile ilişkili olduğunu tespit ettik. D vitamini takviyesinin alerjik inflamasyonda görevli olan eozinofillerin kandaki düzeylerini düşürmeye, dolayısıyla alerjik hastalıkların başlama ve alevlenmesine karşı koruyucu olabileceğini düşünmekteyiz. Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the relationship between serum 25(OH)D3 level and blood eosinophil count. Methods: Patients admitted to the Internal Medicine outpatient clinic between January 2020 and December 2021 were evaluated retrospectively. A total of 1424 patients whose serum 25(OH) D3 vitamin levels and complete blood count were measured simultaneously were included. Patients were divided into groups according to 25(OH)D3 levels. Whole blood parameters were compared between the groups. Results: The mean age of the patients was 39.17±15.74 years, of which 1133 (79.6%) were female. The mean vitamin D level of all patients was found to be 16.79±12.58 ng/mL. Vitamin D deficient was found in 69.5% of the patients, and vitamin D insufficient was found in 19.1% of the patients. The groups were compared according to the eosinophil count. The eosinophil count was found to be significantly higher in Group 1 with vitamin D deficient than in Group 2 with vitamin D insufficient and Group 3 with sufficient vitamin D (p:0.011 and p:0.008, respectively). Eosinophil count was significantly higher in Group 2 than in Group 3 (p:0.014). Conclusion: We found that vitamin D deficient was associated with higher blood eosinophil count. We think that vitamin D supplementation may be protective against the onset and exacerbation of allergic diseases, by reducing the blood levels of eosinophils, which are responsible for allergic inflammation.

OBJECTIVE: Oxidative stress plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of pulmonary arterial hypertension. 8-Hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine is a sensitive biomarker that reflects the degree of oxidative damage to DNA. We investigated whether serum 8-Hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine is a clinically useful biomarker for the severity of pulmonary arterial hypertension. METHODS: We measured serum 8-Hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine levels in 25 patients (age 37 +/- 13 years, 68% women) diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension, familial pulmonary arterial hypertension, or pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with congenital heart disease. The severity of pulmonary arterial hypertension was evaluated by six-min walking distance, World Health Organization functional class, and serum brain natriuretic peptide levels. Age and gender-matched 22 healthy subjects served as the control group. RESULTS: The comparison of 8-Hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine levels between patients and controls was not statistically different [(19.86 +/- 9.79) versus (18.80 +/- 3.94) ng/mL, p=0.622)]. However, there was a significant negative correlation between 8-Hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine levels and six-min walking distance (r= -0.614, p=0.001). Additionally, serum 8-Hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine levels in patients with functional class III-IV were significantly higher than those with functional class I-II (functional class III-IV 32.31 +/- 10.63 ng/mL versus functional class I-II 16.74 +/- 6.81 ng/mL, respectively, p=0.003). CONCLUSION: The 8-Hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine levels were significantly correlated with exercise capacity (six-min walking distance) and symptomatic status (functional class), both of which show the severity of pulmonary arterial hypertension in patients.

This report illustrates a patient presenting with a unilateral headache at whom brain magnetic resonance imaging showed temporal lobe parenchyma herniation. In our patient, there were no clinical or neuroimaging findings of increased intracranial pressure (ICP) that might lead to a headache. On the other hand, considering the dynamic nature of headache in our patient, we cannot exclude a mechanism of possible episodic ICP increments that might be related to encephalocele. We think that the detailed illustration of this case may present substantial perspectives for further deliberations regarding the headache pathophysiology.

Introduction: Monocyte to high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol ratio (MHR) has emerged as a novel marker of endothelial injury, inflammation, and oxidative stress. This study aimed to investigate the effect of MHR on primary nephrotic syndrome (NS) and its relationship with the severity of proteinuria. Methods: This study enrolled 161 patients newly diagnosed with primary NS and 100 healthy individuals. Demographic characteristics of the patients, primary NS diagnosis, basal laboratory parameters, the amount of 24-hour urinary protein excretion, and MHR were recorded. The groups were compared regarding these parameters. Results: MHR was significantly higher in patients with primary NS compared with the healthy group (12.89 +/- 4.86 and 9.71 +/- 2.30, respectively; p < 0.001). There was no difference between the groups in terms of age and sex. The amount of protein in the 24-hour urine in patients with a diagnosis of primary NS was 6.91 +/- 3.73 g/day. The correlation analysis showed a positive correlation between MHR and the amount of proteinuria (r = 0.519, p < 0.001) and creatinine level (r = 0.167, p = 0.034). The multivariate regression analysis found that the severity of proteinuria was independently correlated to MHR (p < 0.001). According to the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the optimal cut-off level for MHR in NS was 10.08 (area under the curve of 0.704, sensitivity of 68%, and a specificity of 62%). Conclusion: Our study is the first to compare the severity of proteinuria and renal functions with MHR in patients with primary NS. We believe that MHR can be used as a biomarker to determine inflammation, endothelial injury, and the level of oxidative stress, and may be useful to predict prognosis in patients with primary NS.

