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Purpose: Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is one of the most common causes of fatal suicide or accidental poisoning worldwide. There is no specific biomarker in the diagnosis. Therefore, the role of whole blood parameters in CO poisoning was investigated.Material and Methods: A total of 442 patients diagnosed with CO intoxication at the emergency department between January 1, 2014 and January 1, 2016 were included in the study retrospectively. The demographic characteristics of the patient group and the complete blood results were obtained from the hospital registry system. The control group consisted of 100 patients presenting with similar complaints to the emergency department. Leukocyte (WBC), red cell distribution width (RDW), platelet, lymphocyte, neutrophil, neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet lymphocyte ratio (PLR) values of both groups were compared statistically.Results: The patient and control groups were similar in age and gender. The WBC, RDW, Platelet, Lymphocyte, Neutrophil, NLR and PLR levels of the patient group were significantly higher compared to the control group. However, there was no significant correlation between patient admission time and Glaskow Coma Scale (GCS), carboxyhemoglobin (COHb), RDW, NLR and PLR levels.Conclusion: Our study suggested that RDW, NLR and PLR levels have potential to be a useful marker for the diagnosis of CO poisoning., Amaç: Karbonmonoksit (CO) zehirlenmesi dünya çapındaki ölümcül intihar veya kazara zehirlenmelerin en yaygın nedenlerinden birisidir. Tanısında spesifik bir biyobelirteç yoktur. Bu sebeple çalışmada CO zehirlenmesinde tam kan parametreleri’nin rolü araştırılmıştır.Gereç ve Yöntem: Çalışmada 1 Ocak 2014 – 1 Ocak 2016 tarihleri arasında acil serviste CO zehirlenmesi tanısı alan ve dışlama kriterlerini sağlayan toplam 442 hasta retrospektif olarak incelendi. Hasta grubunun demografik özellikleri ve tam kan sonuçlarına hastane kayıt sisteminden ulaşıldı. Kontrol grubu acil servise benzer şikâyetler ile başvuran 100 hastadan oluşturuldu. Her iki grubun lökosit (WBC), kırmızı hücre dağılım genişliği (RDW), platelet, lenfosit, nötrofil, nötrofil-lenfosit oranı (NLR) ve platelet-lenfosit oranı (PLR) değerleri istatistiksel olarak karşılaştırıldı. Bulgular: Hasta ve kontrol grubu yaş ve cinsiyet bakımından birbirleri ile benzerdi. Hasta grubunun WBC, RDW, Platelet, Lenfosit, Nötrofil, NLR ve PLR değerleri kontrol grubu ile kıyaslandığında anlamlı derece yüksek bulundu. Ancak hasta yatış süreleri ile Glaskow Koma Skalası (GKS), karboksihemoglobin (COHb), RDW, NLR ve PLR düzeyleri arasında anlamlı bir korelasyon bulunmamıştır.Sonuç: Çalışmamız RDW, NLR ve PLR düzeylerinin CO zehirlenmesi tanısını öngörmede kullanılabilir bir biyobelirteç olma potansiyeli olduğunu düşündürmüştür.

