Determination of periodic deformation from InSAR results using the FFT time series analysis method in Gediz Graben.

Permanent Scatterers (PS) point velocities obtained by the interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) method are generally determined using the linear regression model, which ignores periodic and seasonal effects. In this study, software was developed that can detect periodic effects by applying fast Fourier transformation (FFT) time series analysis to InSAR results. Using the FFT time series analysis, the periodic components of the surface movements at the PS points were determined, and then the annual velocity values free from periodic effects were obtained. The study area was chosen as the Gediz Graben, a tectonically active region where aseismic surface deformations have been observed in recent years. As a result, using the developed method, seasonal effects were successfully determined with the InSAR method at the PS points in the study area with a period of 384 days and an average amplitude of 19 mm. In addition, groundwater level changes of a water well in the region were modeled, and 0.93 correlation coefficient values were calculated between seasonal InSAR displacement values and water level changes. Thus, using the developed methodology, the relationship between the tectonic movement in the Gediz Graben in Turkey and the seasonal movements and the change in the groundwater level was determined.

Sociodemographic, clinical, laboratory, treatment and prognostic characteristics of 156 generalized pustular psoriasis patients in Turkey: a multicentre case series.

BACKGROUND: Generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP) is a rare and severe inflammatory disease characterized by widespread and superficial sterile pustules on an erythematous background. OBJECTIVES: This multicentre study aimed to determine the clinical profile and course in a large cohort of patients with GPP. METHODS: One hundred and fifty-six GPP patients (mean age, 44.2 ± 18.7 years) who met the diagnostic criteria of the European Consensus Report of GPP were included in the study. Sociodemographic characteristics, quality of life, triggering factors of the disease, clinical, laboratory, treatment and prognostic features were evaluated. RESULTS: 61.5% of the patients were female. The rate of working at or below the minimum wage (≤$332.5/month) was 44.9%. Drugs (36.5%) were the most common trigger. While hypocalcaemia (35.7%) was the most important cause of GPP during pregnancy, systemic steroid withdrawal (20%) was the most frequently reported trigger for infantile/juvenile and mixed-type GPP (15%) (P < 0.05). Acute GPP (53.8%) was the most common clinic. Nails were affected in 43.6% of patients, and subungual yellow spots (28.2%) were the most common change. In annular GPP, fever (P < 0.001) and relapse frequency (P = 0.006) were lower than other subtypes, and the number of hospitalizations (P = 0.002) was lower than acute GPP. GPP appeared at a later age in those with a history of psoriasis (P = 0.045). DLQI score (P = 0.049) and joint involvement (P = 0.016) were also higher in this group. Infantile/juvenile GPP was observed in 16.02% of all patients, and arthritis was lower in this group (24.4 vs. 16%). GPP of pregnancy had the worst prognosis due to abortion observed in three patients. CONCLUSIONS: Recent advances in treatment have improved mortality associated with GPP, but abortion remains a significant complication. Although TNF-α inhibitors have proven efficacy in GPP, they can also trigger the disease. Mixed-type GPP is more similar to acute GPP than annular GPP with systemic manifestations and course.

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on neovascular age-related macular degeneration and response to delayed Anti-VEGF treatment.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the treatment course of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) patients who received anti-VEGF injection therapy with real-life data. METHODS: This retrospective study consisted of 116 eyes of 106 patients. Ophthalmic examination, assessment of best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), optical coherence tomography (OCT) findings and data of last two visits before restrictions (V-2 and V-1) and the first visit (V0) after the release of national lockdown and subsequent visits (V1 and Vlast) were recorded. The lockdown period was determined by the time interval between March 11 and June 1, 2020. MAIN RESULTS: The injection interval before V-1 was significantly longer than the interval after V0 (2.56±0.9 vs. 2.14±0.8 months, P=0.02). While the median central macular thickness (CMT) was significantly increased at V0 compared to V-1 [274(132-711) vs. 238(136-628), P<0.001], the median CMT was significantly lower at V1 compared to V0 [256 (136-591) vs. 274(132-711), P=0.003]. The median BCVA was 0.67(0.1-1.1) logMAR at V-1 and significantly worsened to 0.78 (0.1-1.2) logMAR at V0 (P=0.003). Although the median BCVA improved to 0.69 logMAR (0.1-1.2) at Vlast, the difference did not reach statistical significance compared to V0 (P=0.08). CONCLUSION: Treatment delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic cause progression of nAMD and visual impairment. To plan more frequent anti-VEGF treatments and visits may be an appropriate approach until the disease stabilizes. However, it should be kept in mind that despite the improvement in OCT findings, the desired success in VA could not be achieved in the short term.