Antibiotic residues in foods, water and the environment reveal antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains, disrupting the ecological balance and causing serious health problems. For these reasons, the detection of antibiotic residues is crucial for the protection of human health. Herein, the detection of benzylpenicillin antibiotic from aqueous and milk sample solutions was carried out by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor using synthetic receptor-molecularly imprinted polymer. The benzylpenicillin-imprinted poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate-graphene oxide-N-methacryloyl-l-phenylalanine) (MIP-GO) SPR sensor was prepared. Benzylpenicillin detection was performed by MIP-GO SPR sensor in a 1-100 ppb concentration range of benzylpenicillin with 0.9665 linear correlation and 0.021 ppb detection limit. Selectivity analysis showed that the MIP-GO SPR sensor detected the benzylpenicillin molecule 8.16 times more selectively than amoxicillin and 14.04 times more selectively than ampicillin. To examine the imprinting efficiency, non-imprinted poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate-graphene oxide-N-methacryloyl-l-phenylalanine) (NIP-GO) SPR sensor was also prepared using the same procedure without benzylpenicillin addition. Since graphene oxide (GO) was added to enhance the sensor signal response by increasing sensitivity, the control analyses were performed by a poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate-N-methacryloyl-l-phenylalanine) (MIP) SPR sensor without adding GO. Moreover, repeatability studies of MIP-GO SPR sensor were statistically evaluated and the RSD of intra-day assays less than 1% specified that there was no loss of performance for the benzylpenicillin detection ability even after four cycles. As a real food sample analysis, the benzylpenicillin spiked and unspiked milk samples were evaluated and high-performance liquid chromatography experiments were carried out for validation.

Objective Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is the most common cause of visual impairment and disability in preterm infants. Human breast milk contains stem cells which have the ability to differentiate into all three germ layers. This study investigated whether breast milk used as an eye drop reduces severe ROP or laser-requiring ROP in VLBWinfants. Methods A single-blinded, multicenter, prospective, randomized controlled trial was conducted from May 2021 to December 2021 in four level 3 neonatal intensive care units in (hidden for reviewer) in preterm infants younger than 32 weeks gestation. Participants were randomly assigned to use either breast milk eye drops or a placebo (0.9% normal saline). The primary outcome was any stage of ROP. Secondary outcomes were laser-requiring ROP and the highest stage of ROP during follow-up. Results For the final analysis, a total of 62 participants (28.6 (2) weeks) were included in the breast milk group (BMG) and 39 participants (29.9 (2) weeks) were included in the placebo group (PG). Although risk factors for the development of ROP and advanced stage ROP were consolidated in BMG, treatment with breast milk reduced ROP progression in patients with ROP in the first examination (stage 2–3 ROP n = 9 (75%) in BMG vs. n = 3 (80%) in PG), RR = 0.93, 95% CI: [0.54–1.61]; p = 0.999). No serious adverse effects were observed in either group. Conclusion The use of freshly expressed breast milk as eye drops reduced the advanced stage of ROP or laser-required ROP in patients with ROP on initial examination.

Obesity has become one of the most important health problems of today with its increasing prevalence. With the development of retinal imaging systems, obesity has been observed to be associated with changes in outer retinal layers and choroid in women.The aim of this study was to examine retinal layer parameters and their relationship with body mass index in obese women.The study included 197 eyes of 197 women, of whom 44 were normal-weight, 40 were overweight, 40 were class 1 obese, 38 were class 2 obese, and 35 were morbidly obese. The thickness of the choroid was measured manually using an enhanced-depth imaging optical coherence tomography scanning program.The mean choroidal thickness values in five locations were lower than those of normal-weight, overweight, class 1, and class 2 obese women, in morbidly obese women (p 0.05 for all). Subfoveal outer retinal layer thickness and specific sublayer thickness of the photoreceptor layer values were significantly lower in morbidly obese women than in normal-weight women, but there were no statistically significant differences between the groups in retinal pigment epithelium thickness and Bruch's membrane thickness (p = 0.001, p 0.001, p = 1.00, and p = 0.101, respectively). Furthermore, there were significant negative relationships between body mass index and subfoveal choroidal thickness, subfoveal outer retinal layer thickness, and specific sublayer thickness of the photoreceptor layer values (r = -0.327, p 0.001; r = -0.259, p 0.001; and r = -0.281, p 0.001, respectively).Morbid obesity was associated with a thinner choroid, subfoveal outer retinal layer, and specific sublayer thickness of the photoreceptor layer in women. Furthermore, retinal hypoxia associated with morbid obesity may be related to a decrease in photoreceptor layer thickness. Thinning of the outer retinal layer may also lead to atrophy of the cone sheath.