Objective: Interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β) is an essential proinflammatory mediator emerging early in bacterial infection. Urinary tract infections (UTI) are one of the most common bacterial infections during childhood. This prospective study aimed to explore whether urine levels of IL-1β could be used as a biomarker of UTI. The study also aimed to define the optimal cut-off level for urine IL-1β to detect UTI in children. Material and Method: Sixty patients with symptomatic UTI and 29 healthy controls were registered in the study. After taking informed consent, urine culture, urinalysis, serum urea and creatinine, C-reactive protein (CRP) and serum white blood cell count measurements were performed in both groups. Urine IL-1β was analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: The mean urine IL-1β level was significantly greater in the UTI group than in the controls (21.14 pg/ml vs 2.60 pg/ml, p=0.0001), and using a cut-off of 6.11 pg/ml for urine IL-1β for early prediction of UTI, sensitivity and specificity were 100% and 93.1%, respectively (AUC: 0.971). The mean urine IL-1β/creatinine ratio (uIL-1β /Cr) was also significantly greater in the UTI group (46.87 pg/mgCr vs 3.29 pg/mgCr; p=0.0001), and using a cut-off of 9.45 pg/mgCr for uIL-1β/Cr for early prediction of UTI, sensitivity, and specificity were 96.7% and 89.7%, respectively (AUC: 0.963). Conclusion: Both urine IL-1β and uIL-1β/Cr can be used as a sensitive biomarker for early prediction of UTI. Further research with larger groups is necessary to support our results., Amaç: İnterlökin 1 beta (IL-1β) bakteriyel enfeksiyon sırasında erken görülen önemli bir proinflamatuar mediatördür. İdrar yolu enfeksiyonları (İYE), çocuklarda görülen en yaygın bakteriyel enfeksiyonlardan biridir. Bu prospektif çalışmanın amacı, idrar IL-1β seviyelerinin İYE’ nin güvenilir bir belirleyicisi olarak kullanılıp kullanılamayacağını araştırmak ve çocuklarda İYE’nin erken teşhisinde, idrar IL-1β için optimum kestirim seviyesini belirlemektir. Gereç ve Yöntem: Semptomatik İYE olan 60 hasta ve 29 sağlıklı kontrol çalışmaya dahil edildi. Bilgilendirilmiş onam alındıktan sonra her iki grupta idrar kültürü, idrar tahlili, serum üre ve kreatinin, C-reaktif protein (CRP) ve serum beyaz küre sayımı analizleri yapıldı. İdrar IL-1β, enzim bağlı immünosorbent (ELISA) analizi ile ölçüldü. İYE hastalarında, dimerkaptosüksinik asit (DMSA) radyonüklid taraması yapıldı. Bulgular: Ortalama idrar IL-1β seviyesi İYE grubunda kontrol grubundan anlamlı derecede yüksekti (21,14 pg/ml’ye karşı 2,60 pg/ml, p=0,0001) ve idrar IL-1β için 6,11 pg/ml’lik bir kestrim kullanılarak İYE’nin erken tanısında duyarlılık ve özgüllük sırasıyla %100 ve %93,1 idi (AUC:0,971). Ortalama idrar IL-1β/kreatinin oranı (uIL-1β/Cr) de İYE grubunda anlamlı şekilde daha yüksekti (46,87 pg/mgCr - 3,29 pg/mgCr; p=0,0001) ve uIL1β/Cr için mgCr için 9,45 pg/mg kestirim kullanılarak, İYE’nin erken tanısında, duyarlılık ve özgüllük sırasıyla %96,7 ve %89,7 idi (AUC: 0,963). Sonuç: Hem idrar IL-1β hem de uIL-1β/Cr, İYE’nin erken tanısı için hassas bir belirteç olarak kullanılabilir. Sonuçlarımızı doğrulamak için daha büyük hasta grupları ile daha fazla araştırma yapılması gerekmektedir.

Objective: The objective of this study is to define novel biomarkers for Prostate Cancer (PCa) via in silico analysis that takes PCa-specific miRNAs, finds their combinatorial target genes (potential ceRNAs), selects ones containing Transcribed Ultra Conserved Region (T-UCR) among them and potentiates their relevance with PCa. Methods: Thirty-four miRNAs of which clinical relevances with PCa were proved experimentally were exported via miRWalk database.Using the ComiR database, 859 genes targeted by these 34 miRNAs simultaneously were identified. Genes with ComiR score above 0.911 were taken into account. Genes containing T-UCR and showing potential ceRNA activity were extracted. Among PCa-associated ceRNAs including T-UCR, we identified genes with significant expression differences between PCa and normal prostate tissue using the GEPIA database. The statistical evaluation of the association of NFAT5 and PTBP2 genes with PCa was performed by Spearman correlation test in GEPIA database. Results: PCa-associated ceRNAs cross-matching with genes including T-UCR in their exonic regions were NFAT5, CLK3, PTBP2, CPEB4, MIPOL1 and TCF4. We identified genes with significant expression differences between PCa and normal prostate tissues among PCa-associated ceRNAs including T-UCR. According to this analysis, NFAT5 and PTBP2 genes were significantly less expressed in PCa than in normal prostate tissue while the others didn’t show any significant differential expression pattern. NFAT5 and PTBP2 genes were found to be significantly associated with PCa (p=0.000012; R=0.72). Conclusion: All in all, this is the study associating NFAT5 and PTBP2 genes with PCa and giving them tumor suppressive potential for PCa. Still, larger and more comprehensive studies are needed on this issue.

WOS: 000428761600001, Objective: Assessment of the systemic inflammatory response of the neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet lymphocyte ratio (PLR) is shown as a new biomarker. Red cell distribution width (RDW) is the size of red blood cells and have been found related to adverse events in many diseases. Mean platelet volume (MPV) indicates platelet volume and platelet volume is a potential indication of platelet activity. The aim of our study is to investigate hematological changes in patients with panic disorder (PD) through readily available markers such as NLR, PLR, RDW and MPV. Methods: Thirty-nine patients between the ages of 18 and 75 who were diagnosed with PD according to DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition) and forty healthy control subjects were included in the study. MPV, NLR, PLR and RDW were measured and recorded for groups. Hamilton Depression Scale, Hamilton Anxiety Scale, Clinical Global Impressions Scale (CGI-S) and Panic Disorder Severity Scale were applied to the patients. Results: There were no statistically significant differences between groups in terms of sociodemographic characteristics. No significant correlation was found between NLR, PLR and RDW values and clinical scales. MPV was negatively correlated with the severity of panic disorder. There was no correlation between MPV and other variables. Conclusion: Our study is the first study to examine NLR, PLR and RDW associations in PD patients. There are studies showing that increased sympathetic activity leads to increased MPV. In our study, the MPV value did not differ between PD and control group. However, there was a negative correlation between the severity of panic disorder and MPV.