Protective Effects of Curcumin Against Formaldehyde-induced Renal Toxicity in Rats

ABSTRACT Objective: To explore the protective effects of curcumin against renal injury induced by formaldehyde in rats. Methods: A total of 21 male Sprague-Dawley rats were included. The animals were divided into three groups. The control group received 10 ml/kg of physiological saline intragastrically and intraperitoneally on a daily basis. The formaldehyde group were given 10 ml/kg of physiological saline intragastrically plus 10 mg/kg of formaldehyde intraperitoneally. The formaldehyde + curcumin group received 10 mg/kg of intraperitoneal formaldehyde daily as well as 100 mg/kg of curcumin intragastrically. After the completion of 14 days, the kidneys were removed. Tissue microscopic examination was performed with haematoxylin-eosin and periodic acid-Schiff staining. Also, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and xanthine oxidase (XO) activities, and malondialdehyde (MDA) and nitric oxide (NO) levels were measured in tissue samples. Results: Formaldehyde induced renal injury. The degenerative tissue changes in the formal-dehyde + curcumin group seemed to regress, exhibiting similar characteristics to those of the controls. MDA, XO and NO were significantly higher in formaldehyde group than in controls, while a significant reduction occurred in SOD, CAT and GSH-Px activities in the formaldehyde group. Also, renal tissue MDA, XO and NO were significantly lower in the formaldehyde + curcumin group than in the formaldehyde group, while tissue SOD, CAT and GSH-Px activities were significantly higher. Conclusion: Curcumin improved the formaldehyde-induced renal degeneration. Also, curcumin was found to prevent the reduction in SOD, CAT and GSH-Px activities, while preventing MDA, XO and NO levels, exhibiting a protective effect against the formaldehyde-induced oxidative renal injury.

Comparative interpretation of lactate measurement by point of care spectrophotometric and ELISA methods in transition cows.

Early recognition of altered lactate levels is considered a useful prognostic indicator in dis- ease detection for both human beings and animals. It is reasonable therefore to hypothesize that a portable, point of care (POC) spectrophotometric device for analysis of lactate levels, may have an application for field veterinarians across a range of conditions and diagnostic procedures. In this study, a total of 72 cattle in the transition period underwent POC spectrophotometric lactate measurement with a portable device (The Vet Photometer) in the field, with a small portion of blood used for comparative ELISA evaluation. Lactate measurements were compared using a of Passing-Bablok regression analysis and Bland-Altman plots. The Vet Photometer lactate mea- surement results were in agreement with those generated by the ELISA method. Values for the agreement were derived, in a 95% CI between -1.3 and 0.99, and a positive correlation (r=0.71) between the two measurements. The equation y= 0.68x + 0.60 was achieved using a Pass- ing-Bablok regression analysis. There were no statistical differences in mean values between the measurement methods. In conclusion, a novel veterinary POC spectrophotometric device "Vet Photometer" is an accurate device for evaluation of lactate levels in healthy transition cows.

Relationship between hepcidin and oxidant/antioxidant status in calves with suspected neonatal septicemia.