Here, a molecular imprinting technique was employed to create an SPR-based nanosensor for the selective and sensitive detection of organophosphate-based coumaphos, a toxic insecticide/veterinary drug often used. To achieve this, UV polymerization was used to create polymeric nanofilms using N-methacryloyl-l-cysteine methyl ester, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, which are functional monomers, cross-linkers, and hydrophilicity enabling agents, respectively. Several methods, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and contact angle (CA) analyses, were used to characterize the nanofilms. Using coumaphos-imprinted SPR (CIP-SPR) and non-imprinted SPR (NIP-SPR) nanosensor chips, the kinetic evaluations of coumaphos sensing were investigated. The created CIP-SPR nanosensor demonstrated high selectivity to the coumaphos molecule compared to similar competitor molecules, including diazinon, pirimiphos-methyl, pyridaphenthion, phosalone, N-2,4(dimethylphenyl) formamide, 2,4-dimethylaniline, dimethoate, and phosmet. Additionally, there is a magnificent linear relationship for the concentration range of 0.1–250 ppb, with a low limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) of 0.001 and 0.003 ppb, respectively, and a high imprinting factor (I.F.4.4) for coumaphos. The Langmuir adsorption model is the best appropriate thermodynamic approach for the nanosensor. Intraday trials were performed three times with five repetitions to statistically evaluate the CIP-SPR nanosensor’s reusability. Reusability investigations for the two weeks of interday analyses also indicated the three-dimensional stability of the CIP-SPR nanosensor. The remarkable reusability and reproducibility of the procedure are indicated by an RSD% result of less than 1.5. Therefore, it has been determined that the generated CIP-SPR nanosensors are highly selective, rapidly responsive, simple to use, reusable, and sensitive for coumaphos detection in an aqueous solution. An amino acid, which was used to detect coumaphos, included a CIP-SPR nanosensor manufactured without complicated coupling methods and labelling processes. Liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS-MS) studies was performed for the validation studies of the SPR.

In this study, selective and sensitive detection of the neurotransmitter dopamine (DA) in both aqueous solution and biological samples was performed using a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor based on a molecular imprinting technique. For this, dopamine-imprinted poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-N-methacroyl-(L)-cysteine methyl ester-gold nanoparticles-N-methacryloyl-L-phenylalanine methyl ester) [PHEMAC-AuNPs/MAPADA] nanoparticles were prepared. Furthermore, to evaluate the imprinting efficiency, non-imprinted [PHEMAC-AuNPs/MAPA] nanoparticles were designed using the same polymerization procedure except for the addition of dopamine molecules. To examine the effect of incorporating AuNPs to increase the SPR signal response, control experiments were carried out via the SPR biosensor produced using [PHEMAC/MAPADA] nanoparticles prepared without the addition of AuNPs. Characterization studies of dopamine- + imprinted [PHEMAC-AuNPs/MAPADA] and non-imprinted [PHEMAC-AuNPs/MAPA] nanoparticles was performed with a zetasizer and an FTIR-ATR spectrophotometer. In addition, dopamine-imprinted [PHEMAC-AuNPs/MAPADA] and non-imprinted [PHEMAC-AuNPs/MAPADA] SPR sensors were characterized by ellipsometer and contact angle measurements. The high imprinting efficiency (I.F: 9.67) of the dopamine-imprinted [PHEMAC-AuNPs/MAPADA] SPR sensor was determined by comparing it with the non-imprinted [PHEMAC-AuNPs/MAPA] SPR sensor. A good linear relationship was obtained in the 0.01–0.5 ppb concentration range with correlation coefficients of 0.9818 and 0.9819, respectively. The dopamine-imprinted [PHEMAC-AuNPs/MAPADA] SPR sensor was 5.53 and 4.59 times more selective for the target molecule dopamine than for epinephrine (EP) and norepinephrine (NE), respectively. The repeatability of the [PHEMAC-AuNPs/MAPADA] SPR sensor was assessed with a 0.5 ppb dopamine solution, with the percent relative standard deviation of the intra-assays (RSD) being less than 1.7%, indicating negligible loss of dopamine sensing capability after four adsorption–desorption cycles with the same sensor.

