The value of plasma SCUBE1 and oxidative stress parameters in the early diagnosis of acute ovarian torsion.

AIM: The purpose of our study was to determine the diagnostic value of plasma SCUBE1, malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and total antioxidant status (TAS) investigated on the 4th hour of ovarian torsion, and at the same time to determine the relation between these markers and histopathological damage occurring in the ovary. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixteen rats were included, eight in the torsion group and eight in the control group. The right ovaries of the rats in the torsion group were rotated clockwise 720 degrees, after which they were fixed and attached to the abdominal wall. The abdominal walls of the control group rats were opened for 1 min and then closed. Relaparotomy was performed 4 h after surgery in both groups, blood specimens were collected for biochemical analyses, and the right ovaries were surgically extracted. RESULTS: No statistically significant difference was determined in the control and torsion groups' plasma SCUBE1, SOD and TAS values (p = 0.987, p = 0.33, and p = 0.244, respectively). Torsion group plasma MDA values were significantly higher than those of the control group (p = 0.039). At histopathological evaluation, histological score, apoptotic index and Caspase-3 index values of the torsion group were significantly higher compared to the control group. CONCLUSION: Plasma SCUBE1 is not useful in the early diagnosis of ovarian torsion. Similarly, use of the oxidative stress markers SOD and TAS does not appear useful in early diagnosis, although MDA may be considered for that purpose (Tab. 2, Fig. 3, Ref. 23).

The diagnostic value of the serum irisin level in patients with acute pericarditis and acute myopericarditis.

OBJECTIVE: This preliminary study aims to examine a change in the blood levels of irisin in patients with acute pericarditis (AP) and acute myopericarditis (AMP) and examine the diagnostic value of the serum irisin level in AP and AMP. METHODS: 10 patients, who applied to the emergency service and cardiology clinic with chest pain and who were diagnosed with AP and 5 patients, who were diagnosed with AMP as a result of routine examinations, were included in the study. The basal laboratory parameters, echocardiography findings and serum irisin levels of the patients and during check one month later were examined. RESULTS: While the basal irisin levels were found to be significantly low in the AMP group and high during the check (6.6 ± 1.58, 8.19 ± 1.43, respectively), no statistically significant difference was determined (p = 0.23). It was observed that the basal and control irisin levels did not vary significantly in the AP group (8.03 ± 1.6, 8.19 ± 1.43, respectively) (p = 0.84). CONCLUSION: In this preliminary study, the basal irisin levels were found to be significantly low in the AMP group, while there was no statistically significant difference between the basal irisin levels and control irisin levels in the AP and AMP groups (Tab. 5, Ref. 17).

Gauged Supergravities and Spontaneous Supersymmetry Breaking from the Double Copy Construction.

Supergravities with gauged R symmetry and Minkowski vacua allow for spontaneous supersymmetry breaking and, as such, provide a framework for building supergravity models of phenomenological relevance. In this Letter, we initiate the study of double copy constructions for these supergravities. We argue that, on general grounds, we expect their scattering amplitudes to be described by a double copy of the type (spontaneously broken gauge theory)⊗ (gauge theory with broken supersymmetry). We present a simple realization in which the resulting supergravity has U(1)_{R} gauge symmetry, spontaneously broken N=2 supersymmetry, and massive gravitini. This is the first instance of a double copy construction of a gauged supergravity and of a theory with spontaneously broken supersymmetry. The construction extends in a straightforward manner to a large family of gauged Yang-Mills-Einstein supergravity theories with or without spontaneous gauge-symmetry breaking.

Complete Construction of Magical, Symmetric, and Homogeneous N=2 Supergravities as Double Copies of Gauge Theories.

We show that scattering amplitudes in magical, symmetric or homogeneous N=2 Maxwell-Einstein supergravities can be obtained as double copies of two gauge theories, using the framework of color-kinematics duality. The left-hand copy is N=2 super-Yang-Mills theory coupled to a hypermultiplet, whereas the right-hand copy is a nonsupersymmetric theory that can be identified as the dimensional reduction of a D-dimensional Yang-Mills theory coupled to P fermions. For generic D and P, the double copy gives homogeneous supergravities. For P=1 and D=7, 8, 10, 14, it gives the magical supergravities. We compute explicit amplitudes, discuss their soft limits, and study the UV behavior at one loop.

Results from the Survey of Antibiotic Resistance (SOAR) 2011-13 in Turkey.