AIM: This study has been conducted for the purpose of determining serum hepcidin, total antioxidant status (TAS), total oxidant status (TOS), and Fe levels in calves with suspected neonatal septicemia before and after treatment and the clinical significance of hepcidin in calves with suspected neonatal septicemia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study material consisted of 15 calves of different ages and sexes brought to the Training, Research and Application Center at the Kafkas University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine with suspected neonatal septicemia. 8.5 mL of blood was drawn from the jugular vein of each animal into coagulant tubes before and after treatment for one-off biochemical analyses and centrifuged. After this, the serum was separated. Hepcidin, TAS, TOS, and Fe levels in the serum were measured. RESULTS: While pre-treatment hepcidin levels were 58.42±3.46 ng/mL, post-treatment levels were 46.87±2.98 ng/mL (p<0.05). Pre-treatment Fe levels were 60.13±7.27 µg/dl, while post-treatment levels were 83.1±8.09 µg/dl (p<0.05). The changes in the TAS and TOS levels were also found to be statistically significant. CONCLUSION: In light of the fact that hepcidin plays a role function in the regulation of Fe as well as the fact that Fe is a significant nutritional source for many microorganisms, it was concluded that hepcidin may play a significant role in nutritional immunity and the pathogenesis of diseases.

Prospective ECG-gated high-pitch dual-source cardiac CT angiography in the diagnosis of congenital cardiovascular abnormalities: Radiation dose and diagnostic efficacy in a pediatric population.

PURPOSE: The goal of this study was to investigate the radiation dose and diagnostic efficacy of cardiac computed tomography angiography (CCTA) using prospective ECG-gated high-pitch dual-source computed tomography (DSCT) in the diagnosis of congenital cardiovascular abnormalities in pediatric population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred five pediatric patients who were clinically diagnosed with congenital heart disease with suspected extracardiac vascular abnormalities were included in the study. All CCTAs were performed on a 128×2-section DSCT scanner. CCTA findings were compared with surgical and/or conventional cardiac angiography findings. Dose-length product (DLP) and effective doses (ED) were calculated for each patient. Patients were divided into 4 groups by age, and ED and DLP values were compared among groups. The image quality was evaluated using a five-point scale. RESULTS: CCTA showed 173 abnormalities in 105 patients. There were 2 patients with false positive and 3 with false negative findings. The sensitivity and specificity of CCTA were 98.3% and 99.9%, respectively. The positive predictive value and negative predictive value of CCT were 98.9% and 99.9%, respectively. The average DLP and ED values were 15.6±9.6 (SD) mGy.cm and 0.34±0.10 (SD) mSv, respectively. The mean image quality score was 4.8±0.5 (SD) in all patients. The inter-observer agreement for the image quality scores was good (κ=0.80). CONCLUSION: CCTA is an excellent imaging modality for evaluation of cardiovascular abnormalities and provides excellent image quality with very low radiation exposure when low-dose prospective ECG-triggered high-pitch DSCT is used.

Does topical use of autologous serum help to reduce post-tonsillectomy morbidity? A prospective, controlled preliminary study.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the effects of autologous serum usage on throat pain, haemorrhage and tonsillar fossa epithelisation in patients after tonsillectomy. METHODS: Thirty-two patients (aged 4-15 years) were included in the study. Tonsillectomy was performed and autologous serum was administered topically to the right tonsillar fossa during the operation, and at 8 and 24 hours post-operatively. The left side served as the control. A visual analogue scale was used to record the patient's pain every day. Each patient's oropharynx was observed on the 5th and 10th post-operative days to examine bleeding and epithelisation. RESULTS: The pain scores for the side administered autologous serum were significantly lower than those for the control side, on the night following the operation and on the 1st, 2nd, 5th and 6th post-operative days. Tonsillar fossa epithelisation was significantly accelerated on the study side compared with the control side on the 5th and 10th post-operative days. CONCLUSION: In tonsillectomy patients, topically administered autologous serum contributed to throat pain relief and tonsillar fossa epithelisation during the post-operative period.