In the present study, the enantiomeric forms of hydrophobic amino acids ( l -tryptophan, l -tyrosine, and l -phenylalanine) were separated by molecularly imprinted capillary columns (MICC) via Capillary Electrochromatography (CEC) for the first time. The monomer ratio, crosslinker ratio, template molecule ratio, the porogen ratio and type, polymerization time, and also the effect of temperature were examined to increase the permeability properties of MICC. FTIR, SEM and BET analyses were realized for the characterization of MICC. The effect of the electric field, organic solvent ratio, and pressure were carried out experimentally to determine the optimum conditions. The separation performances of MICC and the non-imprinted capillary columns (NICC) were compared electrochromatographically.

Mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus can occur during the intrauterine, antenatal and postnatal periods, with an increased risk of perinatal transmission. Appropriate management of patients who are hepatitis B surface antigen positive during pregnancy can substantially reduce the rates of perinatal transmission. Herein, two pregnant women with chronic hepatitis B are presented; one became pregnant while receiving tenofovir disoproxil fumarate and continued the treatment during pregnancy, the other discontinued tenofovir disoproxil fumarate treatment on her own due to conception, but restarted at 26 weeks of pregnancy. At birth the newborns of both women were vaccinated and immunoglobulin was given, with no perinatal transmission. Whether pregnant women should receive antiviral therapy or immunoprophylaxis still remains controversial. In order to keep the mother's liver stable and to prevent perinatal transmission, it is of paramount importance to manage pregnant women in line with the current information and guidelines.

A molecularly imprinted polymer-based pencil graphite electrode (MIP PGE) sensor, modified with gold nanoparticles, was utilized for the detection of dopamine in the presence of other biochemical compounds using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), depending on its strong electroactivity function. The pulse voltammetry methods recorded the highest response. In addition to the high oxidation rate of DA and the other biomolecule interferences available in the sample matrix used, which cause overlapping voltammograms, we aimed to differentiate them in a highly sensitive limit of detection range. The calibration curves for DA were obtained using the CV and DPV over the concentration range of 0.395-3.96 nM in 0.1 M phosphate buffer solution (PBS) at pH 7.4 with a correlation coefficient of 0.996 and a detection limit of 0.193 nM. The electrochemical technique was employed to detect DA molecules quantitatively in human blood plasma selected as real samples without applying any pre-treatment processes. MIP electrodes proved their ability to detect DA with high selectivity, even with epinephrine and norepinephrine competitor molecules and interferences, such as ascorbic acid (AA). The high level of recognition achieved by molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) is essential for many biological and pharmaceutical studies.

This research examines the Organizational Commitment (OC) levels and emotional labor (levels) (EL) of employees in the service sector and to determine whether there is a significant relationship between these variables, to identify which dimensions of OC affect which dimensions of EL if there is a significant relationship, and to determine whether EL varies statistically according to demographic factors. For this purpose; a survey has been carried out in Zonguldak province in Türkiye and the data were obtained by a face-to-face survey method of 433 workers actively working in the service sector. These data have been tested with reliability, correlation, simple linear regression, multiple variance analysis, independent sample T-test and one-way variance analysis. Because of the reliability analysis carried out, it has been determined that the scales used in the research have high internal consistency. The correlation analysis indicates a moderate and positive relationship between the normative and emotional commitment dimensions of EL and OC. Because of simple linear regression analyses; it has been determined that the 1-unit increase in emotional commitment caused an increase of 0.693 units on EL and a 1-unit increase in normative commitment caused an increase of 0.959 units on EL.

Aims: To assess diabetic patients’ knowledge and practices regarding foot care. Methods: This study was conducted as a cross-sectional study in 1030 patients between November 2017 and February 2018.The descriptive survey instrument was developed by the investigators. Survey content and format were based on prior surveys and guidelines. The survey sought socio-demographic characteristics of the patients and the level of knowledge about diabetic foot care practice. Results: 29.5% of patients had bad foot care, 49.6% of patients had moderate foot care and 20.8% of patients had good foot care. There were no significant differences between patient groups in regard to age, gender, foot infection history and having undergone amputation surgery. We found that patients who good at foot care had higher education status (p < 0.001), were more likely live in a city (p < 0.001), had higher income (p < 0.001), had been trained about foot care (p < 0.001) and were more likely to have type I DM (p = 0.015). Disease duration was longer in those who had good foot care compared to the other groups (p = 0.010). Conclusions: The mean knowledge and practice scores of our patients were moderate, indicating that much is to be done for the education of patients on this matter. We also found that knowledge about the importance of this practice, education status and disease duration had significant influence on the practice of foot-care in patients with DM. © 2019 Primary Care Diabetes Europe