OBJECTIVES: Data are presented from the Survey of Antibiotic Resistance (SOAR) for respiratory tract infection pathogens collected in 2011-13 from Turkey. METHODS: MICs were determined using Etest(®). Susceptibility was assessed using CLSI, EUCAST and pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) interpretive criteria. RESULTS: Rates of antibiotic susceptibility were very low among 333 isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae tested: penicillin 38% using CLSI (oral) and EUCAST breakpoints; erythromycin 51% using CLSI and EUCAST criteria; and cefuroxime 64.6% using CLSI and PK/PD and 46.9% using EUCAST. Of the isolates, >90% were susceptible to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, ceftriaxone (except using EUCAST criteria: 76%), levofloxacin and high-dose intravenous penicillin. Among 339 Haemophilus influenzae isolates, 6.8% were ß-lactamase positive while 9.1% were ß-lactamase negative but ampicillin resistant (BLNAR) by CLSI (14.7% by EUCAST) criteria. Amoxicillin/clavulanic acid susceptibility was ∼90% by CLSI (with or without BLNAR adjustment, EUCAST and high-dose PK/PD) but lower, at 82.9%, by EUCAST with BLNAR adjustment. Levofloxacin susceptibility was 96% using all three breakpoints. Dramatic differences in rates of susceptibility, depending on the breakpoints used, were seen for cefaclor [94% by CLSI (86.4% BLNAR adjusted), 23% by PK/PD] and cefuroxime [97% by CLSI (89.1% BLNAR adjusted), 85% by PK/PD, 15% by EUCAST (13.0% BLNAR adjusted)]. Streptococcus pyogenes (n = 222) and Moraxella catarrhalis (n = 40) isolates remained highly susceptible to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, cephalosporins and levofloxacin, with only erythromycin susceptibility dropping below 95% for S. pyogenes. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid and levofloxacin were the most active antibiotics based on all three breakpoints against these pathogens. Although susceptibility was not universally low in Turkey, high resistance rates were found in S. pneumoniae and, when using PK/PD and EUCAST breakpoints, in other respiratory pathogens.

Attenuation of bleomycin induced lung fibrosis by erdosteine and inhibition of the inducible nitric oxide synthase.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Despite advances in treatment modalities, the discovery of optimal medical therapies still remains a necessity in the management of pulmonary fibrosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The experiments were performed in 35 adult Sprague Dawley rats, randomly allotted into one of five groups (n=7). The control group was treated with 1 ml/kg, 0.9 % saline; the BLM group was given a single dose of BLM (2.5 U/kg); the BLM+ER group was treated with ER (10 mg/kg/day po) for 14 days after BLM administration; the BLM+SMT group was treated with i.p injections of SMT (20 mg/kg/ day) for 14 days after BLM administration; the BLM+ER+SMT group was treated with ER and SMT for 14 days after BLM administration. At the end of day 14, the results of histopathological, biochemical, and immunohistochemical investigations were analyzed. RESULTS: Serum TNF-α, nitrate/nitrite, and TBARS levels significantly increased in BLM group compared to control group (p < 0.001, p < 0.001 and p < 0.05 respectively). Lung tissue content of IL-6 was found to be lower in BLM+ER, BLM+SMT and BLM+ER+SMT groups compared to BLM group by immunhistochemical examinations (p < 0.01, p < 0.01 and p < 0.001, respectively). Similarly, the TNF-α reactions (p < 0.01 for each group) and NF-kB expressions were shown to be significantly different among the study groups (p < 0.05, p < 0.05 and p < 0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION: Based on our study, ER and SMT attenuate BLM-induced pulmonary fibrosis; the combination of two agents has a greater protective efficacy against fibrosis than one alone, reducing the inflammatory markers (Tab. 2, Fig. 2, Ref. 31).

Investigation of plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates.

AIMS: To investigate plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance in clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa with the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance genes have been identified in many bacteria within the Enterobactericeae family, they have not been detected in P. aeruginosa isolates. Subjects and Methods : Identification of the isolates and testing of antibiotic susceptibility was performed in Vitek2 Compact (Biomeriux, France) and Phoinex (BD, USA) automated systems. Screening for the qnrA, qnrB, qnrS, qnrC, aac (6')-Ib-cr and qepA genes was carried out by PCR amplification and aac (6')-Ib-cr DNA sequencing. RESULTS: The qnr and the qepA genes were not detected in any of P. aeruginosa isolates. The aac (6')-Ib gene was detected in six of the isolates and positive isolates for aac (6')-Ib were sequenced for detection of the aac (6')-Ib-cr variant but aac (6')-Ib-cr was not detected in any isolates. CONCLUSIONS: Plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance genes have so far not been identified in P. aeruginosa isolates. However, qnrB have detected in P. florescens and P. putida isolates. This is the first study conducted on the qnrA, qnrB, qnrS and qnrC genes as well as the qepA and aac (6')-Ib-cr genes in P. aeruginosa clinical isolates.

