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Synchytrium endobioticum was first detected in Turkey in 2003, in two areas remote from each other: two potato fields at Ordu and Giresun in the Black Sea region and adjacent potato fields at Nevşehir and Niğde in Central Anatolia. After an extensive survey carried out in the whole potato-growing areas of Turkey, the disease was found only in these places. The disease was present in areas of 1999.7, 54.2, 9.2 and 1.5 ha in Nevşehir, Niğde, Ordu and Giresun provinces respectively in 2004. This comprises 1.8% of the total potato-growing area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The response of an electron to an electric field in the infinite quantum wells and the infinite quantum well wires is investigated. Also the self-polarization effect, which can be defined as the influence of the well potential on the impurity electron, is studied for the same structures. The anomalous polarization in the excited states is found to be always exist in the presence of an electric field. Also it is shown that the external electric field polarization is intensified or weakened by an impurity ion depending on its position in the structure. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Hepatoblastoma is rare cancer that responds well to risk-based chemotherapy, and surgical treatment is needed to achieve complete remission and satisfactory survival rates in hepatoblastoma patients. In this study, we evaluated the clinical features and treatment outcomes of pediatric hepatoblastoma patients treated in our clinic., Methods: Eighteen patients with hepatoblastoma who were treated and followed up in our center between June 1999 and June 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. All patients were evaluated by a multidisciplinary team and managed using a risk-based protocol (SIOPEL-1 and SIOPEL-3)., Results: The patients' mean age at diagnosis was 38.33 ± 52.34 months. Sixteen patients (89%) received neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and 2 patients (11%) who underwent complete mass excision at diagnosis received adjuvant chemotherapy. After neoadjuvant therapy, the tumor was completely resected in 8 patients (45%), while liver transplantation was performed in 6 patients (34%) because complete resection of the tumor was not possible. Two patients died before surgical treatment. One patient relapsed with lung metastasis after salvage chemotherapy. She is alive without disease at 64 months. The mean follow-up time was 59.3 ± 49.8 months; 5-year overall and disease-free survival rates were 88.9% and 80.8%, respectively. The 5-year overall survival rate was 100% for both liver transplant and resected patients, whereas 5-year disease-free survival was lower in transplant patients (75% vs 100%, P < .001)., Conclusion: Multidisciplinary follow-up is especially important for patients who may need liver transplantation. Some patients may benefit from new treatment options such as radiofrequency ablation and cyberknife treatment.

Background: Constitutional mismatch repair deficiency (CMMRD) is one of the rare cancer predisposition syndromes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cerebral developmental venous anomalies in children with central nervous system tumors associated with CMMRD, an area in which there is extremely little experience., Methods: Data from children diagnosed with medulloblastoma and high grade central nervous sytem tumor were retrospectively collected. According to the European CMMRD criteria, nine patients were diagnosed as CMMRD syndrome and the others consisted of the group without CMMRD. All radiological examinations of these children were retrospectively reviewed. Whole exome sequencing was performed to index cases` germline DNA., Results: Nine children from four families, six females and three males, were studied. The median age at the first tumor diagnosis was 4.5 years (range, 9 months to 14 years). All CMMRD patients had café au lait spots, but none fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for neurofibromatosis. The patients developed high-grade glial tumor (n: 7) and medulloblastoma (n: 2). The affected genes in the three families were MSH6 [c.478C > T (p.Gln160Ter)], MSH6 [c.2871dupC (p.Phe958LeufsTer5)] and MLH1 [c.236G > A(p.Arg79Lys)], respectively. Seven patients had multiple developmental venous anomalies; six patients had leptomeningeal enhancement; and five patients had cavernomas. None of these findings were present in the group without CMMRD., Conclusions: Constitutional mismatch repair deficiency should be considered when multiple developmental venous anomalies, cavernomas, and leptomeningeal enhancement are detected, especially in patients with café au lait spots.

Objective: To evaluate the serum sortilin levels in pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and to compare the results with normoglycemic healthy pregnant women and observe the relationship between serum sortilin levels and biochemical parameters., Methods: This case-control study consisted of 55 pregnancies with GDM and 32 healthy singleton pregnancies matched for maternal and gestational age. The maternal serum levels of sortilin were measured with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and compared between groups., Results: Sortilin levels were significantly higher in GDM group (5.52 ± 3.19 ng/mL versus 3.30 ± 1.47 ng/mL, p < .001). Pairwise comparisons showed that both the diet group and insulin group had significantly higher serum sortilin levels than the control group (p: .022 and p: .002, respectively). Maternal serum sortilin levels were significantly positively correlated with serum insulin levels, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and glycated hemoglobin values ( r : 0.277, p : .012, r : 0.306, p : .005, r : 0.267, p : .012, respectively)., Conclusions: Serum sortilin levels were significantly higher in women with GDM compared to the control group and were positively correlated with insulin, HOMA-IR and glycated hemoglobin levels. The present results point to the role of sortilin in glucose homeostasis and suggest that it may be a novel marker for GDM.

