Evaluation of Transforming Growth Factor Beta-1 in the vein wall of males with varicocele.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate potential differences in the presence of Transforming Growth Factor-Beta 1 (TGF-ß1) between the vein walls of patients with varicocele and those of healthy individuals. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study comprised a total of 40 participants, divided into two groups. The control group (Group 1) consisted of 20 patients who underwent coronary bypass surgery, while the varicocele group (Group 2) included 20 patients scheduled for varicocelectomy. The cytoplasmic and nuclear staining patterns of TGF-ß1 immunohistochemistry were assessed in tissue samples under light microscopy, identifying any differences in TGF-ß1 presence between varicocele patient vein walls and normal (saphenous) veins. RESULTS: The varicocele group demonstrated lower nuclear and cytoplasmic TGF-ß1 staining rates compared to the control group. After controlling for the independent factor of age, significantly lower nuclear and cytoplasmic staining was still observed in the varicocele group. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first of its kind to compare TGF-ß1 staining in the vein walls of varicocele patients and healthy individuals. Previous studies focusing on varicose veins reported elevated TGF-ß1 expression. Contrarily, our study observed lower TGF-ß1 expression in varicocele patient veins, marking a unique contribution to the field.

The complex microbiome of caries-active and caries-free supragingival plaques in permanent dentition.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Dental caries is one of the most common diseases seen in the oral cavity in all periods of deciduous, mixed, and permanent dentition. A comprehensive study of the oral microbiome is required to understand its polymicrobial etiology. The aim of this study was to reveal the plaque microbiome of caries-active and caries-free adults. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 52 samples were collected from 26 caries-active patients and 26 caries-free controls. Dental supragingival plaque samples were collected from each subject and the bacterial 16S rDNA, expanded V3-V4 region, was amplified using next generation sequencing. RESULTS: The core microbiome was defined with 235 shared bacteria in genus level, and among all microbiome 14.8% of all bacteria showed significant difference (P < 0.05). The bacteria responsible of caries may be listed as Anaeroglobus, Atopobium, Bifidobacterium, Centipeda, Cryptobacterium, Desulfobulbus, Filifactor, Howardella, Lactobacillus, Leptotrichiaceae (unclassified), Megasphaera, Mycoplasma, Olsenella, Phocaeicola, Propionibacterium, Pseudoramibacter, Scardovia, Schwartzia, Treponema, and Veillonellaceae (unclassified). CONCLUSION: The present study provides comprehensive knowledge of the microbiological etiology of caries in permanent dentition.

Can Epstein-Barr virus play a role in upper urinary tract urothelial carcinomas?

INTRODUCTION: Upper urinary tract urothelial carcinomas are very rare tumours with different biological behaviours. The Epstein-Barr virus, which is the first known oncogenic virus, is being investigated for various malignant tumours. It is known that this virus is associated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, as well as multiple haematological malignancies, head and neck and gastric cancers. We aimed to determine the presence of the Epstein-Barr virus in upper urinary tract urothelial carcinomas using chromogenic in situ hybridisation (CISH). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 44 upper urinary tract urothelial carcinomas from two different centres were included. Demographic data and survival rates were obtained from hospital records. One demonstrative paraffin block from each case was stained using Epstein-Barr encoded RNA (EBER) with an automated CISH procedure. The positivity of EBER was statistically analysed for prognostic factors. RESULTS: Among all patients, 38 were male and 6 were female. The mean age of the patients was 65.93 years. At the time of the study, 15 patients had died and 29 were alive. EBER-CISH positivity was found in 13 patients. Four showed strong EBER-CISH expression and nine showed weak expression. EBER-CISH positivity was not statistically related to any of the prognostic factors or to overall survival. DISCUSSION: Although EBER-CISH positivity showed no significant relation with prognostic factors, it was observed in one-third of all cases. Therefore, we think that the Epstein-Barr virus may have a role in the pathogenesis of upper urinary tract urothelial carcinomas. This finding needs to be supported by larger studies.

A study of premature ovarian failure in Turkish women.

The parameters that could be responsible for or could be the end results of the premature ovarian failure were evaluated in 100 patients and compared with the same parameters of a control group consisting of 30 ovulatory healthy women with regular menstrual cycles. The incidence of premature ovarian failure was 6.6%. The mean age of the premature ovarian failure group was 39.2 +/- 4.1 years (range 30-58) whereas this was 45.6 +/- 3.1 years (range 39-52) for the control group. The mean menopausal age was 4.0 +/- 4.3 years (range 1-30). The prevalence of being a widow, divorcee or single was high in the premature ovarian failure group (p < 0.01). Of the hormonal and metabolic parameters, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels showed significant differences between the two groups (p < 0.01 and p < 0.05, respectively) and of the parameters reflecting bone metabolism, alkaline phosphatase levels showed a significant difference (p < 0.05). The bone mineral densitometric measurement values were lower in the premature ovarian failure group (p < 0.05). Because premature ovarian failure is not a rare disorder and because the patients have an early estrogen deficiency we concluded that, whatever the etiologic factor, hormone replacement therapy needs to be given as early as possible.

The effect of salinity and osmotic pressure of the medium on the growth, sporulation and changes in the total organic acid content of Aspergillus flavus and Penicillium chrysogenum.

Extreme conditions of a medium effects the growth of microorganisms. The effect of salinity (NaCl) and osmotic pressure on the vegetative and reproductive growth as well as on changes in the amount of total organic acid of Aspergillus flavus and Penicillium chrysogenum; isolated from the soil; have been studied in this investigation. The vegetative growth of both species increased with an increase in the NaCl content of the nutrient medium. The maximum increase was observed in A. flavus in the nutrient medium containing 9% NaCl, as compared to the control. On the other hand the salinity and the osmotic pressure values, depending on the changes in the salinity; had inhibitive effects on the production of conidia of A. flavus and stimulative effects on those of Penicillium chrysogenum. P. chrysogenum for maximum production of conidia was observed in the nutrient medium containing 1% NaCl whereas maximum vegetative growth was recorded in the nutrient medium containing 9% NaCl. However, no definite results were obtained concerning a parallelity between the increase in vegetative and reproductive growth. In view of these observations, for a production of total organic acid incubation medium of the fungal species, each species must reach a particular conidia production, and salinity and osmotic pressure of the medium effects their production differently depending on the species.