Radiation Parameters of Some Potential Bioactive Compounds.

In this study, we aimed to determine the radiation parameters of some potential bioactive compounds. 1-Aryl-3-dibenzylamino-propane-1-on hydrochloride type Mannich bases were synthesized via classical conventional heating method. Aryl part was changed as phenyl (C6H5), 4-methylphenyl (4-CH3C6H4), 4-fluorophenyl ( 4-FC6H4), 4-nitrophenyl (4-NO2C6H4), 4-chlorophenyl (4-ClC6H4), 4-bromophenyl (4-BrC6H4), and 2-thienyl (C4H3S-2-yl). Mass attenuation coefficient (µm), effective atomic number (Z(eff)) and effective electron density (N(el)) of compounds were determined experimentally and theoretically for at 8.040, 8.910, 13.40, 14.96, 17.48, 19.61, 22.16, 24.94, 32.19, 36.38, 44.48, 50.38 and 59.54 keV photon energies by using an HPGe detector with a resolution of 182 eV at 5.9 keV. Radiation parameters of these compounds which can be anti-cancer drug candidate were given in the tables. The results show that phenyl ring behave like thiophene ring in terms of radiation absorption. It is thought that the results of study may drive allow the development of drug candidate new compounds in medical oncology.

Does Genetic Variation in PNPLA3, TM6SF2 and HSD17B13 have a Role in the Development or Prognosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Turkish Patients with Hepatitis B?

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Progression to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is restricted by viral suppression in chronic hepatitis B (CHB); however, some patients still progress despite antiviral therapy. Presence of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) such as PNPLA3 rs738409 and TM6SF2 rs58542926 are associated with the development and progression of steatotic liver disease to HCC, whereas a splice variant in HSD17B13 rs72613567:TA has been shown to be protective. We investigated the role of these SNPs in the development or prognosis of HCC in pure CHB etiology, in the absence of hepatic steatosis, remains unknown. MATERIALS: We analysed PNPLA3 rs738409, TM6SF2 rs58542926, and HSD17B13 rs72613567 SNPs in a prospectively recruited cohort (n=323) consisting of healthy controls, CHB and CHB-HCC patients without hepatic steatosis. SNPs were determined by PCR analysis and associations for the alleles and genotypes were investigated using adjusted-logistic regression analyses. The overall survival (OS) data were collected from CHB-HCC patients for survival analysis. RESULTS: The genotype and allelic distribution of PNPLA3 rs738409, TM6SF2 rs58542926, and HSD17B13 rs72613567 were similar between healthy controls, CHB, and CHB-HCC groups. No genotype, allele or haplotype analysis was found to be associated with increased risk for CHB-HCC. Survival analysis revealed no genotype or allele to be associated with OS in patients with CHB-HCC. CONCLUSIONS: We could not demonstrate any association of PNPLA3 rs738409, TM6SF2 rs58542926, and HSD17B13 rs72613567 with the development or prognosis of CHB-HCC, supporting the initial hypothesis that they should be considered specific hotspots for liver diseases characterized with hepatic steatosis.

Removal of 177Lu from radioactive wastewater using Montmorillonite clay.

Because radioactive 177Lu has a wide range of possible applications in radiopharmaceuticals, its removal from medical wastewater is particularly important. Montmorillonite clay was employed as an adsorbent in this study. Radioactive solutions were prepared with dilutions of the solution containing 177Lu at various concentrations, in which it was present as Lu3+. ULEGe detector in gamma spectrometer was used to measure 177Lu gamma rays emitted from the radioactive aqueous solutions. The results obtained showed that it is possible to remove 177Lu with a high yield of approximately 90% and it is effective in a period of 90 min under acidic conditions. From the findings, it can be argued that Montmorillonite clay, as an abundant and sustainable adsorbent, may also be suitable for the disposal of different radioactive medical wastes such as 131I and 99mTc, and also the technique based on gamma ray spectroscopy can be used for fast and practical measurements of radioactive material amounts.

An experimental study on chemical shifts and X-ray intensity ratios.

In this study, full widths at half maximum (FWHM), asymmetry indexes, chemical shifts (ΔE) and Kß-to-Kα X-ray intensity ratios of some pure metals (Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn) and some of their oxidized compounds (Mn2O3, Fe2O3, Fe3O4, Cu2O3 and ZnO) were investigated. The samples were excited by 59.54 keV photons emitted from a241Am radioisotopes source and characteristic K X-rays emitted from the samples were counted by a Si(Li) detector. The results have shown that the Kß-to-Kα X-ray intensity ratios, asymmetry indexes, chemical shifts and full widths at half maximum (FWHM) values can change with sample sizes.

Effective atomic numbers of boron compounds obtained using Rayleigh to compton scattering intensity ratio.

