Genome sequences of 31 mycobacteriophages isolated on Mycobacterium smegmatis mc2155 at room temperature.

We report the genome sequences of 31 mycobacteriophages isolated on Mycobacterium smegmatis mc2155 at room temperature. The genomes add to the diversity of Clusters A, B, C, G, and K. Collectively, the genomes include 70 novel protein-coding genes that have no close relatives among the actinobacteriophages.

The Anthropometric Measurements and Percentile Curves of Children Aged 0-5 Years in Eastern Turkey

ABSTRACT Objective: To determine the growth reference value of children in our province and to compare these values with current values of the USA and other local values of our country. Methods: A total of 615 boys and 586 girls with different socioeconomic levels and ages of 0-5 years were included in the study. In all children, weight, height, head circumference, abdominal circumference, hip circumference, mid-arm circumference, and lower segment length were taken. All measurements were performed by the same paediatrician. The lambda-mu-sigma method was used for the preparation of percentile curves. Results: The body weight, head circumference and chest circumference measurements of boys were significantly higher than those in girls. Anthropometric measurements of children in high-income groups were higher than those in the low-income group. All of the anthropometric parameters except upper mid-arm circumference were higher in children fed with breast milk and formula milk than in children who only fed with breast milk. The relation between the mother's education level and anthropometric parameters was insignificant. Conclusion: Our results showed that the anthropometric measurements of our children were similar to those of west Turkey as well as those of the United States. On the other hand, our children's anthropometric measurements were higher than other local values. Relatively high values of height have been interpreted as a genetic feature.

Knowledge and attitudes among patients with asthma and parents and physicians towards influenza vaccination

BACKGROUND: Influenza is an infectious disease, dangerous for all people, especially for some risk groups such as patients with chronic diseases and health care workers. But most of the people under the risk of influenza, including health care workers are not immunised because of misinformation. In this study, we aimed to determine the knowledge, beliefs and attitudes of patients with allergic rhinitis and asthma and parents of such children related to influenza vaccination. Attitudes and beliefs of physicians treating these patients about influenza vaccination were also investigated. METHODS: Two different questionnaires consisting of various items related to influenza vaccine were distributed to physicians and patients and parents of children with asthma and allergic disease. RESULTS: The physicians group consisted of 189 physicians from various branches. About one third of physicians from various branches reported that they did not believe the vaccine's effectiveness. Most of the participating physicians did not immunise themselves with influenza vaccination despite the fact that any patient of theirs had died due to influenza infection. Although nearly half of the 183 patients had been vaccinated with influenza vaccine, only 27% of adults and 11.7% of children had been vaccinated annually. CONCLUSIONS: Asthmatic patients are not immunised regularly with influenza vaccine due to misperceptions about vaccine effectiveness and fear of adverse effects. Another important reason of this is that most the physicians caring for these patients neither immunise themselves nor recommend the vaccine to their patients

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The effects of treatment in patients with childhood asthma on the elastic properties of the aorta

Introduction: The study aimed to investigate the effects of treatment in patients with childhood asthma on the elastic properties of the aorta and cardiovascular risk.Methods: The study was performed in 66 paediatric patients diagnosed with bronchial asthma (BA). All patients were administered the ß2 agonist, salbutamol, for seven days, followed by one month of montelukast and six months of inhaled steroid treatment. All patients underwent conventional transthoracic echocardiographic imaging before and after treatment. Aortic elasticity parameters were considered to be the markers of aortic function.Results: Aortic elasticity parameters, including aortic strain (15.2 ± 4.8 and 18.8 ± 9.5%, p = 0.043), aortic distensibility (7.26 ± 4.71 and 9.53±3.50 cm2/dyn, p = 0.010) and aortic stiffness index (3.2 ± 0.6 and 2.8 ± 0.5, p = 0.045 showed significant post-treatment improvement when compared to pre-treatment values. Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) was also observed to improve after treatment (1.81 ± 0.38 and 1.98 ± 0.43, p = 0.049). Conclusion: The study demonstrated that when provided at appropriate doses, medications used in BA may result in an improvement in aortic stiffness

The effect of dietary supplements on healing of alloplastic bone grafted defects in rat tibia / Efecto de los suplementos dietarios sobre la cicatrización de defectos injertados con hueso aloplástico en la tibia de ratas

