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Background/Aim: Environmental and genetic factors (such as polymorphisms) contribute to the development of esophageal cancer (EC), but the disease’s molecular genetic markers are not fully understood. The purpose of this study was to investigate previously unstudied cytochrome P450 (CYP)1A1 polymorphisms (rs2606345, rs4646421 and rs4986883) in EC. Materials and Methods: We performed real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) to identify CYP1A1 polymorphisms (rs2606345, rs4646421, and rs4986883) in 100 patients and 100 controls. Results: Smoking and tandoor fumes were significantly higher in all EC and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients compared to the control group (p0.05). The rs4986883 T>C polymorphism was not found in our population. The rs2606345 C allele was significantly associated with EC risk in men, and C-carriers who drank hot black tea had a nearly threefold higher risk of EC than non-drinkers. In addition, EC risk in hot black tea drinkers was approximately 12 times higher in rs4646421 A carriers than in non-A carriers, and approximately 17 times higher in the presence of both rs2606345 C allele and rs4646421 A allele. Furthermore, the rs2606345 AA genotype may act as a protective factor for the rs4646421 GG genotype. Conclusion: Among the CYP1A1 polymorphisms, rs2606345 may increase the risk of EC only in men. The risk of EC in hot tea drinkers may increase in the presence of rs4986883 and rs2606345 polymorphisms.

Objective The present study aims to investigate the therapeutic effects of resveratrol (RES) on isoproterenol (ISO) induced myocardial injury rat model. Methods Catecholamine-induced heart damage was induced by ISO treatment for 30 days. The rats were divided into four groups as follows: the control group received saline, the ISO group received 5.0 mg/kg ISO, the RES group received 10 mg/kg RES, and the ISO-RES group received 10 mg/kg RES and 5 mg/kg ISO treatments for 30 days. Following echocardiographic measurements and body weight recorded, the rats were decapitated. Plasma and cardiac tissue samples obtained by decapitation were analyzed using biochemical, histopathological, molecular and immunohistochemical methods. Results In the ISO group, Na+/K+ ATPase activity and ATP content, GSH, and caveolin-3 levels were low. LDH, CK and lysosomal enzyme activities, MDA level, and MPO activity were found to be high. It was determined that GSH and MDA levels and MPO, Na+/K+ ATPase activity, ATP content caveolin-3 levels changes that arose from ISO treatment were suppressed by RES treatment. Conclusion RES treatment has ameliorated all the functional and biochemical parameters. The results obtained in this study suggest that RES is a promising supplement against catecholamine exposure as it improves antioxidant defense mechanisms in the heart. In the light of above-mentioned data, RES can be assumed as a promising agent in ameliorating the oxidative injury of the myocardium.

Gaziantep is a city with many civilizations and cultural architectural heritage from past to present. There are historical buildings and inns area along the axis, which is declared as a cultural route, starting from the vicinity of the castle in the city centre of Gaziantep. Historical inns, which were used for accommodation and trade in the past, have lost their function over time. These inns, which cannot be used in today's conditions, were left to disappear as idle areas as the city centre lost its charm. In this study, it is aimed to identify the problems experienced in the district of inns and determine their missing functions and needs. In addition, it is desired to emphasize that the user types who use the region differ in their interpretations of the region. In line with the identified problems, suggestions were made for the revitalization of the region and the refunctioning of the inns. In order to achieve these goals, questionnaires were created in line with the interviews with the temporary and stationary users in the region and the literature review. As the scope of the study, the inns area on the Gaziantep cultural road has been examined. The questionnaires were applied to the participants in this area, by face to face interview method and the answers of the participants were noted on site. The obtained data were statistically analyzed. As a result of the research, it was concluded that the historical value of the region should be understood by the users, and in this context, the inns and other historical structures in the region should be regularly repaired and the idle areas should be re-functioned. It is thought that the revitalization of historically important buildings and the region and their sustainability are possible by determining the existing problems., Gaziantep geçmişten günümüze birçok medeniyete ve kültürel mimari mirasa ev sahipliği yapmıştır. Kent merkezinde bulunan kalenin çevresinden başlayarak kültür yolu ilan edilen aks boyunca tarihi yapılar ve hanlar yer almaktadır. Geçmişte konaklama ve ticaret amaçlı kullanılan bu hanlar zamanla işlevini kaybetmiştir. Günümüz şartlarında kullanılamayan bu hanlar kent merkezinin de cazibesini yitirmesiyle atıl alanlar olarak yok olmaya terkedilmiştir. Bu çalışmada hanlar bölgesinde bulunan sorunları tespit etmek ve eksik işlevleri, ihtiyaçları belirlemek amaçlanmıştır. Ayrıca bölgeyi kullanan kullanıcı tiplerinin bölgeyle ilgili yorumlarının farklılık gösterdiği vurgulanmak istenmiştir. Belirlenen problemler doğrultusunda, bölgenin canlanması ve hanların tekrardan kullanılması için önerilerde bulunulmuştur. Bu amaçlara ulaşmak için bölgede bulunan geçici ve sabit kullanıcılar ile yapılan görüşmelere ve literatür taramasına yönelik anket formları oluşturulmuştur. Çalışma kapsamı olarak Gaziantep kültür yolu üzeri hanlar bölgesi ele alınmıştır. Anketler bu bölgede katılımcılara yüz yüze yapılmış ve sorular tek tek kullanıcılara sorularak yanıtlar not alınmıştır. Elden edilen veriler istatiksel olarak analiz edilmiştir. Araştırma sonucunda bölgenin tarihi değerinin kullanıcılar tarafından kavranması gerektiği, bu bağlamda bölgedeki hanlar ve diğer tarihi yapıların düzenli olarak onarımlarının yapılıp, atıl alanların yeniden işlevlendirilmesi gerektiği sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Tarihi önemi olan yapılar ile bölgenin canlandırılması ve sürdürülebilirliğinin, mevcut problemlerin tespiti ile mümkün olduğu düşünülmektedir.

