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Invertebrate iridescent virus 6 (IIV6) is a nucleocytoplasmic insect virus and a member of the family Iridoviridae. The IIV6 genome consists of 212,482 bp of linear dsDNA with 215 non-overlapping and putative protein-encoding ORFs. The IIV6 118L ORF is conserved in all sequenced members of the Iridoviridae and encodes a 515 amino acid protein with three predicted transmembrane domains and several N-glycosylation/N-myristoylation sites. In this study, we characterized the 118L ORF by both deleting it from the viral genome and silencing its expression with dsRNA in infected insect cells. The homologous recombination method was used to replace 118L ORF with the green fluorescent protein (gfp) gene. Virus mutants in which the 118L gene sequence had been replaced with gfp were identified by fluorescence microscopy but could not be propagated separately from the wild-type virus in insect cells. Unsuccessful attempts to isolate the mutant virus with the 118L gene deletion suggested that the protein is essential for virus replication. To support this result, we used dsRNA to target the 118L gene and showed that treatment resulted in a 99% reduction in virus titer. Subsequently, we demonstrated that 118L-specific antibodies produced against the 118L protein expressed in the baculovirus vector system were able to neutralize the virus infection. All these results indicate that 118L is a viral envelope protein that is required for the initiation of virus replication., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

This study aimed to explore disordered eating behaviors in gender-affirming treatment (GAT)-seeking transgender (TG) adults and cisgender people, in addition to analyzing the association between gender dysphoria intensity, body mass index, and disordered eating behaviors. Data were collected from 132 GAT-seeking TG people with gender dysphoria who had never received GAT (91 TG men, 41 TG women), and 153 cisgender (99 cisgender men, 54 cisgender women) participants from Turkey. The Utrecht Gender Dysphoria Scale was used to evaluate the intensity of gender dysphoria. Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire and Questionnaire on Eating and Weight Patterns-5 were utilized to assess disordered eating. There was no difference between TG women and TG men in terms of ED psychopathology. The most prominent characteristic in all four groups was shape concern, which was significantly higher in TG men and TG women when compared to cisgender men and cisgender women. Binge eating was notably more frequent in TG men and TG women compared to cisgender men, with 11% of the TG men and 7.3% of the TG women meeting the criteria for possible binge eating disorder. Screening for disordered eating behaviors, particularly binge eating, may be recommended in routine care for TG people.

Background: Interstitial lung diseases (ILD) encompass various disorders characterized by inflammation and/or fibrosis in the lung interstitium. These conditions produce distinct patterns in High-Resolution Computed Tomography (HRCT)., Objective: We employ a deep learning method to diagnose the most commonly encountered patterns in ILD differentially., Materials and Methods: Patients were categorized into usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP), nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP), and normal lung parenchyma groups. VGG16 and VGG19 deep learning architectures were utilized. 85% of each pattern was used as training data for the artificial intelligence model. The models were then tasked with diagnosing the patterns in the test dataset without human intervention. Accuracy rates were calculated for both models., Results: 1 The success of the VGG16 model in the test phase was 95.02% accuracy. 2 Using the same data, 98.05% accuracy results were obtained in the test phase of the VGG19 model., Conclusion: Deep Learning models showed high accuracy in distinguishing the two most common patterns of ILD., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

