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Under inflammatory conditions, macrophage dominance affects the degree of inflammation. We assessed the effects of the active vitamin D (calcitriol) administration on inflammatory processes and macrophage dominance and aimed to determine the potential positive macroscopic and histological effects in supermicrosurgical arterial anastomosis model of rats. Forty rats were divided into five groups: control surgery (Group 1), surgery with preoperative (Group 2), post-operative (Group 3), perioperative (Group 4) systemic calcitriol and surgery with local calcitriol (Group 5). Eighty femoral artery anastomoses were planned in both legs of rats. Systemic calcitriol was administered intraperitoneally daily to the animals in the relevant groups. Preoperative vessel diameter measurements were taken before anastomosis. Three weeks post-surgery, post-operative vessel diameter measurements were taken, anastomosis patency was assessed and vascular segments were collected for histological examination, which included assessment of M1 and M2 macrophage depolarisation, leucocyte infiltration, intima-media ratio and luminal gap scoring. Systemic calcitriol administration (pre-, post- or perioperative) significantly improved the vessel diameter (p < 0.001); there was no significant difference among Groups 2-4. Histological findings revealed that Groups 3 and 4 had lower intima-media ratios (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01), higher M2-M1 macrophage ratios (p < 0.01 and p < 0.001) and lower leucocyte infiltration (p < 0.05, p < 0.01 and p < 0.001). Local calcitriol administration had no vasodilatory effects or resulted in positive histological outcomes. Although the administration of calcitriol pre- and post-operatively increased the vessel diameter, the latter appeared to have a more favourable impact on the histological analyses., (Copyright © 2024 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A series of novel Er 3+ -doped bismuth-germanate glasses containing different tungsten concentrations with a molar composition of 97.5[(75 - x)GeO 2 -25Bi 2 O 3 -(x)WO 3 ]-2Sb 2 O 3 -0.5Er 2 O 3 (x = 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 mol%) were fabricated. Their thermal properties are measured by differential scanning calorimetry. A structural investigation by Raman spectroscopy suggested that changes occurred in the glass network by WO 3 incorporation. By laser excitation at 980 nm, a strong emission from Er 3+ ions at 1532 nm is observed, while the WO 3 addition caused changes in the emission spectra. The emission cross-section spectra of Er 3+ are calculated by both McCumber and Füchtbauer-Ladenburg theories and their comparison showed these theories yielded slightly different results, but in both cases, the calculations showed that a gain signal in L-band can be achieved when 30% of the Er 3+ ions are at the excited state. This study proves that the Er 3+ -doped bismuth-germanate glasses are suitable for optical fiber amplifier applications operating at C- and L-band., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: Reankylosis is a frequent pathology in patients who are operated for post-traumatic temporomandibular joint (TMJ) ankylosis. In the current practice, ankylosing spondylitis attacks are monitored with the increases in neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR). In this study, such a relation between TMJ reankylosis and increase in these ratios was evaluated., Methods: Patients who were operated between January 2010 and December 2019 for unilateral or bilateral TMJ ankylosis were included in this study. Temporomandibular gap arthroplasty with an interpositional silicone block was performed for each patient by the same operative team. Each patient had standard physiotherapy. All ages and genders were included in the study. Due to the complete blood count differences between children and adults, 18 years of age was used as a cutoff between the groups. A need for reoperation was accepted as reankylosis. The NLR and PLR of children without and with reankylosis and adults without and with reankylosis were compared., Results: Twenty-nine children and 38 adults were included in the study. Mean age of the children and adults were 10.8 and 37.3 years, respectively. Eleven children and eight adults had reankylosis. In patients with reankylosis, NLR and PLR were high significantly, regardless of age. In children, PLR was significantly higher in reankylosis patients. In adults, NLR was significantly higher in reankylosis patients., Conclusion: PLR and NLR may be utilized for predicting reankylosis, respectively, in children and adults who were operated for ankylosis due to TMJ fractures.