Herein, gold nanoparticles (AuNP)-modified cortisol-imprinted (AuNP-MIP) plasmonic sensor was developed for signal amplification and real-time cortisol determination in both aqueous and complex solutions. Firstly, the sensor surfaces were modified with 3-(trimethoxylyl)propyl methacrylate and then pre-complex was prepared using the functional monomer N-methacryloyl-L-histidine methyl ester. The monomer solution was made ready for polymerization by adding 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate to ethylene glycol dimethacrylate. In order to confirm the signal enhancing effect of AuNP, only cortisol-imprinted (MIP) plasmonic sensor was prepared without AuNP. To determine the selectivity efficiency of the imprinting process, the non-imprinted (AuNP-NIP) plasmonic sensor was also prepared without cortisol. The characterization studies of the sensors were performed with atomic force microscopy and contact angle measurements. The kinetic analysis of the AuNP-MIP plasmonic sensor exhibited a high correlation coefficient (R2 = 0.97) for a wide range (0.01–100 ppb) with a low detection limit (0.0087 ppb) for cortisol detection. Moreover, the high imprinting efficiency (k′ = 9.67) of the AuNP-MIP plasmonic sensor was determined by comparison with the AuNP-NIP plasmonic sensor. All kinetic results were validated and confirmed by HPLC.

In this study, we have reported a novel fabrication technique for human serum albumin (HSA) imprinted composite bacterial cellulose nanofibers (MIP-cBCNFs) used for the depletion of HSA selectively from artificial blood plasma for proteomic applications. Molecular imprinting was achieved by using metal ion coordination interactions of N?methacryloyl?(L)?histidinemethylester (MAH) monomer and Cu(II) ions. MAH-Cu(II)-HSA complex was polymerized with bacterial cellulose nanofibers (BCNFs) under constant stirring at room temperature. The characterization of the MIP-cBCNFs was carried out by FTIR-ATR, SEM, contact angle measurements and surface area measurements. The adsorption experiments of HSA onto the MIP-BCNFs and NIP-BCNFs from aqueous HSA solutions were investigated in a batch system. The selectivity of the MIP-cBCNFs was investigated by using non-template human transferrin (HTR), and myoglobin (Myo). The relative selectivity coefficients of the MIP-cBCNFs were calculated as 4.73 and 3.02 for HSA/HTR and HSA/Myo molecules, respectively. In addition, the depletion of HSA from artificial human plasma was confirmed by SDS-PAGE and 2-D gel electrophoresis. As a result, it has been shown that metal ion coordination interactions contribute to specific binding of template when preparing MIP-cBCNFs for the depletion of HSA with a high adsorption capacity, significant selectivity and reusability. © 2018

Data on the efficacy and duration of nucleos(t)ide analogue (NUC) therapies to prevent the development of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients are scarce and heterogeneous. This study aimed to summarize the clinical and laboratory results of the patients with CHB infection who discontinued oral antiviral therapy.A single-centered cohort study was conducted with CHB infection. NUCs were discontinued in patients who were under viral suppression for at least two years with undetectable HBV DNA levels for 18 months. Risk factors for clinical relapse (CR) were evaluated.A total of 77 patients were recruited. HBeAg status showed that 9.4% of the patients underwent HBeAg seroconversion with NUCs. HBeAg reversion was noted in four (31%) of these patients. Severe hepatitis, which resolved after antiviral therapy was restored, was reported in two out of 77 patients (4%). None of the patients with CR had clinical or biological signs of hepatic decompensation or died during the study period.We found no benefits of the discontinuation of antiviral therapy after viral suppression in patients with initially severe fibrotic HBV infection. In patients with mild to moderate fibrosis, cessation of antiviral treatment is not associated with adverse outcomes.Kronik hepatit B (KHB) hastalarında siroz ve hepatoselüler karsinom gelişimini önlemek için nukleos(t)id analog (NUK) tedavilerinin etkinliği ve süresine ilişkin veriler az ve heterojendir. Bu çalışma, oral antiviral tedaviyi bırakan KHB enfeksiyonlu hastaların klinik ve laboratuvar sonuçlarını özetlemeyi amaçlamaktadır.KHB enfeksiyonlu hastalarda tek merkezli bir kohort çalışması yapılmıştır. En az iki yıldır viral baskılama altında olan ve 18 aydan beri saptanamayan HBV DNA düzeyleri olan hastalarda NUK’lar kesilmiştir. Klinik relaps (KR) için risk faktörleri değerlendirilmiştir.Çalışmaya toplam 77 hasta alındı. HBeAg durumu, hastaların% 9.4’ünün NUK’larla HBeAg serokonversiyonu geçirdiğini gösterdi. Bu hastaların dördünde (%31) HBeAg reversiyonu kaydedildi. Antiviral tedavisi yeniden başlandıktan sonra düzelen şiddetli hepatit, 77 hastanın 2’sinde (%4) bildirilmiştir. KR’li hiçbir hastada klinik veya biyolojik hepatik dekompansasyon belirtisi görülmemiştir veya çalışma süresi boyunca ölmemiştir.Başlangıçta şiddetli fibrotik HBV enfeksiyonu olan hastalarda viral baskılamadan sonra antiviral tedavinin kesilmesinin herhangi bir faydası bulamadık. Hafif ile orta şiddette fibrozlu hastalarda, antiviral kesilme, olumsuz sonuçla ilişkili değildir.