The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the potential effects of the systemically delivered combination of calcium, zinc and vit-d supplementation of the locally applied alloplastic bone graft. 28 male Wistar albino rats were used in this study. In each animal, bone defects (10 mm length ¥ 3 mm width ¥ 2 mm depth) were created in the tibias. The animals were divided into four groups. In Group 1 (Control Group) rats were fed with standard rat diet. In Group 2 (Calcium Group) rats received calcium carbonate (15 mg/kg body weight) suspended in saline. In Group 3 (Calcium/Zinc Group) rats received calcium carbonate (15 mg/kg body weight) and zinc sulfate (4 mg/kg body weight) suspended in saline. In Group 4 (Calcium/Vitamin D Group) rats received calcium carbonate (15 mg/kg body weight) and Vitamin D (500 IU/kg body weight) suspended in olive oil. Histopathological analysis of samples was performed to evaluate the process of osteoblastic activity, matrix formation, trabecular bone formation and myeloid tissue in bone defects. Total amounts of osteoblastic activity, matrix formation, trabecular bone formation and myeloid yissue in Ca Group (p= 0.002), Ca/Zinc Group (p= 0.002), and Ca/Vit.D Group (p= 0.001) were significantly higher than in Control Group. The total amounts of Ca/Vit.D Group were significantly different than Control Group and Ca Group. The results of the present study indicated that the oral calcium carbonate supplementation combination with zinc may have systemic effects on accelerating bone regeneration in alloplastic bone grafted tibial defects. Further human studies involving long-term follow up and different type of bone grafts should be conducted.

El objetivo de esta investigación fue evaluar los efectos potenciales de la combinación sistémica de calcio, zinc y vitamina D como suplemento de la aplicación local de un injerto óseo aloplástico. Fueron utilizadas 28 ratas Wistar albinas (machos). En cada animal, se crearon defectos óseos en las tibias (cuyas medidas fueron: 10 mm de longitud x 3 mm de ancho x 2 mm de profundidad). Los animales fueron divididos en cuatro grupos. En el Grupo 1 (control) las ratas fueron alimentadas con una dieta estándar. En el Grupo 2 (grupo de calcio) las ratas recibieron carbonato de calcio (15 mg/kg de peso corporal) suspendido en solución salina. En el Grupo 3 (grupo de calcio/zinc) las ratas recibieron carbonato de calcio (15 mg/kg de peso corporal) y sulfato de zinc (4 mg/kg de peso corporal) suspendido en solución salina. El Grupo 4 (calcio/vitamina D) recibió carbonato de calcio (15 mg/kg de peso corporal) y vitamina D (500 UI/kg de peso corporal) suspendidos en aceite de oliva. Se realizó un análisis histopatológico de las muestras para evaluar el proceso de actividad osteoblástica, formación de la matriz, hueso trabecular y tejido mieloide en defectos óseos. Las cantidades totales de actividad osteoblástica, formación de matriz, de hueso trabecular y tejido mieloide en los grupos Calcio (p= 0,002), Calcio/Zinc (p= 0,002), y Calcio/Vitamina D (p= 0,001) fueron significativamente mayores que en el grupo de control. Las cantidades totales de Calcio/Vitamina D Grupo fueron significativamente diferentes de los grupos Control y Calcio. Los resultados del presente estudio indican que lacombinación de suplementos de carbonato de calcio por vía oral con zinc puede tener efectos sistémicos sobre la aceleración de la regeneración ósea en defectos tibiales con injertos aloplásticos. Deben llevarse a cabo otros estudios en humanos, que involucren un largo plazo de seguimiento y también diferentes tipos de injertos óseos.

Confirmed penicillin allergy among patients receiving benzathine penicillin prophylaxis for acute rheumatic fever

BACKGROUND: Beta-lactam antibiotics are the most frequent drugs prescribed in children worldwide. Acute rheumatic fever (ARF) is the major cause of acquired heart disease among children and adolescents. Recurrences due to inadequate penicillin prophylaxis are responsible for chronic valvular lesions requiring surgery. The fear of a severe allergic reaction is the leading cause of discontinuing prophylaxis. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to reveal the frequency of adverse events and real allergic reactions to benzathine penicillin among children who are followed in our paediatric cardiology clinic with a diagnosis of ARF. Materials methods: The children who were followed with a diagnosis of ARF between January 2005 and December 2011 were searched for a history of penicillin allergy. Patients with a positive history were evaluated in our paediatric allergy clinic. Skin tests and provocation tests were performed with parental consent. RESULTS: In total 535 children with a diagnosis of ARF were analysed for the study. Median follow up period was 24 months (12-36) [median (%25-75)]. Eleven of our 535 (11/17.641 injection) ARF patients were suspected to have allergic reactions after 17.641 penicillin injections but only one (0.18%) was diagnosed to have penicillin allergy after detailed evaluation. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that the frequency of penicillin allergy is much lower than suspected among children on penicillin prophylaxis for ARF. Consequently, penicillin prophylaxis should not be given up without proper evaluation of drug allergy

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Knowledge and attitudes of primary care physicians regarding food allergy and anaphylaxis in Turkey