Objective: Several studies have shown that mitochondrial metabolism may be disrupted if the rate of the specific 4,977 bp deletion of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) reaches a threshold. This study aimed to investigate the possible associations between the mtDNA4977 deletion load and obesity-related metabolic abnormalities in the adipose tissue., Methods: The study included thirty obese individuals, who underwent bariatric surgery, and twelve control subjects. mtDNA4977 deletion, adenine nucleotides, and lactate levels, which show the bioenergetic status were evaluated in visceral adipose tissues. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was used to investigate the structural variations and composition of adipose tissues in the context of deletion load., Results: There were no differences between the two groups in terms of mtDNA4977 deletion, adenine nucleotides, and lactate levels. The FTIR spectra indicated a few obesity-related alterations in adipose tissues that were not related to the mtDNA deletion load. Also, statistical analysis showed a correlation between the deletion load and a band shift of 1,744 cm-1, which assigns C = O stretching of the carbonyl group of the ester group in triglycerides and other esterified fatty acids, although it is not associated with obesity., Conclusions: Our data suggest that the mtDNA4977 deletion in visceral adipose tissues of obese individuals do not have a significant impact on the bioenergetic status. However, the increased accumulation of deletion may be associated with a specific change in the ester bond, indicating structural differences in the lipids. These findings shed light on our understanding of the tissue-specific distribution of mtDNA deletions and obesity-related adipose tissue pathogeneses., (© 2023 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Introduction: This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of parentage verification in Arabian and Thoroughbred horses in Türkiye using microsatellite markers. A total of 813 Arabian and 959 Thoroughbred horses were genotyped using a total of 17 microsatellite markers. The mean effective number of alleles was 3,34 and the mean number of alleles was 7,41 in Arabian horses. It was calculated that the mean He and Ho values in Arabian horses were 0,677 and 0,680, respectively. The mean effective number of alleles was 3,55 and the mean number of alleles was 6,59 in Thoroughbred horses. It was calculated that the mean Ho and He values in Thoroughbred horses were 0,697 and 0,684, respectively. When the studied Arabian and Thoroughbred horse populations are considered as a single population, the mean FIT, FST and FIS values were found to be 0,063, 0,074 and, - 0,011, respectively. Also, 4 loci in Arabian horses and 3 loci in Thoroughbred horses significantly deviated from HWE. The mean PIC value was 0,63 in Arabian horses and 0,64 in Thoroughbred horses. As a result; the microsatellites including the most informative 15 and 9 loci had a total value of > 0,9999 (11 and 7 loci > 0,999) in each population for PE - 1 and PE - 3, respectively. It has been concluded that parentage verification and genetic identification can be made successfully in the Arabian and Thoroughbred horse populations by using the microsatellite markers panel.

Recently, aberrant DNA methylation of the HIST1H4F gene (encodes Histone 4 protein) has been shown in many types of cancer, which may serve as a promising biomarker for early cancer diagnosis. However, the correlation between DNA methylation of the HIST1H4F gene and its role in gene expression is unclear in bladder cancer. Therefore, the first objective of this study is to explore the DNA methylation pattern of the HIST1H4F gene and then further elucidate its effects on HIST1H4F mRNA expression in bladder cancer. To this end, the methylation pattern of the HIST1H4F gene was analyzed by pyrosequencing and the effects of the methylation profiles of this gene on HIST1H4F mRNA expression in bladder cancer were examined by qRT-PCR. Sequencing analysis revealed significantly higher methylation frequencies of the HIST1H4F gene in bladder tumor samples compared to normal samples (p < 0,0001). However, when we evaluated the correlations between hypermethylation of HIST1H4F and the clinicopathological parameters (tumor stage, tumor grade, lymph node metastasis, muscle-invasion), no significant difference was found between the groups (p > 0.05). In addition, we examined the role of hypermethylation of the HIST1H4F gene on HIST1H4F mRNA expression. We found that hypermethylation of HIST1H4F in the exon have no effect HIST1H4F mRNA expression in bladder cancer (p > 0.05). We also confirmed our finding in cultured T24 cell line which HIST1H4F gene is hypermethylated. Our results suggest that hypermethylation of the HIST1H4F seems to be a promising early diagnostic biomarker in bladder cancer patients. However, further studies are needed to determine the role of HIST1H4F hypermethylation in tumorigenesis., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Surgery is a common form of management for Crohn disease (CD) in the presence of intra-abdominal complications. In this study, we investigated the effect of various factors on the development of postoperative complications in patients who underwent surgery for complicated CD. Patients who underwent surgery between 2011 and 2018 were included in this study. Information on age, sex, presence of extraintestinal findings, operation indications, operation type, and postoperative complications was obtained. Groups with and without postoperative complications were compared according to body mass index, American Society of Anesthesiologists score, comorbidities, smoking status, preoperative drug use, presence of perianal disease, presence of a stoma, synchronous small intestine resection surgery, duration of hospital stay, and preoperative biochemical parameters. A total of 192 patients were included, of which 53.1% were female and 46.9% were male. Patients were indicated for surgery for reasons such as stricture, abscess, fistula, and tumor development. As the surgical method, patients were operated on by open or laparoscopic method (86% and 14%, respectively). Postoperative complications occurred in 30 female and 33 male patients (15.6% and 17.1%, respectively). Patient age, smoking status, steroid use, perianal disease, presence of stoma, and presence of extra intestinal findings were significantly higher in the complicated group. Surgery may be inevitable for CD in the presence of complications. In cases of patient age, smoking, steroid use, perianal disease, stoma opening, and presence of extra intestinal findings, patients with CD who undergo surgery should be followed up closely in terms of the development of complications., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2023 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Aim: The safety and effectiveness of MGB versus LSG remain unclear. In this study, we It has been shown by many clinical studies that laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) and mini-gastric bypass (MGB), two current methods in metabolic surgery, may be alternatives to Roux-en-Y gastric aimed to compare the postoperative outcomes of MGB and LSG procedures performed in bariatric surgery., Material Methods: A total of 175 patients who underwent MGB and LSG surgery between 2016 and 2018 at a single metabolic surgery center were analyzed retrospectively. Two surgical procedures were compared in terms of the perioperative, early and late postoperative outcomes., Results: There were 121 patients in the MGB group and 54 patients in the LSG group. No significant difference was found between the groups regarding the operating time, the conversion to open surgery and the early postoperative complications (p>0.05). The length of hospital stay was significantly shorter in the MGB group (p:0.001). The excess weight loss (EWL%) and total weight loss (TWL%) were significantly higher in the MGB group (90.3 vs. 79.2; and 36.4 vs 30.5, respectively). No significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of the remission rates of comorbidities. The symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux were observed in a significantly fewer number of the patients in the MGB group (6 patients 4.9% vs. 10 patients 18.5%)., Conclusions: Both LSG and MGB are effective, reliable, and useful methods in metabolic surgery. The MGB procedure is superior to the LSG in terms of the length of hospital stay, EWL%, TWL% and the postoperative gastroesophageal reflux symptoms., Key Words: Metabolic surgery, Mini gastric bypass, Postoperative outcomes, Sleeve gastrectomy.