Background and Aim: In patients with Bipolar-I Disorder (BD-I), circadian rhythm and sleep disorders are frequently observed. Melatonin is a main regulatory hormone for the circadian rhythm. Certain studies have shown the relationship of melatonin receptor gene polymorphism with psychiatric diseases. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the relationship between BD-I and -184T>C (rs2119882) polymorphism in melatonin receptor 1A (MTNR1A) gene and -1193C>T (rs4753426) polymorphism in melatonin receptor 1B (MTNR1B) gene., Methods: The study included 108 patients diagnosed with BD-I and 95 healthy people as the control group. Real-time PCR (RT-PCR) method was used to evaluate the polymorphism of MTNR1A gene-184T>C. Genotyping of MTNR1B gene-1193C>T polymorphism was done by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP)., Results: In terms of MTNR1B gene-1193C>T polymorphism, homozygous CC genotype was found to be increased in BD-I patient group compared to the control group (p <0.05). Similarly, a statistically significant difference was found between the patients and the control group in terms of allele frequencies too (p <0.05). However, no relation between BD-I and MTNR1A gene-184T>C polymorphism was found (p >0.05)., Conclusion: The results of the study revealed that MTNR1B gene-1193C>T polymorphism may play a role in BD-I genetic etiology and may be among the causes of sleep disorder and circadian rhythm disorder seen in these patients., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interests Authors declare no Conflict of Interests., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: This study aims to investigate plasma levels of leptin, acyl ghrelin, and unacylated ghrelin during heroin withdrawal in patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) with regard to the relationship of these levels with craving and their changes over time., Methods: This study included 28 male patients diagnosed with OUD according to DSM-5 diagnostic criteria who received inpatient rehabilitation. The control group included 28 healthy male volunteers with characteristics similar to the patient group. Plasma leptin, acyl ghrelin, and unacylated ghrelin levels of the patients were measured 3 times throughout the study by collecting blood on the first day, the seventh day at the end of the detox, and the twenty-first day. Blood was collected only once from the control group to determine their plasma leptin, acyl ghrelin, and unacylated ghrelin levels., Results: Our study did not determine any statistically significant differences between patients with OUD and healthy controls with regard to plasma leptin, acyl ghrelin, and unacylated ghrelin levels on the first, seventh, and twenty-first days of withdrawal. Plasma levels of leptin, acyl ghrelin, and unacylated ghrelin did not significantly correlate with craving scores., Conclusion: This study does not support the hypothesis that plasma leptin, acyl ghrelin, and unacylated ghrelin levels are markers in those with OUD. Further research, particularly in humans, is recommended to replicate and expand on the findings of the current literature., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: The authors have no conflict of interest to declare., (© Copyright 2021 authors.)