Background: Food allergy, which becomes an important public health problem, can lead to important morbidity and mortality. Patients with food allergies are more likely to first present to their primary care physicians. We aimed to determine the knowledge of primary care physicians with regard to management of food allergies and anaphylaxis. Methods: Primary care physicians were surveyed via a questionnaire aimed to document their knowledge and attitudes about food allergy and anaphylaxis management. Results: A total of 297 participants completed questionnaires, 55.6% of which were female. Participating physicians had a mean of 17.0 ± 6.1 years of experience. Participants answered 47.2% of knowledge-based items correctly. Overall, participants fared poorly with regard to their knowledge on the treatment of food allergies and anaphylaxis. For example while 60.7% knew that a child can die from the milk allergy reaction, only 37.5% were aware that a child with IgE mediated milk allergies cannot eat yoghourts/cheese with milk. Besides, 53.1% of them chose epinephrine as their first treatment of choice in case of anaphylaxis, yet only 16.6% gave the correct answer about its dosage. Nearly a third of participants (36.7%) felt they were knowledgeable enough regarding the management of patients with food allergies, while 98.2% extended their request for future periodic educational meetings on allergic disorders. Conclusion: Knowledge of food allergy and anaphylaxis among primary care physicians was unsatisfactory. Provision or periodic educational programmes should be aimed at improving the standard of practice as acknowledged by the participants (AU)

The effect of oral contraceptives on current wheezing in young women

Background: Emerging evidence suggests that sex steroid hormones may influence respiratory symptoms. The existing literature about the role of oral contraceptive pill (OCP) on respiratory disease is scarce and conflicting especially during the adolescent period. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of OCPs on current wheezing among adolescents and young adults. Methods: A questionnaire was administered face-to-face to adolescents and young women by a physician. The questionnaire included ISAAC survey-comprised questions on ever wheezing, current wheezing, allergic diseases, smoking history (active or passive), and family history of allergic diseases and questions on OCP usage status. The effect of OCPs on wheezing was evaluated by logistic regression analysis. Results: A total of 487 subjects aged between 11.3 and 25.6 years participated in the study and 196 (40.2%) reported that they had used OCPs. 7.4% of the participants had physician-diagnosed asthma and 10.3% of them were active smokers. It was detected that OCPs were associated with increased risk for current wheezing (odds ratio, 2.36; 95% CI, 1.25-4.47 adjusted for asthma and current smoker) and this risk was related with the usage during the past year. Conclusion: Young women taking oral contraceptives had a higher rate of current wheezing, suggesting that sex steroids may be of importance for respiratory health (AU)

Vitamin D deficiency rickets in infants presenting with hypocalcaemic convulsions / Raquitismo por deficiencia de vitamina D en lactantes que presentan convulsiones por hipocalcemia

AIM: Hypocalcaemia evaluation of the clinical, biochemical and radiological features of 91 infants with rickets who presented as hypocalcaemic convulsions. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Ninety-one hypocalcaemic infants who were brought to hospital with convulsion and diag-nosed with rickets related to vitamin D deficiency according to their clinical, biochemical and radio-logical features were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: Mean values of the laboratory data were as follows: calcium 5.55 ± 0.79 mg/dL, phosphorus 4.77 ± 1.66 mg/dL, alkaline phosphatase 1525.5 ± 925.4 U/L and parathormone 256.8 ± 158.3 pg/mL. Serum 25-OH vitamin D levels were below normal (< 20 ng/mL) in 37 infants. CONCLUSION: Vitamin D deficiency should be considered in infants presenting with hypocalcaemia. To avoid complications such as convulsions, clinicians should give vitamin D supplementation to such infants.

OBJETIVO: Evaluación hipocalcémica de los aspectos clínicos, bioquímicos y radiológicos de 91 lactantes con raquitismo, que presentaron convulsiones por hipocalcemia. PACIENTES Y MÉTODOS: Noventa y un lactantes hipocalcémicos llevados al hospital con convulsiones y a quienes se les diagnosticó raquitismo asociado a la deficiencia de vitamina D de acuerdo con sus características, bioquímicas y radiológicas, fueron revisados retrospectivamente. RESULTADOS: Los valores medios de los datos de laboratorio fueron los siguientes: calcio 5.55 ± 0.79 mg/dL, fósforo 4.77 ± 1.66 mg/dL, fosfatasa alcalina 1525.5 ± 925.4 U/L, y paratohormona 256.8± 158.3 pg/mL. Los niveles séricos de la vitamina 25 (OH) D estuvieron por debajo de lo normal en 37 lactantes (< 20 ng/mL). CONCLUSIÓN: La deficiencia de vitamina D debe considerarse en los infantes que se presentan con hipocalcemia. A fin de evitar complicaciones tales como convulsiones, se les debe dar suplementos de vitamina D.