Background The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signaling pathway has an important role in many cancers, including esophageal cancer (EC). IGF-binding protein 7 (IGFBP7) is one of the proteins in this signaling pathway, and its role in cancer has not yet been fully clarified. In the present study, we evaluated the clinical relevance of IGFBP7 methylation status and mRNA expression in EC patients compared to healthy controls. We also investigated whether IGFBP7 methylation status affects mRNA expression. Methods The study comprised 100 EC patients and 105 healthy controls. Methylation specific PCR (MSP) was used to examine IGFBP7's promoter methylation and real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to assess IGFBP7 mRNA expression. Results The IGFBP7 promoter methylation was significantly higher in controls than in EC patients (p < 0.05). IGFBP7 mRNA expression was significantly lower in EC patients compared to controls, especially in those over 55 years old (p < 0.0001). The globulin level and reflux were significantly higher in IGFBP7-unmethylated patients compared to IGFBP7 methylated patients (p = 0.01). In EC patients, however, there was no significant relationship between IGFBP7 mRNA expression and methylation in the peripheral blood (p = 0.33). In addition, neither IGFBP7 mRNA expression nor methylation were shown to be linked with survival (p > 0.05). Conclusion Our study indicated that promoter unmethylation and mRNA expression of the IGFBP7 promoter in peripheral blood could be different biomarkers for EC. Furthermore, unmethylation of the IGFBP7 promoter in EC patients was associated with reflux and elevated globulin levels. More studies with a larger number of cases is needed to confirm this association.

Background CDKN1A gene encoding p21 is an important tumour supressor involved in the pathogenesis of cancers. A few studies have been devoted to the association between CDKN1A single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and esophageal cancer (EC) in China, India and Iran. The aim of this case-control study was to investigate the association of CDKN1A polymorphisms with EC risk in the Turkey population for the first time. Methods In the present study, CDKN1A SNPs (rs1801270 C > T, rs1059234 C > A and rs3176352 C > G) were genotyped with the use of TaqMan SNP genotyping assays in 102 patients and 119 controls. Results The genotypes and alleles of CDKN1A SNPs were not significantly different among patients and controls. However, TT-genotype and T-allele of the rs1059234, the rs1801270 CC-genotype and rs3176352 G-allele were significantly associated with EC risk for

Introduction: The aim of this study was to figure out the relationship between IRS2 Gly1057Asp variant and susceptibility to esophageal cancer.Material and Methods: A case-control study was conducted to select 70 esophageal cancer patients and 100 healthy control samples. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral whole blood samples and real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) based SNP genotyping was performed using predesigned Taqman assay. Results: There was no significant difference in the frequency distribution of genotypes between patients and control group.Conclusion: There is no significant correlation between the IRS2 Gly1057Asp variant and the risk of esophageal cancer., Amaç: Bu çalışmanın amacı IRS2 Gly1057Asp varyantı ile özofagus kanseri yatkınlığı arasındaki ilişkiyi ortaya çıkarmaktır. Materyal ve Metod: Çalışma 70 özofagus kanseri ve 100 sağlıklı kontrol örneğini içeren vaka-kontrol çalışmasıdır. Genomik DNA, periferal kandan izole edilmiş olup, gerçek zamanlı polimeraz zincir reaksiyonu (RT-PCR) temelli SNP genotipleme için ticari olarak dizayn edilmiş Taqman assay kullanılmıştır.Bulgular: Genotip dağılımında hasta ve kontrol örnekler arasında anlamlı bir farklılık saptanmamıştır.Sonuç: IRS2 Gly1057Asp varyantı ile özofagus kanser gelişim riski arasında anlamlı bir ilişki belirlenememiştir.