Nanobiosensors have several advantages such as fast response, easy use, high sensitivity, specificity, real-time analysis, and portability. Over the last decade, the nanobiosensor realm has extended, and they have already showed a wide range of fields including biomedical applications, environmental analysis, food safety, and so on. A molecular imprinting method is one of the enthralling modification methods that uses molecules as templates to create cavities for recognition of targets in the polymer. It provides a large range of variability to imprint target molecules with different molecular sizes, structure, and physical and chemical properties. Owing to their unique features such as selectivity, robustness, low cost, stability, and reusability of this method, molecularly imprinted polymers have become inviting and been applied in a wide range of applications in various fields. Herein, this chapter is prepared according to the fundamentals of molecular imprinting methods, nanobiosensors, the recent applications of molecularly imprinted nanobiosensors for biomedical applications, and also conclusion and future perspectives.

Introduction: Though there is currently no approved treatment for COVID-19, potential medications include lopinavir and doxycycline. Lopinavir is a broad-spectrum protease inhibitor successfully used during the SARS outbreak. Doxycycline is an antibiotic with immunomodulatory effects, which successfully treats dengue hemorrhagic fever. Comparing lopinavir combined with doxycycline with other commonly implemented COVID-19 treatment regimens is of medical significance. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study comparing two cohorts. One cohort strictly adhered to a treatment protocol of lopinavir combined with doxycycline (Lop/Dox), while the other cohort (Others) applied protocols based on combinations of favipiravir, hydroxychloroquine, and azithromycin. The outcomes evaluated were death from coronavirus and intubation. Results: During the study period, 161 and 114 patients were followed in the Lop/Dox cohort and the Others cohort, respectively. The Lop/Dox cohort was older and had lower O2 saturation at admission. The proportion of patients needing intubation did not differ between the cohorts (Lop/Dox, 15∙5%; Others, 16∙7%). The overall fatality rate likewise did not differ (12∙4%) in Lop/Dox and 8∙7% in the Others cohort). Older age and elapsed time between the onset of symptoms and hospitalization, O2 saturation at admission, and the lymphocyte to white blood cell ratio were independent risk factors for poor outcomes of the illness. Conclusion: This study showed that lopinavir plus doxycycline therapy is an effective treatment amongst moderate to severe COVID-19 patients.

Background and Aims Membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN) may be caused by disturbances in the complement system. Hypocomplementemia is a characteristic of MPGN. Among these patients frequency of hypocomplementemia and their relation with clinical and histopathological findings are still not clearly known. The aim of this study is to evaluate the hypocomplementemia frequency among the primary MPGN patients in Turkey and its relation with histopathological subtypes, findings and demographic characteristics. Method The data was obtained from national multicentered (47 centers) records of primary glomerular diseases in Glomerulonephritis Study Group of the Turkish Society of Nephrology database from May 2009 to June 2019. Primary MPGN cases were evaluated and divided into 2 groups with and without hypocomplementemia. Results In total, 193 cases were included in the study. The indications for renal biopsy were isolated nephrotic syndrome (55.4%), nephritic syndrome (21.2%), nephrotic syndrome with a nephritic component (6.2%) and asymptomatic urinary findings (17.2%). 34.2% of the cases were reported as immune complex type, another 34.2% of the cases were reported as C3 glomerulopathy. 31.6% of patients were not specified. 82 (42.4%) of the cases presented hypocomplementemia. Hypocomplementemic patients were younger (34±14 vs 41±15, p=0.002) and most frequently female (56% vs 41%, p=0.03). At same time, serum albumin and hemoglobin levels were lower and anemic patient rates were higher (p Conclusion This multicenter study provided important data about the epidemiology of MPGN with importance of hypocomplementemia in Turkey. Hypocomplementemia is associated with both subtypes of MPGN patern, anemia and nephrotic syndrome. At the same time, hypocomplementemia is a valuable parameter for active MPGN pattern in the histopathological evaluation. This may be important in determining the treatment.