Background: High viral loads are observed in Torque Teno Virus (TTV) infection after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). We aimed to analyze the kinetics of plasma TTV-DNA load in pediatric patients who received immunosuppressive therapy and developed infection complications in the first 100 days after HSCT., Methods: As a patient group; 113 plasma samples taken from 33 pediatric HSCT recipients at a time interval after transplantation and as a control group; 38 plasma samples from 38 children without known chronic disease were included in the study. Viral nucleic acid isolation was performed by using the NucliSENS easyMAG (bioMerieux, France) system. A laboratory designed quantitative polymerase chain reaction process was performed on 7300 Real-Time PCR system (Applied Biosystems, CA, USA) with the amplification mixture containing primer and probe sequences for the UTR gene region., Results: TTV-DNA was detected in all patient's samples and the median viral load was calculated as 7.67 Log 10 copies/mL (range: 2.84-9.59). In the control group, the TTV-DNA median viral load was calculated as 5.51 Log 10 copies/mL (range: 2.50-7.04), except for one negative sample. A significant difference was observed between the control group and the patient group in terms of TTV viral load levels. In nine patients, a median 2.15 Log 10 copies/mL viral load increase was observed at 31-60 days post-transplant compared to the pre-transplant period., Conclusion: TTV-DNA levels should be closely monitored to understand the immune status of the first 100 days after transplantation and the effects of treatment regimens on patients with HSCT., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Although orthostatic proteinuria (OP) is the most common cause of childhood proteinuria, excluding transient proteinuria, data regarding prevalence and long-term prognosis are limited. We aimed to determine prevalence of OP in healthy schoolchildren evaluating relationships with age, gender and body mass index, and determine follow-up., Methods: A total of 1701 healthy children aged 6-15 years were selected using a population-based, stratified, cluster-sampling method; and random urine samples were taken. For proteinuria ≥ 1+ in first urine samples, second and third random samples were taken at least 2 weeks apart to exclude transient proteinuria. For continuing proteinuria after third samples, first morning urine samples were collected. Cases where proteinuria was not detected in first morning urine samples were diagnosed as OP., Results: Sixty-four of 1701 children (3.7%) had proteinuria on first random urine samples. After second and third urine samples, proteinuria persisted in only 16 (0.94%). OP was detected in 11 (0.65%). Prevalence of OP tended to decrease with increasing BMI, though not statistically significant. All 7 cases with OP who were re-evaluated later, had no proteinuria 3 years after diagnosis., Conclusions: Prevalence of OP in our study was lower than the literature. At least three random urine samples should be taken to exclude transient proteinuria in an asymptomatic child/adolescent before making a diagnosis of OP using first morning urine samples. OP is a benign condition and resolves spontaneously in most cases. Underweight children had a tendency for OP compared with overweight and obese children; however, further studies with larger number of patients are needed.

Four new dicyanoargentate(I)-based complexes 1-4 were synthesized from certain metal ions with a tetradentate ligand [N, N-bis (2-hydroxyethyl) -ethylenediamine; N-bishydeten] and determined by diverse procedures (elemental, thermal, FT-IR, ESI-MS for 1-3 and, magnetic susceptibility and EPR for 1, and 2) including crystal analysis of 4. The crystal method revealed that complex 4 has a sandwich-type like polymeric chemical structure with layers formed by [Cd(N-bishydeten) 2 ] 2+ cations and [Ag(CN) 2 ] - anions. The complexes were further characterized by fluorescence and UV spectroscopy to determine their physicochemical features. The complexes displayed a DNA binding activity within the same range as found for cisplatin, in addition to their strong stability in the presence of the physiological buffer system. The complexes were also investigated for pharmacological properties like interaction with DNA/Bovine serum albumin, anticancer and antibacterial activities. Physicochemical studies of DNA with the complexes suggested that the interaction mode between them are possibly both intercalative and groove binding types. These spectroscopic measurements also show that there may be a binding tendency between BSA and the complexes via hydrogen or Van der Waals bonds. The viability tests demonstrated that all the complexes exhibited antibacterial (1-4) and anticancer effects (2-4) toward ten diverse bacterial strains and three tumor cells (HT-29 colon adenocarcinoma, HeLa cervical cancer, and C6 glioma), respectively.

The quaternized compounds (PzIL1-9) reacted with sodium tetrafluoroborate (NaBF 4 ) to generate phosphazene based ionic liquids (PzILs), PzIL1a-9a. The newly synthesized ionic compounds (PzIL1a-9a) were verified using elemental CHN analyses and functional and spectroscopic (FTIR and 1 H, 13 C, 31 P-NMR) analyses techniques. The thermal properties of PzIL1a-9a were investigated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). According to the initial decomposition temperature values calculated based on the TGA thermograms, PzIL7a (213 °C) was recognized to be more thermally stable than the other PzILs studied. PzIL1a-9a exhibited good solubility in the water and demonstrate a typical dielectric relaxation behavior, conductivity levels for both low and high-frequency regions. AC conductivity mechanisms and dielectric relaxation behavior of each sample are investigated by fabricating parallel plate capacitors.