Purpose This paper aims to determine the knowledge and attitudes of the physicians regarding human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), to emphasize that these patients exist and they will exist in the future and to raise awareness so as to prevent that their rights to treatment are revoked. Design/methodology/approach The survey was conducted via a link sent through an online system. Random physicians from 81 cities of the country were invited to the survey. The survey has 41 questions regarding knowledge and attitudes in total, including epidemiological information such as age, gender and title. Findings A total of 3,107 physicians has voluntarily participated in the study. In total, 2,195 (70.7%) are internal physicians and 912 (29.3%) are surgical physicians among the participant physicians. In total, 1,452 (46.7%) of the participants are specialist physicians, 608 (19.6%) of the participants are practising physician and the rest of it is physician assistants, academicians and dentists, respectively. Originality/value In this study, it has been found out that the physicians have a lack of knowledge on HIV/AIDS and they adopt a discriminatory attitude towards HIV-positive persons. HIV-positive patients who are exposed to discrimination and scared of being uncovered refrain from applying to hospitals for treatment, which puts public health into jeopardy due to the high viral load and these patients are faced with difficulties in coping with both medical and emotional load of the disease.

Amac: Diabetes mellitus ikincil komplikasyon olarak noropatiye neden olmaktadir. Diyabetik noropatinin temel mekanizmasi beyindeki glukoz homeostasisinin ve enerji dengesinin bozulmasidir. Bu calismanin amaci anti-diyabetik bilesik olarak kurkuminin diyabetik sican beyinlerinde IRS1, Grb2, K-Ras ve Bax proteinlerinin ekspresyonlari uzerindeki etkisinin belirlenmesidir. Materyal-Metot: 16 adet Wistar albino sican rastgele 4’ erli gruplar halinde 4 gruba ayrilmistir; kontrol grup, kurkumin grup, STZ muamele grup ve STZ+kurkumin muamele grup. STZ gruplarindaki sicanlarda diyabet, intraperitonel STZ uygulamasi ile induklenmistir. Ardindan hayvanlar, gunluk gavaj uygulamasiyla kurkumin ile muamele edilmistir. IRS1, Grb2, K-Ras ve Bax ekspresyon ve aktivasyonu western blot yontemi ile belirlenmistir. Sonuclar: Western blot analizleri, kurkumin muamelesinin IRS1 aktivasyonunu arttirdigini ve STZ’nin IRS1 aktivasyonu uzerindeki negatif etkisini geriye cevirdigini gostermektedir. STZ grubunda K-Ras ekspresyonu belirgin bir derecede azalirken, Bax ekspresyonu artmistir (p

Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation technology is a non-thermal method of preservation of liquid and solid food items by using UV light emitted by low and medium pressure mercury lamps. Such a technology, known since the 1800s, was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) in 2000 for juices, water and surfaces (Bintsis et al., 2000) and has been widely investigated in view of possible commercial applications for other products (Koutchma, 2009a). In this article, the mechanisms of microbial inactivation and photo-degradation of organic compounds are briefly explained and the total range of quality effects of UV irradiation (UV-C, UV-B and UV-A) on foods are discussed. The results of a number of experimental studies about the effects of UV processing on microbiological, organoleptic, physicochemical quality of foods and as well as on bioactive compounds, quality degrading enzymes, allergens, and toxins are reported. These results confirm that UV light treatment can preserve quality characteristics of foods in addition to its beneficial effects on microbial quality and shelf life. However, treatment conditions (light intensity, exposure time, wavelength) play a significant role in the changes of some quality properties of the treated products. Therefore, selection of the UV processing conditions requires attention in accordance with the product to be irradiated.