Pharmacokinetics of meloxicam in adult goats: a comparative study of subcutaneous, oral and intravenous administration.

AIMS: To determine the plasma disposition of meloxicam in goats following S/C, oral or I/V administration at a single dose of 0.5 mg/kg bodyweight. METHODS: Five healthy Saanen goats, aged 12-14 months and weighing 35-40 kg, were used for a three phase cross-over design with a 10-day washout period, with meloxicam administered I/V, then orally and S/C. Heparinised blood samples (5 mL) were collected from all animals prior to drug administration (0 hours) and subsequently up to 96 hours. Concentrations of meloxicam in plasma were measured using high performance liquid chromatography. Concentration-time curves were fitted and pharmacokinetic parameters were estimated for each administration group. RESULTS: Subcutaneous administration of meloxicam exhibited unique plasma distribution characteristics that differed from oral and I/V administration. Mean peak plasma concentrations were greater (1.91 (SD 0.39) vs. 0.71 (SD 0.17) µg/mL) and the time to reach them shorter (3.20 (SD 1.64) vs. 14.33 (SD 2.19) hours) following S/C compared with oral administration (p<0.05). The terminal half-life was longer (15.16 (SD 4.74) vs. 10.69 (SD 1.49) hours) and the MRT was shorter (15.67 (SD 2.37) vs. 24.33 (SD 3.12) hours) following S/C than oral administration (p<0.05), but bioavailability was similar (98.24 (SD 9.62) vs. 96.49 (SD 10.71)%). CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Subcutaneous administration of meloxicam resulted in long-term presence of drug at high concentration in goat plasma. This unique plasma disposition characteristic may offer an advantage in some clinical cases towards potentially improving the treatment efficacy in goats.

Radiation dose and diagnostic accuracy of high-pitch dual-source coronary angiography in the evaluation of coronary artery stenoses.

PURPOSE: "Flash Spiral" imaging is a new prospective ECG-triggered spiral scan mode that uses a very high-pitch for coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA). This enables complete image acquisition within one cardiac cycle with a very low radiation exposure. The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic accuracy, image quality, and effective radiation dose of prospectively ECG-triggered high-pitch spiral method (Flash spiral mode) of coronary CTA using dual-source technology for the evaluation of coronary artery stenoses. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 186 consecutive patients (115men, 71women; mean age: 53.37 years) who underwent coronary CTA. Coronary CTA was performed with a 128×2-slice dual-source CT (Somatom Definition Flash, Siemens, Germany) using a prospectively ECG-triggered high-pitch spiral mode. Patients were divided into three groups according to heart rate (≤65bpm, 66-75bpm, ≥76bpm) and body mass index (BMI) (20-24kg/m(2), 25-29kg/m(2), 30-34kg/m(2)) values. The correlation between heart rates, image quality and BMI values are investigated. A four-point scale (1=excellent, 4=poor/non-diagnostic) was used to rank the comparative image quality. Effective radiation doses were calculated. Also the correlation between radiation dose, sex and BMI values were investigated. In addition, diagnostic accuracy of CTA for detection of significant (≥50%) coronary artery stenoses was compared with invasive coronary angiography findings of 612vessel segments in 38patients. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and diagnostic accuracy rate were calculated. RESULTS: A total of 2976coronary artery segments were present. Of all coronary artery segments, 2381 (80%) had an image quality score of 1, and 1.5% segments were rated as "poor/non-diagnostic". When the correlation between heart rate and image quality is investigated, there was a significant difference between ≤65bpm and ≥76bpm groups. However, there was no significant difference between ≤65bpm and 66-75bpm groups. The mean effective dose was found as 1.3mSv (min: 0.5, max: 2.4mSv). The correlation between effective radiation dose and BMI was moderate. However, the correlation between gender and radiation dose was significant. Sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value and accuracy of coronary CTA on a per-vessel segment were 90.1%, 97.4%, 98.6%, and 96.5%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Prospectively ECG-triggered high-pitch spiral mode coronary CTA provides high image quality and diagnostic accuracy, with very low radiation dose for evaluation and exclusion of coronary artery stenoses.