Endothelial dysfunction in primary Sjögren syndrome / Disfunción endotelial en el síndrome de Sjögren primario

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to investigate endothelial functions in primary Sjögren syndrome. METHODS: Thirty-five patients with primary Sjögren syndrome and 20 age and sexmatched healthy volunteers were recruited to the present study. Flow mediated dilatation of brachial artery and carotid intimamedia thickness were measured in the study population. RESULTS: Carotid intimamedia thickness values were similar between groups (0.50 ± 0.10, 0.53 ± 0.08, p > 0.05). Flow mediated dilatation of the brachial artery was disrupted in the primary Sjögren syndrome group (7% vs 12%, p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: There is endothelial dysfunction in patients with primary Sjögren syndrome, although they had comparable carotid intimamedia thickness with the healthy control group.

OBJETIVO: Este estudio se encaminó a investigar las funciones endoteliales en el síndrome de Sjögren primario. MÉTODOS: Para el presente estudio, se reclutaron treinta y cinco pacientes con síndrome de Sjögren primario y 20 voluntarios sanos apareados por edad y sexo. La dilatación mediada por flujo observada en la arteria braquial, y el espesor íntimamedia carotídeo fueron medidos en la población bajo estudio. RESULTADOS: Los valores del espesor íntimamedia carotídeo fueron similares entre los grupos (0.50 ± 0.10, 0.53 ± 0.08, p > 0.05). La dilatación mediada por flujo de la arteria braquial, estaba alterada en el grupo de síndrome del Sjögren primario (7% frente a 12%, p = 0.002). CONCLUSIÓN: Hay una disfunción endotelial en los pacientes con el síndrome de Sjögren primario, aunque estos tenían un espesor íntimamedia carotídeo comparable con el grupo de control saludable.

El factor de crecimiento endotelial vascular en los derrames pleurales benignos y malignos / Vascular endothelial growth factor in benign and malignant pleural effusions

Objetivo: El factor de crecimiento endotelial vascular (VEGF) es un potente inductor de la permeabilidad capilar y desempeña un papel clave como mediador en la formación del derrame pleural. Este estudio se ha realizado para evaluar la utilidad del VEGF en el diagnóstico de los derrames pleurales malignos y no malignos de diversas causas. Pacientes y métodos: Mediante la técnica de inmunoabsorción ligada a enzimas se determinaron las concentraciones de VEGF en los derrames pleurales correspondientes a 52 pacientes (20 con derrame pleural maligno, 12 con derrame de origen tuberculoso, 10 con derrame de tipo trasudado y 10 con derrame paraneumónico). Resultados: La concentración media del VEGF fue significativamente mayor (p = 0,001) en los derrames pleurales (10,16 pg/ml) de tipo exudado que en los derrames de tipo trasudado (3,82 pg/ml). Aunque los derrames pleurales malignos mostraron una tendencia a las concentraciones medianas y medias mayores de VEGF, en comparación con los derrames de origen tuberculoso, la diferencia no fue estadísticamente significativa. Tampoco fueron significativamente diferentes las concentraciones pleurales de VEGF en los distintos subtipos de cáncer pulmonar, y tampoco en los derrames malignos de distintos orígenes. Conclusiones: Aunque las concentraciones de VEGF son distintas en los derrames pleurales de orígenes diferentes, en nuestro estudio no han permitido discriminar los exudados de los trasudados. Son necesarios nuevos estudios de investigación sobre grupos más numerosos de pacientes con objeto de establecer el papel que puede desempeñar la concentración de VEGF en el diagnóstico de los derrames malignos, tuberculosos o ambos

Objective: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a potent inducer of capillary permeability and its role as a crucial mediator in pleural fluid formation has been established. This study was conducted to assess the usefulness of VEGF for diagnosing malignant and non-malignant pleural effusions of various causes. Patients and Methods: VEGF levels in pleural effusions collected from 52 patients (20 with malignant effusion, 12 with tuberculous effusion, 10 with transudative effusion, and 10 with parapneumonic effusion) were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: The median level of VEGF was significantly higher (P=.001) in exudative effusions (10.16 pg/mL) than in the transudative effusions (3.82 pg/mL). Although malignant pleural fluids tended to have higher median and mean levels of VEGF compared to tuberculous effusions, the difference was not statistically significant. Pleural VEGF levels in subtypes of lung cancer and in malignant effusions of different origins were not significantly different. Conclusions: In conclusion, although VEGF levels in pleural effusions of different origins vary, they were only able to discriminate exudates from transudates significantly in this study. Further studies in larger groups of patients are needed to establish the role of VEGF in diagnosing malignant and/or tuberculous effusions