Onion (Allium cepa L.) juice is a marinating agent for meat and fish marination and readily usable sauce for any meal that has onion in its formulation. This study aims to assess the microbiological and physicochemical changes in the onion juice processed by UV-C irradiation (0.5 mm sample depth, 30 min exposure time, 7.5 mW/cm(2) UV incident intensity) and conventional heat treatment (74.5 degrees C, 12 min) during its storage. Microbiological results showed processing by UV-C irradiation or heat treatment under optimum conditions extended the microbial shelf-life of untreated onion juice by minimum 6-times. Total colour change of heat-treated samples was lower than that of untreated and UV-C treated samples for 12 weeks. Also, pH, total titratable acidity, total soluble solids content, turbidity, NEBI and total phenolic content were monitored for 12 weeks. The results of this study will form scientific infrastructure for onion juice manufacturers to decide on the processing method with respect to its shelf-life.

Background: Both insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 7 (IGFBP7) and telomere length (TL) are associated with proliferation and senescence of human breast cancer. This study assessed the clinical significance of both TL and IGFBP7 methylation status in breast cancer tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues. We also investigated whether IGFBP7 methylation status could be affecting TL. Methods: Telomere length was measured by quantitative PCR to compare tumors with their adjacent normal tissues. The IGFBP7 promoter methylation status was evaluated by methylation-specific PCR and its expression levels were determined by western blotting. Results: Telomeres were shorter in tumor tissues compared to controls (P

Bladder carcinoma is the most common malignancy of the urinary tract. The major aim of the present study is to investigate the association between mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and p53 gene mutations in bladder carcinoma. A total of 30 patients with transitional cell carcinoma and 27 controls were recruited for the study. Bladder cancer tissues were obtained by radical cystectomy or transurethral resection. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood. mtDNA and p53 genes were amplified by polymerase chain reaction and sequenced directly. A total of 37 polymorphisms were identified, among which, 2 mutations were significant in the patient group, and 1 mutation was significant in the control group. Additionally, 5 different moderate positive correlations between mtDNA mutations and 3 different positive correlations between p53 gene and mtDNA mutations were detected. The high incidence of mtDNA and p53 gene mutations in bladder cancer suggests that these genes could be important in carcinogenesis.

WOS: 000374102700010 PubMed ID: 26596278 Background The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is characterized by a cluster of metabolic factors, including insulin resistance and type-2 diabetes, abdominal obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension and microalbuminuria. Impaired glucocorticoid receptor (GR) activity also plays an important role in the etiology of MetS. The objective of our study is to evaluate the effects of GR gene polymorphisms (BclI, N363S, TthIII1 and ER22/23EK) in Turkish patients with MetS. Materials and methods Seventy subjects with MetS and 185 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. PCR-RFLP analysis was used for genotyping. Results for each polymorphism have been verified by allele-specific oligonucleotide analysis. Results BclI GG genotype was significantly associated with an increased risk of MetS (p = 0.02). Also, only in women, the G allele carriers were significantly associated with higher C-peptide. T allele carriers of TthIII1 polymorphism were significantly associated with higher C-peptide, triglyceride, insulin and C-reactive protein (CRP, p value 0.048, 0.022, 0.005 and 0.022, respectively), and lower fasting blood glucose (FBG, p = 0.02). The combined carriers of BclI polymorphism G allele and TthIII1 polymorphism T allele were significantly associated with higher diastolic blood pressure in all patients, and lower FBG and postprandial blood glucose in only men. All the ER22/23EK polymorphisms coexisted with polymorphic variant of TthIII1 (p = 0.0058). Conclusion The presence of homozygote polymorphic variant of BclI might be good predictive markers for the disease susceptibility. The BclI and the TthIII1 polymorphism are associated with sex-specific clinical parameters. Our findings also suggest that the combination of BclI and TthIII1 polymorphisms may play a protective role in blood glucose. Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) [104S272, SBAG-K-60]; Research Foundation of Marmara University (BAPKO) [SAG-C-DRP-101011-0286] The authors appreciate Dr. Can Erzik for his critical revision of the manuscript. This work was partly supported by a grant (104S272, SBAG-K-60 to SC) from the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) and grants (SAG-C-DRP-101011-0286 to AO) from the Research Foundation of Marmara University (BAPKO).