Dose-dependent protective effect of ivabradine against ischemia-reperfusion-induced renal injury in rats.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: This study was designed to investigate the dose-dependent protective effect of ivabradine, a specific inhibitor of the cardiac sinoatrial node, on renal ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury in rats. METHODS: Rats were divided into six groups: group 1, control; group 2, I/R (60 min ischemia followed by 24 h reperfusion); groups 3 and 4, 0.6-6 mg/kg ivabradine; and groups 5 and 6, sham+0.6-6 mg/kg ivabradine. At the end of the study, malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase contents were assayed in the kidney tissues; serum blood levels of urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine (Cr) and albumin also were determined. RESULTS: Tissue MDA levels were found to be significantly higher in the I/R group, whereas SOD and CAT levels were lower when compared to the control group. Ivabradine (0.6 mg/kg) treatment reduced the MDA levels and elevated the SOD and CAT enzyme activity. Treatment with a dose of 6 mg/kg ivabradine further increased MDA levels and did not ameliorate SOD or CAT activities. Serum levels of BUN and Cr were significantly higher in the I/R group. I/R+0.6 mg ivabradine reduced the elevated BUN and Cr levels. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that ivabradine exerts a dose-dependent response beyond heart rate reduction against renal I/R injury.

Extended-spectrum beta-lactamases in ceftazidime-resistant Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates in Turkish hospitals.

PURPOSE: To study the prevalence of TEM-, SHV- and GES-type beta -lactamases among Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae strains having ceftazidime MICs higher than 2 mg/L. METHODS: A total of 63 E. coli and 41 K. pneumoniae isolated from five different university hospitals were studied for the existence of TEM-, SHV- and GES-type beta -lactamases. Susceptibility tests were carried out according to the criteria of National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards. MICs were obtained by agar dilution method. Existence of extended-spectrum beta -lactamases (ESBLs) were assessed by double-disc synergy test (DDST). Existence of the above-mentioned beta -lactamase genes were studied both by PCR with specific oligonucleotide primers and isoelectric focusing methods. RESULTS: None of the isolates were carbapenem-resistant. DDSTs were positive in 50 (79.3%) and 33 (80.5%) of E. coli and K. pneumoniae , respectively. TEM gene was detected in 41 (65.1%) and 19 (46.3%), whereas SHV gene in 18 (28.6%) and 20 (48.8%) of E. coli and K. pneumoniae strains, respectively. GES genes were not detected. CONCLUSIONS: TEM and SHV genes are highly prevalent among ESBL-producing E. coli and K. pneumoniae , whereas GES-type ESBLs are absent and found not to be responsible of ceftazidime resistance in Turkish hospitals.

Comparison of the effects of amlodipine and verapamil on autonomic activity in hypertensive patients.

Background: Many studies have shown that autonomic activation is one of the major factors in the etiology of hypertension. Furthermore, sympathovagal imbalance may be responsible for arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. The aim of the present study was to compare and to evaluate the effects of short-term therapy with amlodipine and verapamil on heart rate variability (HRV) in patients with essential hypertension. Methods: Forty patients with essential hypertension (11 men and 29 women, mean age 50.5+/-10.4 years) were included in the study. Patients with cardiac, metabolic, or any other systemic disease were excluded. Patients were randomized to receive either amlodipine (10 mg; n=20) or verapamil (240 mg; n=20). Patients underwent 24-h Holter monitoring assessment before treatment and after the 4-week treatment period. Standard deviation of normal RR intervals (SDNN), standard deviation of all 5-min mean normal RR intervals (SDANN), square root of the mean of the sum of the squares of differences between adjacent RR intervals (r-MSSD), and pNN50 (time domain variables) and TF, high-frequency power (HF), low-frequency power (LF), and sympathovagal balance (LF/HF; frequency domain variables) were analyzed before and after treatment. Results: Blood pressure (BP) was reduced to a similar degree, from 182/104 to 128/85 mmHg with verapamil and from 174/100 to 124/86 mmHg with amlodipine (verapamil p<0.001; amlodipine p<0.001). This study revealed that amlodipine had no significant effect on any of the time or frequency domain parameters. In contrast, in patients on verapamil, there were significant increases in all time domain parameters, and the LF/HF ratio was significantly decreased (p<0.05). Conclusions: These results suggest that verapamil may have additional positive effects on sympathico-parasympathetic control beyond lowering blood pressure compared with amlodipine, even after short-term treatment in hypertensive patients.