Aim: This meta-analysis aimed to pool available data regarding the efficacy of ganciclovir treatment among cytomegalovirus-detected ulcerative colitis patients.Methods: We screened PubMed, Ovid, Web of Science and Cochrane databases for relevant studies, and four investigators independently evaluated the studies for eligibility. The primary outcome was surgical resection or death from ulcerative colitis. The data were then pooled via DerSimonian-Laird estimator and Mantel-Haenszel (MH) method, two points added for continuity correction and random-effects model fitted in the Bayesian framework. We first constructed a Bugs model with Student t-distribution as prior for between-study heterogeneity. The model was fitted by Gibbs sampler (JAGS) to produce a marginal posterior distribution.Results: Our screening identified 15 eligible studies for final data synthesis and combined data from 191 ganciclovir-treated and 166 non-treated patients. Effect estimates from the fixed-effects meta-analysis model did not encourage ganciclovir treatment (OR, 1.43; 95% CIs [0-95, 2.16]), with a negligible unaccounted heterogeneity (I2 = 0%). The Bayesian random-effects model generated high-density credible intervals, suggesting a high probability, that future studies will also not encourage ganciclovir treatment (mu, 1.028; 95% credible intervals [0.054, 2.238]; 80% credible intervals [0.401, 1.703]) which indicates that future studies will favor non-treatment of ulcerative colitis with ganciclovir.Conclusions: Data produced in this study do not encourage ganciclovir treatment for UC patients. However, studies included in this analysis were observational, and thus, inherited severe selection bias. We suggest randomized controlled studies be conducted to make firm recommendations in this context.

Amac: Bu calismada kronik bobrek hastaligi olan hastalarda dinamik tiyol/disulfid dengesinin arastirilmasi amaclandi. Gerec ve Yontem: Calismaya evre 1-5 (non diyaliz) 150 ( 57 erkek, 93 kadin) kronik bobrek hastasi ve (76 ( 30 erkek, 46 kadin ) saglikli kontrol grubu alindi. Kan tiyol/disulfid dengesi yeni gelistirilen otomatik ve kalorimetrik bir yontemle olculdu. Bulgular: Tum populasyonun serum thiol duzeyi ortalamasi 320.8±57.8 µmol/L , total thiol duzeyi ortalamasi 352.0±61.5 µmol/L , ortalama disulfid duzeyi 15.6±5.3 µmol/L idi. Kronik bobrek hastalarinda ortalama serum thiol ( p

We aimed to investigate the effects of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis and progression of Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT).Forty euthyroid and 40 subclinical hypothyroid patients older than 18 years and not yet had received treatment were enrolled in the study.In the 9 months follow-up, 14 of the HT patients developed overt hypothyroidism. The mean total oxidant status (TOS) and oxidative stress index (OSI) were higher in patients who developed overt hypothyroidism than those who did not (p .001). And no significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of paraoxanase-1 and arylesterase (p .05). Multivariable Cox regression model showed thyroid stimulating hormone level (HR = 1.348, p .001), free-thyroxine level (HR = 0.481, p = .017) and OSI ratio (HR = 2.349, p .001) to be independent predictors of development of overt hypothyroidism. OSI level, being over 2.96 with 92.9% sensitivity and 62.5% specificity, predicts the risk of hypothyroidism.Oxidative stress may be an effective risk factor in the development of overt hypothyroidism in HT.

This study aims to investigate the role of the blood pressure index (BPI), which is a new index that we developed, in detection of right ventricular dysfunction (RVD) in acute pulmonary embolism (APE).A total of 539 patients, (253 males and 286 females), diagnosed with APE using computer tomography pulmonary angiography were included in the study. The BPI was obtained by dividing systolic blood pressure (SBP) by diastolic blood pressure (DBP).Mean DBP (75±11mmHg vs 63±15mmHg; p0.001, respectively) was found to be higher in RVD patients compared to those without RVD, whereas BPI (1.5±0.1 vs 1.9±0.2; p0.001, respectively) was lower. Examining the performance of BPI in prediction of RVD using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis (area under curve±SE=0.975±0.006; p0.001), it was found that BPI could predict RVD with very high sensitivity (92.8%) and specificity (100%) and had a positive predictive value of 100% and a negative predictive value of 42.1%. According to the analysis, the highest youden index for the optimal prediction value was found to be 0.478 and the BPI≤1.4 was found to predict mortality 68.6% sensitivity and 80.8% specificity (Area under curve±SE=0.777±0.051; p0.001).We found that BPI was an index with high positive predictive value and low negative predictive value in detection of RVD.