In this study, we measured the effective atomic numbers of some boron compounds (H4BNa, H3BO3, Na2B4O17H20, B4C, BN, NaCaB5O17H16, B2O3, Ca2B6O16H10, Zn2B6O14H6, TiB2, Fe2B, Ni3B, ZrB2, and LaBO3) by using 59.54 keV energy gamma rays emitted from an Am-241 radioactive source. Rayleigh and Compton scattering peaks were detected using a high purity germanium detector with a resolution of 182 eV at 5.9 keV. In addition, the effective atomic numbers of the boron compounds were theoretically calculated by using WinXCOM code. We concluded that the calibration curve obtained can be used for the qualitative analysis of compounds with effective atomic numbers in the range of 3.95 ≤ Z ≤ 54.15 because the experimental and theoretical effective atomic numbers were in very good agreement.

Albedo factors of some boron compounds at 59.54 keV.

In this study, the albedo factors (number, energy, and dose) of some boron compounds were investigated at a scattering angle of 180°. Eight boron compounds were tested in the mean atomic number range of 4.571 ≤ Z‾ ≤ 19.00. The samples were irradiated by gamma rays emitted at 59.54 keV from an Am-241-point source with an activity of 0.43 MBq. The scattered gamma rays were counted by an ultra-low energy germanium detector with a resolution of 140 eV at 5.9 keV. The results showed that the albedo factors decreased as the mean atomic number increased. The correlations between the albedo factors and mean atomic numbers were also high.

Mean atomic number analysis by the coherent to backscattering intensity ratios at 59.54 and 661.62 photon energies.

In this work, the qualitative analysis has been performed by using ratio of coherent to backscattering intensity ratios. The samples in the mean atomic number range 4.268≤Z‾≤5.786 and 9.743≤Z‾≤83.00 were prepared by using dilution technique. 59.54 and 661.62 keV photon energies are obtained from the radioactive point sources of 241Am and 137Cs an activity of 0.43-0.20 MBq, respectively. The scattered gamma rays were counted by a HPGe detector with a resolution of 182 eV at 5.9 keV. The obtained intensity ratios are plotted as function of the mean atomic number and constituted a best-fit-curve. The correlation coefficients for the prepared samples in the mean atomic number range 4.268≤Z‾≤5.786 are 0.976 and 0.970 at 59.54 and 661.62 keV photons, respectively. The correlation coefficients for the prepared samples in the mean atomic number range 9.743≤Z‾≤83.00 are 0.964 and 0.967 at 59.54 and 661.62 keV photons, respectively. It is observed that there was a high correlation between coherent to backscattering intensity ratio and the mean atomic numbers. It was concluded that the recommended intensity ratio can be used for qualitative analysis.

Evaluation of the Association between Programmed Cell Death-1 Gene Polymorphisms and Hepatocellular Carcinoma Susceptibility in Turkish Subjects. A Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) has a vital role in regulating T-cell function, and immune escape mechanism of cancer cells. It was shown that there could be a relationship between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the PD-1 gene and susceptibility to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) based on various studies. We aimed to investigate the role of three SNPs within the PD-1 gene in susceptibility to HCC in the Turkish population. METHODS: Single nucleotide polymorphisms of PD-1.1, 1.5, and 1.6 were genotyped by using TaqMan Allelic Discrimination Assays in blood samples of 137 HCC and 136 control subjects, matched for age and gender. The genotype, allele and haplotype frequencies were compared in HCC and control groups using logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Genotype distributions of PD-1.1, PD-1.5 and PD-1.6 SNPs were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. No significant difference was observed in the genotype distribution of PD-1.1, PD-1.5 and PD-1.6 polymorphisms among gender and age-matched HCC (M/F: 96/41; mean age: 61.4 ±11.7 years) and control group (M/F: 94/42; mean age: 61.4±10.1). In the haplotype analysis of PD-1.1/PD-1.5/PD-1.6, no significant difference was found among HCC and control group adjusted for sex and age (all p values>0.1). CONCLUSION: Our findings, firstly reporting the association of PD-1.5 polymorphism with HCC, and PD-1.1 and PD-1.6 with HCC in the Turkish population, suggest that PD-1 polymorphisms are not predisposing factors for HCC development. Future studies with larger sample sizes and different ethnic populations are required to validate our findings.

Dependence of albedo factors on mean atomic number for 662 keV gamma photons.

The albedo factors (number, energy and dose) of the samples with various mean atomic number have been investigated at a scattering angle of 180°. Fourteen different samples in the mean atomic number range 9.743 ≤ Z‾ ≤ 83.00 were obtained with bismuth and cellulose powders by using dilution technique. Thus, albedo factors have been investigated in a wide atomic number range. The samples were irritated by 662 keV gamma rays emitted from a137Cs radioactive source. The scattered γ -rays were counted by an HPGe detector with active area of 200 mm2. It has been observed that albedo factors decrease with increasing mean atomic number. Also, there is a high correlation between albedo factors and mean atomic numbers.