The protective effects of endothelin-A receptor antagonist BQ-123 in pentylenetetrazole-induced seizure in rats.

Endothelin-1 has been shown to increase neuronal activity and glutaminergic synaptic transmission by endothelin-A receptors (ETAR) in the nucleus tractus solitarius neurons that play an important role in epileptic seizures. Therefore, BQ-123 as an ETAR antagonist might attenuate neuronal excitability and glutaminergic synaptic transmission. The main purpose of the present study is to investigate the protective effect of acute BQ-123 treatment against pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced tonic-clonic seizures. Wistar albino rats were divided into three groups: control, PTZ, and PTZ + BQ-123 groups. BQ-123 (3 mg/kg, intravenously) was administered for 15 min before injecting with PTZ (50 mg/kg, intraperitoneally). We determined a delay resulting from BQ-123 in "duration of the seizure onset." "Number of rats with major seizure" also decreased according to scoring with video camera in PTZ + BQ-123 group. In BQ-123-treated group, there were eight rats without a major seizure, but only one rat had a delayed major seizure. The brain tissue glutathione peroxidase activity was significantly decreased in the PTZ and PTZ + BQ-123 groups. According to the results of the control group, there was a significant increase in the protein carbonyl levels of the PTZ group and a significant increase in the nitric oxide levels of the PTZ + BQ-123 group. Histological examination showed an increase in the number of neuronal hyperchromatic nucleus especially in hippocampal gyrus dentatus region of BQ-123-treated group. We concluded that BQ-123 impeded the formation and spread of seizure to a great degree. The beneficial effects of BQ-123 were comparatively supported with biochemical parameters and histological examinations.

Effects of reduced glutathione on nitric oxide level, total antioxidant and oxidant capacity and adenosine deaminase activity.

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of exogenous GSH, an important antioxidant containing thiol group, on total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and total oxidant capacity (TOC), adenosine deaminase (ADA), a significant indicator of cellular immunity, and nitric oxide (NO) concentrations in rabbits. Sixteen healthy New Zealand rabbits were divided into 2 groups as control and GSH-treated group. Animals in control group received single intraperitoneal (ip) administration of 0.9% saline. Rabbits in GSH-treated group received reduced L-glutathione (10 mg/kg) (ip). Blood samples were taken from the marginal ear vein 0, 3, 6 and 12 hours after injection. Plasma TAC and NO levels were not statistically different between control and GSH group at 0 and 12 hours. Plasma TAC level was found to be significantly higher (p < 0.05) while NO level was found to be significantly lower (p < 0.05) in GSH treated group when compared to control group at 3 and 6 hours. Plasma TOC and ADA activity were not statistically different between control and GSH group during experiment. In conclusion, exogenous GSH resulted in an alteration of TAC and NO but not TOC and ADA, so exogenous GSH may be a valuable enhancer of the antioxidant system.

Risk factors for extended-spectrum beta-lactamase positivity in uropathogenic Escherichia coli isolated from community-acquired urinary tract infections.