In this study, it was aimed to show the cannabinoid receptor-2 (CB2) role, which is a part of neuroprotective endocannabinoidal system, against increasing nitric oxide synthetase (iNOS, eNOS) levels and the apoptotic activity (caspase-3, caspase-9, and DNA in situ fragmentation) within the postnatal critical period in pups of pregnant rats with artificially induced maternal thyroid hormone (TH) deficiency. Each of the three groups established comprised one male and two female rats, and they were coupled. Their pups were used. In the first two groups, the mothers were treated with 0.025% MMI during the critical period of the pregnancy. In the third group, as the control group, the mothers and pups were not treated. Euthanasia was applied to the pups in Group I on Day 10, and to the pups in Groups II and III on Day 21. In the biochemical analyses, total T4 levels of both mothers and pups in Group I and II were found to be lower than those of the control group. Histopathologically, karyopyknosis in migrating neurons and demyelinization were observed in both groups. Caspase-3 and -9 expressions and TUNEL reactions showed parallelism to these findings. eNOS and iNOS activities were also increased in Groups I and II. CB2 receptor activity was observed in the fore and mid brain in Group I, and in the whole brain in Group II. In conclusion, apoptosis was triggered via oxidative stress in hypothyroid pups. Accordingly, neuroprotective activity of CB2 receptors were motivated spontaneously to resist to CNS lesions during the first 3 weeks of postnatal period. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 77: 1334-1347, 2017.

Objective:Automated urine analysis is usually preferred for laboratories with intensive workload. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of the automated urine analyser H-800/FUS-100 and detect the error sources.Materials and methods:One thousand four hundred fifty nine fresh urine samples were analyzed with H-800/FUS-100 automated systems. The urine sediment of the samples with discrepant strip and microscopy results were confirmed by manual microscopy. Precision and carry over studies were performed.Results:The discrepancy is detected in a ratio of 5.89% between chemical analysis (H-800) and microscopic analysis (FUS-100) of the device. A total of 86 discrepant samples were detected. Fifty six of 86 were erythrocyte discrepancies (65.1%) and 30 of 86 were leukocyte discrepancies (34.9%). The results of carry over analysis for erythrocyte and leukocyte were 21.85% and 13.64%, respectively.Conclusions:Sixteen (1.09%) of 1459 patients’ results in FUS-100 were discrepant with manual microscopy. Commonly, yeasts and crystals affected erythrocyte counts and calcium oxalate and amorphous crystals affected the leukocyte counts. Images should be reviewed for every sample when automated systems are used for urine analysis. Especially if discrepancy is detected between chemical and microscobic analysis, the results should also be confirmed with manual microscopy.

Introduction: We aimed to investigate the role of sTWEAK in the pathogenesis of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, which is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease. Material and methods: A total of 80 patients were included in the study, 60 of whom were newly diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (20 patients in each of the euthyroid, subclinical hypothyroid, and overt hypothyroid subgroups), and 20 of whom were healthy volunteers. Thyroid function tests and autoantibodies were measured using the electro-chemiluminescence immunoassay method, and sTWEAK, IL-17A, IL-12, and TGF-beta1 were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. Results: The Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis group had lower levels of sTWEAK and TGF-beta1, but had higher levels of IL-12 and IL-17A as compared to the control group. Of these, only the difference between IL-17A levels reached statistical significance (2.1 pg/mL vs. 1.8 pg/mL, respectively; p l 0.001). While the levels of sTWEAK were similar in the control, euthyroid, and subclinical groups, the overt hypothyroidism group had lower level of sTWEAK than that of subclinical hypothyroidism (687.6 ± 153.3 pg/mL vs. 888.2 ± 374.4 pg/mL, respectively; p = 0.03). A negative correlation was determined between sTWEAK level and anti-TPO (r = –0.533, p = 0.028) and IL-17A (r = –0.600, p = 0.005) levels in the overt hypothyroidism group. Conclusions: The reduced levels of sTWEAK with progression of Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis and the significant correlation between the sTWEAK levels and anti-TPO found in this study suggest that sTWEAK plays an active role in chronic inflammation in the pathogenesis of Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis and in the progression of autoimmunity. (Endokrynol Pol 2016; 67 (6): 562–566)