Variation of scattering intensity ratios with mean atomic number using a dilution technique in EDXRF.

The variation of different intensity ratios with mean atomic number for qualitative analysis was investigated in EDXRF. Ten different samples with a mean atomic number between 4.268 and 5.786 were obtained by mixing zirconyl chloride octahydrate (Cl2OZr·8H2O) and cellulose (C6H10O5) powders. The samples were excited by 59.54 keV gamma rays emitted from a 241Am annular radioactive source with 5 Ci activity. The high purity germanium (HPGe) semiconductor detector with a resolution of 182 eV at 5.9 keV was used to detect the photons. (Icoh/2(µ/ρ)λ+Icomp/(µ/ρ)λ+(µ/ρ)λ-Δλ), (Icoh+IComp)/(µ/ρ)λ, (Icoh/2(µ/ρ)λ, IKα/Isc and IKß/Isc intensity ratios in XRF spectrum for the assessment of information regarding the mean atomic number of the samples are studied. It has been observed that the total scattering intensity ratios can be used with high reliability in qualitative analysis for complex materials.

Albedo factors of some elements in the atomic number range 26≤Z≤79 for 59.54keV.

In this study, we aimed to determine the albedo factors for Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zr, Mo, Ag, Dy, Yb, and Au. Albedo factors were investigated experimentally for 59.54keV photon energy by using an HPGe detector with a resolution of 182eV at 5.9keV. Albedo number (AN), albedo energy (AE), and albedo dose (AD) were plotted as a function of atomic number of the target. It was observed that albedo factors decreased with increasing atomic number. In addition, there was a good third-order polynomial relationship between the albedo factors and atomic number.

L-shell differential cross-section and alignment of uranium at 59.54-keV photon energy.

L X-ray differential cross-sections of uranium were calculated at several polar scattering angles (85°, 95°, 105°, 115°, 125°, and 135°) at 59.54-keV photon energy by using a Si(Li) detector. We observed that Ll and Lα X-rays were dependent on the polar scattering angle, whereas Lß and Lγ X-rays were independent of the polar scattering angle. Therefore, the anisotropy parameters for Ll and Lα X-rays were obtained using the intensity ratios of Ll to Lγ X-rays and of Lα to Lγ X-rays to reduce some systematic errors.

Determining the awareness of and compliance with breast cancer screening among Turkish residential women.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women. Despite being associated with high morbidity and mortality, breast cancer is a disease that can be diagnosed and treated early. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional study of 321 women, data were collected by Questionnaire, Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Form and Champion's Health Belief Model Scale. Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, Chi- squared tests and logistic regression were used in the statistical analysis. RESULTS: It was found that only 2.2% of women have high and very high risk levels of breast cancer risk. There is a positive correlation between early diagnosis techniques and Health Belief Model Sub-Dimension scores which are sensibility, health motivation, BSE (Breast self-examination) self-efficient perception and negative correlation between mammography barrier score and BSE barrier score (p 0.05). When factors for not having BSE were examined, it was determined that the women who do not have information about breast cancer and the women who smoke have a higher risk of not having BSE. CONCLUSIONS: It is important to determine health beliefs and breast cancer risk levels of women to increase the frequency of early diagnosis. Women's health beliefs are thought to be a good guide for planning health education programs for nurses working in this area.

Rupturing of renal angiomyolipoma due to physical examination.

Renal angiomyolipoma (AML) is relatively a rare benign tumour including vascular smooth muscle, and fatty elements; and the majority of renal AML run an asymptomatic, benign course. Potentially life-threatening complication of renal AML is tumour rupturing that can be seen after a low-velocity trauma. Flank pain and haematuria may be considered not important in emergency department if underlying cause is not kept in mind. In present study, the authors aimed to discuss a patient who developed ruptured AML during physical examination.

A rare case of portal vein gas: accidental hydrogen peroxide ingestion.

Hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) is a colourless and odourless liquid with oxidant characteristics used for various purposes. Whereas in lower concentrations (3%), H(2)O(2) is used as a disinfectant in home cleaning products and wound care, in higher concentrations (35%) it is used in textile and paper industry as a bleaching agent and is diluted for use in lightening hair dyes. Like other caustic substances, direct injuries may develop if H(2)O(2) is swallowed and systemic air embolisms may occur due to the resultant gaseous oxygen. This study discusses a patient who was detected with the presence of gas in the portal venous system due to H(2)O(2) intoxication and was treated conservatively.