Molecular structures containing gold, such as auranofin, have been extensively studied in the diagnosis and treatment of many diseases, including cancer treatment. The pharmacological properties of the newly synthesized unique gold-ligand structures have been reported for different cancer cell lines. However, findings on bishydeten-metal salt complexes with gold are rare. In this work, the synthesis of five novel cyanide-bridged coordination compounds having the closed formulae [Ni(bishydeten)][Au(CN) 2 ] 2 (1), [Cu(bishydeten)][Au(CN) 2 ] 2 (2), [Zn(bishydeten) 2 Au 3 (CN) 4 ][Au 2 (CN) 3 ] (3), [Cd(bishydeten) 0,5 ] 2 [Au(CN) 2 ] 4 .2H 2 O (4), and [Cd(bishydeten) 2 ][Au(CN) 2 ] 2 (5) (where bisyhdeten = N,N-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)ethylene diamine), and their characterization by elemental, infrared, ESI-MS, X-ray (for 2) and thermic measurement methods were performed. Complexes 1 and 3 are thermally more stable than the other three complexes. For these, pharmacological adequacies were also tested. The nucleic acid and protein binding affinities of the Au (I) compounds were also estimated by spectroscopic and electrophoretic techniques. Au (I) complexes were identified as strong chemotherapeutic with mild cytotoxicity, and they demonstrated a dose-dependent inhibition on the growth of cancer cells with IC50 at 0.11 to 0.47 μM. Investigation of mechanisms of action on cells revealed that Au (I) compounds managed to inhibit cell migration and led to a decrease in cytoskeletal proteins such as CK7 and CK20. However, Au (I) compounds failed to inhibit DNA topoisomerase I. Overall, and we suggest that potent antiproliferative activity, mild cytotoxicity, good solubility, and micromolar dosage of Au (I) compounds containing bisyhdeten-metal derivatives render them the potential focus of further studies as chemotherapeutic agents., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Current evidence suggests that pro-inflammatory cytokines, particularly tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) may play an important role in the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder (BD). Our study aims to compare BD patients and controls in terms of serum TNF-α, soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 and soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 (sTNF-R1, sTNF-R2) levels in different phases of BD., Methods: Eighty-three patients with BD type 1 (27 manic, 22 depressive and 34 euthymic) and twenty-nine healthy controls were included in the study. Serum levels of TNF-α, sTNF-R1, sTNF-R2 levels were evaluated with ELISA kit., Results: Levels of sTNF-R1 were showed a statistically significant difference between groups. Levels of sTNF-R1 were higher in depression or mania patients than euthymia patients and control subjects. A statistically significant difference in the serum level of sTNF-R1 between patients in acute episode (mania and depression) group and stabile (patients in euthymic episode and controls) group was found in logistic regression analysis. The probability of having acute episode increased threefold for each unit increase in serum level of sTNF-R1. There was no statistically significant difference between the mean serum values of TNF-α and sTNF-R2 between the groups., Conclusions: sTNF-R1 production was different between acute episode patients and controls or stable BD patients. The result of this study confirms that TNF-R1 may be a state marker representing disease activity for BD., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that this manuscript is an independent study, has no conflict of interest including any financial, personal or other relationship with other people or organizations within three years of beginning the submitted work., (Copyright: © 2020 Turkish Neuropsychiatric Society.)

Background and Objectives: The most important determinant of long-term graft survival in renal transplantation is adequate immunosuppression. Inadequate immunosuppression may lead to graft loss due to the presence of anti-HLA antibody. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of variability in tacrolimus blood concentration on anti-HLA antibody development in pediatric recipients of living-donor renal transplants., Methods: Pediatric recipients of living-donor renal transplants were retrospectively evaluated. Patients with a minimum of two years of follow-up who were administered tacrolimus were included in the study. Patients who had pretransplant anti-HLA antibody were excluded. Variability in tacrolimus blood concentration was assessed using the coefficient of variation ("tacrolimus CV") method. Tacrolimus CV was calculated separately for the first 6 months post-transplant, between 6 and 12 months post-transplant, and from the end of the first year post-transplant to the last follow-up. We constructed receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves of the tacrolimus CV for each group to find the best cutoff value., Results: A total of 67 patients (including 48 males; 72%) with a mean age of 15.16 ± 4.43 years were included in the study. Anti-HLA antibody positivity was detected in 12 patients (18%). More than three HLA mismatches and the presence of acute cellular rejection correlated with the development of anti-HLA antibody (p = 0.056, 0.009). Tacrolimus CVs for the three periods were 0.37 ± 0.11, 0.31 ± 0.18, and 0.35 ± 0.12, respectively. The cutoff value of tacrolimus CV for anti-HLA antibody development was calculated as 0.32 with a sensitivity of 90.91% and specificity of 50.94% [AUC (area under the curve) 0.713, p = 0.023]. During the second 6-month period and after a  year post-transplant, the percentage of patients with tacrolimus CV > 0.32 was significantly higher in the anti-HLA antibody positive group than in the antibody negative group (67% vs 31%, p = 0.027; 83% vs 47%, p = 0.033). The eGFR (estimated glomerular filtration rate) was similar for the anti-HLA antibody negative and positive groups (78.72 ± 2.86 vs 77.45 ± 8.08, p > 0.05)., Conclusion: High tacrolimus concentration variability appears to be associated with anti-HLA antibody formation in pediatric recipients of living-donor renal transplants.