Distinguishing hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotype D from non-D by a simple PCR.

Different HBV genotypes have characteristic geographical distribution, which is important epidemiologically. HBV strains have been classified into eight different genotypes (A-H) on the basis of >8% differences in the entire genomic sequence. Genotypes A and D are predominant in Europe, Africa, and the USA, genotypes B and C are restricted to East Asia, genotype E is found in Africa, and genotype F is found in indigenous populations in Central and South America. Genotype D is prevalent in the Turkish population. HBV genotype D shows a 33-bp deletion in the pre-S1 region that accounts for their smaller genomic size (3182 bp). This deletion can be used to facilitate the identification of genotype D. A primer in the pre-S1 region was designed to discriminate genotype D from non-D by PCR. Sixty genotype D (40 acute and 20 chronic) and 4 genotype A sera identified by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) were included in the study. Using this simple PCR method, all genotype D sera were identified correctly and the test was able to detect HBV DNA at 1000 genomes per ml. An advantage of this method is that it can differentiate in a mixture of genotypes (genotype D from non-D) provided that one isn't present below 1 x 10(4) copies/ml. In conclusion this method is rapid (approximately 5h) and it will contribute to the epidemiological study of HBV in high prevalence areas of genotype D. It can also differentiate between genotype D from non-D in cases of co-infection.

Surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in gram-negative isolates from intensive care units in Turkey: analysis of data from the last 5 years.

A multicenter antimicrobial surveillance program was established in Turkey in 1995 to monitor the predominant Gram-negative pathogens from intensive care units (ICUs) and antimicrobial resistance patterns of these isolates. Sixteen hospitals participated in the study and a total of 1479 isolates from 1,100 patients were collected. The isolates were tested for their susceptibility against 13 antibiotics by E-test method. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for each isolate were determined for imipenem, ceftazidime, ceftazidime-clavulanate, cefoperazone-sulbactam, ceftriaxone, cefepime, cefuroxime, piperacillin-tazobactam, ticarcillin-clavulanate, gentamicin, amikacin and ciprofloxacin. The most common isolates were Pseudomonas spp. (28.2%), Escherichia coli (19.2%) and Klebsiella spp. (19.1%). We found very high resistance rates to all major antibiotics that are used to treat serious infections. Although imipenem is the most active agent, it had an overall susceptibility rate of 68%. Half of the tested Klebsiella spp. strains were found to produce ESBL. This is a very high rate when compared with the literature. Cross-resistance among species was also investigated. 52% of ciprofloxacin-resistant strains were also resistant to imipenem, 80% to ceftazidime, 97% to ceftriaxone, 86% to amikacin and 19% of imipenem-resistant strains were susceptible to ceftazidime and 18% to amikacin. When susceptibilities of the years 1995 and 1999 were compared, the most interesting finding was the decrease in resistance to 3rd generation cephalosporins. In conclusion, this national clinical isolate database shows that resistance rates are high, the change over years is not predictable and continuous surveillance is necessary to monitor antimicrobial resistance and to guide antibacterial therapy.

Physicians' antibiotic prescribing habits for upper respiratory tract infections in Turkey.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the antibiotic prescription rates for upper respiratory tract infections (uRTIs) by primary care physicians in Samsun, Turkey. Data were obtained from the records of 2,083 visits to 8 primary care areas. Trained research students were stationed on site at each of the 8 primary care areas during the study period. Clinical features of patients were documented on a standardized form. Patients who had acute pharyngitis, acute sinusitis, acute otitis media (AOM) and common cold were included in the study. This survey was conducted between June 1, 1999 and July 1, 1999. A total of 2,083 office visits were recorded and 502 (24.1%) of the patients had uRTIs. Physicians approached these conditions empirically, with only 2.9% of patients having a diagnostic test at initial examination. Antibiotics were prescribed for 461 patients (91.8%) with uRTIs (common cold: 41.9%, acute pharyngitis: 94.7%, acute sinusitis: 94.1% and AOM: 100%). 11.5% of the antibiotic prescriptions were inconsistent with current recommendations derived from the literature. Inadequate antibiotic prescribing was documented in 29.7% of antibiotic prescriptions. Errors were frequent in relation to dosage, dosage interval and duration of therapy. Overuse of antibiotics is widespread in our geographic area. Both administrative and educational intervention should be implemented to improve antibotic prescribing habits at the primary health care level to reduce the unnecessary use of antimicrobial agents.