Objectives: S-100B a protein prevalent in the central nervous system is a peripheral biomarker for blood-brain barrier disruption and neuronal damage. The objective of the study was to investigate the S-100B levels in patients with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis. Materials and methods: A group of 40 patients with SSPE and 40 healthy controls were recruited. Serum S-100B protein concentrations were measured using a commercially available electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA) kit, as supplied and according to the manufacturer's standards. Results: Median S-100B levels were 0.095 ± 0.017 μg/L in patients with SSPE and 0.097±0.019 μg/L in the control group. This difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05). The patient group was further subdivided into two subgroups according to the presence or absence of brain atrophy. The S-100B levels were 0.096 ± 0.018 μg/L in the subgroup with atrophy and 0.094±0.014 μg/L in the subgroup without atrophy. This difference was also not statistically significant (p>0.05). Conclusions: Our results suggest that serum S-100B is not a reliable marker for neuronal damage in SSPE., Amaç: S-100B santral sinir sisteminde yaygın olarak bulunan, kan beyin bariyeri yıkımında ve nöronal hasarda periferik belirteç olarak kullanılan bir proteindir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, Subakut sklerozan panensefalitli hastalarda S-100B düzeylerini araştırmaktır. Gereç ve yöntem: Çalışmada, SSPE\' li 40 hasta ile 40 sağlıklı kontrol grubu alındı. Serum S-100B protein konsantrasyonları elektrokemiluminesan immunoassay (ECLIA) yöntemi ile üretici standartlarına göre ölçüldü. Bulgular: Ortalama S-100B seviyeleri SSPE\'li hasta grubunda 0.095 ± 0.017 μg/L, kontrol grubunda ise 0.097 ± 0.019 μg/L bulundu. Aralarında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı farklılık bulunmadı (p>0.05). Hasta grubu beyin atrofisinin varlığına göre iki altgruba ayrıldı. S-100B seviyeleri beyin atrofisi olan grupta 0.096±0.018 μg/L, atrofisi olmayan grupta ise 0.094±0.014 μg/L idi. Bu farklılık istatistiksel olarak anlamlı değildi (p>0.05). Sonuç: Bizim sonuçlarımız, S-100B\'nin SSPE\' de nöronal hasarda güvenilir bir belirteç olmadığını göstermektedir.

It has been thought that hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) levels increase during acute phases of infectious diseases. The aim of this study was to determine whether HGF, C-reactive protein (CRP), and proinflammatory cytokines have any diagnostic and prognostic value, and to assess HGF as a biomarker in patients with febrile neutropenia. Materials and methods: This study included 20 patients with febrile neutropenia as the study group and 20 healthy individuals as the control group. Serial measurements of serum HGF, CRP, and proinflammatory cytokine levels were performed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) at the baseline, after 48 h of treatment, and at posttreatment. Results: It was found that HGF levels at the baseline were significantly higher than those in the healthy controls (P = 0.001). It was also seen that HGF levels 48 h after treatment and at posttreatment were significantly lower than those at the baseline (P = 0.012). High-risk group patients had higher mean serum HGF levels compared with the low-risk group. It was detected that IL-6 and TNF-a levels at the baseline were significantly decreased after treatment (P = 0.02 and P = 0.005). Conclusion: Our findings suggested that serial measurement of serum HGF levels may be an important marker to identify risk levels of febrile neutropenia and to predict its prognosis.

Estrogen receptor (ER) status evaluation is a widely applied method in the prognosis of breast cancer. However, testing for the existence of the ER biomarker in a patient's tumor sample mainly depends on the subjective decisions of the doctors. The aim of this paper is to introduce the usage of a machine learning tool, functional trees (FTs), to attain an ER prognosis of the disease via an objective decision model. For this aim, 27 image files, each of which came from a biopsy sample of an invasive ductal carcinoma patient, were scanned and captured by a light microscope. From these images, 5150 nuclei were segmented with image processing methods. Several attributes, including statistical, wavelet, cooccurrence matrix, and Laws' texture features, were calculated inside the border area of each nucleus. A FT was trained over the feature dataset using a 10-fold cross-validation and then the obtained model was tested on a separate dataset. The assessment results of the model were compared with those of 2 experts. Consequently, the weighted kappa coefficient indicated a very good agreement (k= 0.899 and k= 0.927, P < 0.001) and the Spearman's rank order correlation showed a high level of correlation (r = 0.963 and r= 0.943, P < 0.001) between the results of the FT and those of the observers. The Wilcoxon test revealed that there was no significant difference between the results of the experts and the model (P = 0.051 and P = 0.316). Finally, it was concluded from the results that the FT could be used as a tool to support the decision of doctors by indicating consistent outputs and hence contribute to the objectiveness and reproducibility of the assessment results.