Ischemic injury, which occurs as a result of sympathetic hyperactivity, plays an important role in heart failure. Melatonin is thought to have antiatherogenic, antioxidant, and vasodilatory effects. In this study, we investigated whether melatonin protects against ischemic heart failure (HF). In Wistar albino rats, HF was induced by left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery ligation and rats were treated with either vehicle or melatonin (10 mg/kg) for 4 weeks. At the end of this period, echocardiographic measurements were recorded and the rats were decapitated to obtain plasma and cardiac tissue samples. Lactate dehydrogenase, creatine kinase, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and lysosomal enzymes (beta-D-glucuronidase, beta-galactosidase, beta-D-N-acetyl-glucosaminidase, acid phosphatase, and cathepsin-D) were studied in plasma samples, while malondialdehyde and glutathione levels and Na+, K+-ATPase, caspase-3 and myeloperoxidase activities were determined in the cardiac samples. Sarco/endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase (SERCA) and caveolin-3 levels in cardiac tissues were evaluated using Western blot analyses. Furthermore, caveolin-3 levels were also determined by histological analyses. In the vehicle-treated HF group, cardiotoxicity resulted in decreased cardiac Na+, K+-ATPase and SERCA activities, GSH contents and caveolin-3 levels, while plasma LDH, CK, and lysosomal enzyme activities and cardiac MDA and Myeloperoxidase (MPO) activities were found to be increased. On the other hand, melatonin treatment reversed all the functional and biochemical changes. The present results demonstrate that Mel ameliorates ischemic heart failure in rats. These observations highlight that melatonin is a promising supplement for improving defense mechanisms in the heart against oxidative stress caused by heart failure.

The purpose of this study was to explore the Pre-service Science and Technology Teachers' (PSTs) Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) and their teaching practices in real classroom settings involving the topic of photosynthesis and cellular respiration. This study also investigated the relationships among the components of PSTs' TPCK and practical knowledge in middle school classrooms. 41 randomly selected PSTs (19 females and 22 males) in their final semester in a science teacher education program participated in the study. Data were collected from multiple sources, including open-ended questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, lesson plans, drawings for the PSTs' TPCK and classroom observation protocol, video records and field notes for the PSTs' teaching practices in middle school science classrooms. After exploring the PSTs' TPCK, teaching practices of the PSTs in science classrooms in four public middle schools were investigated. Findings obtained from the data showed that PSTs were lack of sufficient conceptual knowledge and views on nature of science and hold general alternative conceptions. It was found that PSTs' understandings of students' learning difficulties and topic-specific technological knowledge were very low. Data related to the PSTs' teaching practices in the middle school science classrooms indicated a success rate of about 42% - 57%.

The purpose of this study was to explore the Pre-service Science Teachers’ (PSTs) Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) and their teaching practices in real classroom settings involving the topic of photosynthesis and cellular respiration. This study also investigated the relationships among the components of PSTs’ TPCK and practical knowledge in middle school classrooms. 41 randomly selected PSTs (19 females and 22 males) in their final semester in a science teacher education program participated in the study. Data were collected from multiple sources, including open-ended questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, lesson plans, drawings for the PSTs’ TPCK and classroom observation protocol, video records and field notes for the PSTs’ teaching practices in middle school science classrooms. Findings obtained from the data showed that PSTs’ were lack of sufficient conceptual knowledge and views on nature of science and hold general alternative conceptions.

The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in affective dispositions of Pre-service Science Teacher (PST) toward asynchronous, synchronous and face to face discussions in a Blended Science Methods Course (BSMC). 59 PSTs (33 female and 26 male) participated in this study. A survey consisting of Likert scale items and open-ended questions related to each of the characteristics of affective dispositions were administered to all PSTs at the end of the third week of the course as pretest and at the end of the course as posttest. The result indicated that there were statistically significant increases (p

The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in Pre-Service Science Teachers’ (PSTs’) perceptions of the knowledge of an excellent science teacher for the effective science teaching as a result of a Blended Science Methods Course (BSMC). 52 PSTs (32 female and 20 male) participated in this study. Data obtained from pre and post- interviews and drawings were analyzed from a perspective of the components of the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK). The results showed that most PSTs were not aware of the most components of the TPCK as the knowledge of an excellent science teacher for the effective teaching of science before the BSMC.

WOS: 000299160100036, PubMed ID: 21875288, This is a descriptive study to determine the smoking prevalence and attitudes with smoking among high school students in Sivas, Turkey. This study was carried out in 6 high schools located in Sivas, Turkey. The sample was constituted by 1050 students. The data of the study was obtained by a questionnaire which is developed by researchers. The x2 test was used in the statistical analyses. In this study, the rate of students who did not smoke or stopped smoking was found to be 79.6%, while the rate of occasionaly or daily smokers was 20.4%. Students with male gender, those whose fathers and mothers had a low educational level, and a smoking mother, father or sibling, had a higher frequency of smoking (p