The authors report a patient with masticator space abscess due to an ascending infection following a wisdom tooth extraction. They administered antibiotics and did an incision and drainage; however, osteomyelitis of the mandible and compartment syndrome of the temporal muscle complicated the course. The authors suggest a physiopathology and discuss the management of this study.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of metabolic syndrome (MetS) on bone mineral density (BMD) and microstructure of jawbones, and circulating bone metabolic markers. MetS was induced in male Wistar rats by a 16-week high-sucrose drinking water diet. Mandibles were analyzed for BMD and microstructure by standard radiographs and X-ray diffraction. BMD of three different regions of mandible in MetS group was significantly lower compared to control group. The diffraction intensity of mandibular bone in MetS group was significantly decreased (8.2%) compared to control group; however, crystallite radiuses of mandibular bone samples in both groups were not significantly different. In MetS group, serum bone-specific tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase-5b (TRACP-5b) activity was significantly increased (47%), whereas bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BALP) activity was significantly decreased (44%) compared to control group. The serum magnesium level in MetS rats (1.82 ± 0.27 mg dL -1 ) was lower than that of controls (2.11 ± 0.16 mg dL -1 ). Rats with MetS had significantly higher serum calcium level (9.70 ± 0.41 mg dL -1 ) than the controls (9.21 ± 0.50 mg dL -1 ). Overall data suggested that MetS is associated with a significant decrease in BMD and slight deterioration in microcrystallite structure of the jawbones. The changes in TRACP-5b and BALP activities and serum Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ concentrations also support these findings at a biochemical level.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare autogenous and allograft bone rings in surgically created vertical bone defects., Material and Methods: Four male, 1-year-old sheep were used in this study. In each sheep, eight vertical bone defects 7 mm in diameter were created using trephine drill in the iliac wing. Autogenous and allograft bone rings 5 mm in height and 7 mm in diameter were used for vertical augmentation around implants. The study consisted of four groups according to the bone ring type and amount of vertical augmentation, autogenous 2 mm, allograft 2 mm, autogenous 4 mm, and allograft 4 mm. Two of the animals were sacrificed after 4 months, and the remaining two animals were sacrificed after 8 months. Undecalcified sections were prepared from harvested samples. Histological assessment and histomorphometric analysis were performed., Results: Autogenous 2 mm group showed higher values than allograft 2 mm group, and autogenous 4 mm group showed higher values than allograft 4 mm group in terms of bone area and bone-to-implant contact (BIC) after 4 months. However, allograft 2 mm group showed higher bone area and BIC values than autogenous 2 mm group after 8 months. Also, autogenous 4 mm and allograft 4 mm groups showed comparable results after 8 months. Allograft 2 mm and allograft 4 mm groups showed higher bone area and BIC values at 8 months compared with 4 months., Conclusions: Allograft bone ring looks promising in augmentation of surgically created vertical bone defects around implants after 8 months of healing., (© 2018 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is an endemic disease in Turkey. The clinical presentation and laboratory findings are not specific especially in cases without hemorrhagic findings., Objective: We aimed to evaluate CCHF cases and compare them with non-CCHF cases in terms of their characteristics during admission., Methods: Cases with a preliminary diagnosis of CCHF at a secondary care hospital in Kastamonu in 2013 were evaluated, retrospectively. Cases testing RNA/IgM positive were considered as CCHF. Cases testing both RNA and IgM negative were considered as non-CCHF. The two groups were then compared in terms of their clinical, laboratory and epidemiological characteristics during admission., Results: A total of 41 cases were tested and CCHF was found in 46.3% of cases. Fatality was 5.3% in CCHF cases. The frequency of tick bites and CK elevation in CCHF cases was significantly higher than non-CCHF cases (p<0.05). There were no significant differences between the two groups regarding other characteristics (p>0.05)., Conclusions: In cases with a preliminary diagnosis of CCHF, especially in cases without a history of tick bite and with normal CK levels during admission, performing tests for the differential diagnosis may be advisable without waiting for the results of tests for CCHF.

Medicinal plants such as thyme, onion, blackseed, lemon balm and nettle are intensively used in traditional medicine, today. Garlic is among the most important of these plants. For this purpose, garlic has been extensively used worldwide for centuries, especially in the Far East. Garlic is reported to be a wonderful medicinal plant owing to its preventive characteristics in cardiovascular diseases, regulating blood pressure, lowering blood sugar and cholesterol levels, effective against bacterial, viral, fungal and parasitic infections, enhancing the immune system and having antitumoral and antioxidant features. Garlic exerts these effects thanks to more than 200 chemicals. It contains sulfur compounds (allicin, alliin and agoene), volatile oils, enzymes (allinase, peroxidase and miracynase), carbohydrates (sucrose and glucose), minerals (selenium), amino acids such as cysteine, glutamine, isoleucine and methionine which help to protect cells from the harms of free radicals, bioflavonoids such as quercetin and cyanidin, allistatin I and allistatin II, and vitamins C, E and A which help to protect us from oxidation agents and free radicals, and other vitamins such as niacin, B1 and B2 and beta-carotene. In this article, the information about the characteristics of garlic, the diseases on which it is effective and its use against parasitic diseases will be given.