Does surgical technique influence cataract surgery contamination?

PURPOSE: To compare cataract surgery contamination rates in large-incision extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE) and phacoemulsification (PE), we studied 65 cases prospectively. METHODS: Thirty-five cases were operated by large-incision ECCE (Group I) and 30 by PE (Group II). Conjunctival swab cultures were taken immediately before surgery and anterior chamber aspirate was taken for culture upon completion of surgery for each case. RESULTS: Anterior chamber cultures were positive in 22.8% of the cases in group I and 23% in Group II. Frequencies of contamination in each group were no different (x2: 0.22, p>0.05). When the contaminations were evaluated in relation to operating time, prolongation of the operating time raised the contamination rate in Group I (p<0.05) but not in Group II (p>0.05). Silicone and PMMA intraocular lenses (IOL) were tested to see whether they had any additional risk of contamination. The frequencies of contaminated silicone IOL implanted cases (6/26) and contaminated PMMA IOL implanted cases (8/39) were similar (x2: 0.36, p>0. 05). CONCLUSIONS: Although the architecture of the incision and irrigation dynamics provided an advantage to the PE technique as the operating time became longer, routine PE was not superior to classical ECCE with respect to contamination when performed in the same circumstances. Prolonging the operating time raised the contamination rate in classical ECCE.

Surveillance of antimicrobial resistance among gram-negative isolates from intensive care units in eight hospitals in Turkey.

With the participation of eight major reference hospitals in Turkey, 749 aerobic Gram-negative isolates obtained from 473 intensive care patients in 1997 were tested for their susceptibility to 13 commonly employed antibacterial agents. The frequency with which species were isolated and resistance rates were compared with data from the previous 2 years. Imipenem was the most active agent against the majority of isolates (75%), followed by ciprofloxacin, cefepime and amikacin. The per cent susceptibility to all antibiotics declined from 1995 to 1996. With the exception of imipenem, for which there was no change in resistance, the per cent susceptibility somewhat increased in 1997. However, it was still lower than in 1995.

A comparison of the E-test and proportion methods for susceptibility testing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between three antibiotic susceptibility methods, the proportion method on Löwenstein Jensen medium (LJ medium), the proportion method on Middlebrook 7H11 agar (7H11 agar), and the E-test for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Fifty M. tuberculosis isolates were tested in vitro against isoniazid, rifampicin, streptomycin, and ethambutol according to the E-test, the proportion methods on 7H11 agar and LJ medium and then compared with a reference test which was the proportion method on 7H11 agar. The correlations between proportion method on 7H11 agar and proportion method on LJ medium for isoniazid, rifampicin, streptomycin, and ethambutol were 93.9%, 85.1%, 85.4% and 78.7% respectively. The correlations between the proportion method on 7H11 agar and the E-test were 83.1%, 78.8%, 84.7% and 80.5% respectively. There were no significant differences observed between the E-test and LJ medium compared to 7H11 agar. The average times to obtain susceptibility test results were 7 and 21 days for the E-test and agar proportion methods, respectively. The E-test may be suitable for replacing the proportion methods (7H11 agar and LJ medium) in routine practice due to its fast and easy application.

Detection of extended spectrum beta-lactamases in Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae.

The presence of extended spectrum beta-lactamases (ESbetaLs) in 129 Escherichia coli and 128 Klebsiella pneumoniae strains was determined with the E test. beta-lactamases were detected in 66 (51.2%) of E.coli and 107 (83.6%) of K. pneumoniae by the nitrocefin disk method. Putative ESbetaL production was observed in 15.5% of E. coli and 55.5% of K. pneumoniae with the E test. Among the putative ESbetaL-producer strains 11 were found to be susceptible to ceftizoxime, 6 to ceftazidime, 2 to ceftriaxone, cefotaxime and aztreonam, and one to cefoperazone according to the disk diffusion test. All putative ESbetaL-producers were resistant to cefodizime, thus it may be a good indicator of the presence of mainly TEM-type ESbetaL. The E test was also found to be practicable for the detection of ESbetaLs in clinical laboratory. Further studies are needed to clarify whether ESbetaL can be identified reliably in species that, in addition to plasmid mediated ESbetaL production, chromosomally encoded AmpC beta-lactamases and other class A ESbetaLs by disk diffusion test.