The aim of this prospective cohort study was to determine the risk factors for community-acquired urinary tract infections (UTIs) caused by extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-positive Escherichia coli and the distribution of the ESBL enzyme types. Structured forms were filled in for patients diagnosed with community-acquired UTI in four different geographical locations in Turkey. The forms and the isolates were sent to the central laboratory at Baskent University Hospital, Ankara. Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined according to the CLSI criteria. PCR and DNA sequencing were used to characterize the bla(TEM), bla(CTX-M) and bla(SHV) genes. Multivariate analysis was performed using logistic regression. A total of 510 patients with UTI caused by Gram-negative bacteria were included in this study. ESBLs were detected in 17 of 269 (6.3%) uropathogenic E. coli isolates from uncomplicated UTIs and 34 of 195 (17.4%) E. coli isolates from complicated UTIs (p <0.001). According to multivariate analysis, more than three urinary tract infection episodes in the preceding year (OR 3.8, 95% CI 1.8-8.1, p <0.001), use of a beta-lactam antibiotic in the preceding 3 months (OR 4.6, 95% CI 2.0-0.7, p <0.001) and prostatic disease (OR 9.6, 95% CI 2.1-44.8, p 0.004) were found to be associated with ESBL positivity. The percentages of isolates with simultaneous resistance to trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole, ciprofloxacin and gentamicin were found to be 4.6% in the ESBL-negative group and 39.2% in the ESBL-positive group (p <0.001). Forty-six of 51 ESBL-positive isolates (90.2%) were found to harbour CTX-M-15. Therapeutic alternatives for UTI, particularly in outpatients, are limited. Further clinical studies are needed to guide the clinicians in the management of community-acquired UTIs.

Cutaneous lesions in Turkish neonates born in a teaching hospital.

BACKGROUND: The neonatal period is regarded as the first 4 weeks of extrauterine life. In the literature, there are numerous articles about the skin findings in neonates and the results of these studies show differences according to races and environmental factors. AIMS: Our objective was to evaluate the skin lesions seen in neonates delivered in our hospital and to determine their relationship to gender, gestational age and route of delivery. METHODS: Newborns delivered at the Obstetrics Clinics of our hospital between November 2007 and April 2008 were included in this study. Dermatologic examination was performed and relationship between the 10 most common skin findings and gender, gestational age and route of delivery were statistically evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 572 newborns were examined for the presence of skin lesions. Most common skin findings were Epstein pearls (58.76%), sebaceous hyperlasia (48.45%) and xerosis (31.29%). Milia and sebaceous hyperplasia in girls, desquamation and xerosis in preterms, Epstein pearls, sebaceous hyperplasia and desquamation in vaginally delivered babies were found to be more frequent and the differences were statistically significant. CONCLUSION: We found that 90.7% of the neonates had one or more cutaneous lesions. Maturity and type of delivery of the babies were important factors in their causation. In Turkey, this study is the first study performed on the skin lesions seen during the neonatal period. With this study, we want to increase the awareness about the skin findings in neonates.

Investigation of oral selegiline and rasagiline administration on QT interval in conscious rabbits.

Rasagiline (RSG) and selegiline (SEL) are potent selective monoamine oxidase-B inhibitors and used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. Selegiline is metabolized in vivo to I-methamphetamine and I-amphetamine which effect cardiovascular system. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate and to compare the effects of long-term use of these drugs on QT interval in conscious rabbits. The study involved 17 New Zealand rabbits of both sexes, aged between 7 and 14 months. Control group (CG, n = 6) was orally given isotonic saline solution at dose of 0.5 cc/per rabbit. The SEL group (SG, n = 6) received 5 mg/per rabbit SEL orally twice daily (09:00 am and 09:00 pm) for 14 days. The RSG group (RG, n = 5) was orally given of RSG at 1 mg/per rabbit daily for 14 days. Electrocardiographic records were taken before the experiment (baseline) and at 1st, 7th, and 14th days of experiment by direct writing electrocardiograph for two groups. Heart rate (HR), QT and QTc values were determined from ECG records. HR did not significantly differ in both treatment groups through the experimental period when compared to baseline values. The significant prolongation of QT and QTc values were observed at 7th, and 14th day (p < 0.01) in SG and 1st day of experiment in RG (p < 0.05) as compared to baseline values. In conclusion, the results obtained suggest a statistically significant effect of SEL on QTc prolongation when compared to RAS. QTc prolongations should be taken into account in Parkinson's disease where autonomic system is involved.