Background: HAdV-36 leads to adipocyte proliferation of adipose tissue through E4orf1 gene, leading to the development of obesity and related diseases. We aimed to investigate the presence and any association of HAdV-36 in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) patients Methods: The patient group was composed of 116 patients; 30 obese patients with NAFLD (BMI > 30 kg/m2), 30 patients with Diabetes Mellitus (DM)+NAFLD (BMI > 30 kg/m2), 16 patients with NAFLD (BMI < 30 kg/m2), and operated obese group with NAFLD (BMI > 30 kg/m2). The control group comprised 81 non-obese healthy adults. Liver adipose tissue samples were obtained in 30 operated NAFLD patients. HAdV-36-DNA, HAdV-36 neutralizing antibodies, serum lipid, and adipokine levels were analyzed., Results: HAdV-36 neutralizing antibodies (HAdV-36 Ab-positive) were detected in 10/116 and 2/81 participants in the study and control groups, respectively; the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.005). LDL, total cholesterol but not adipokine levels were found to be significantly higher in HadV-36 Ab-positive patients (p < 0.05). While HAdV-36 was identified as a risk factor with OR = 4.11 in univariate analyses, there was no significant difference in binary logistic regression analysis. HAdV-36-DNA was detected in the adipose tissue samples of two patients., Conclusions: We suggest that the presence of HAdV-36 may lead to the development of obesity with the increase in adipose tissue, and diseases such as hyperlipidemia, NAFLD, DM, and metabolic syndrome may develop on the basis of chronic inflammation caused by obesity. Thus, HAdV-36 may be a plausible risk factor for the development of NAFLD.

Background: Early diagnosis of subclinical cardiovascular disease (CVD) in patients with morbid obesity is important. We investigated the effects of sleeve gastrectomy (SG) on serum soluble lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor-1 (sLOX-1), oxidized LDL (oxLDL), and other metabolic and inflammatory parameters associated with atherosclerosis in patients with morbid obesity., Methods: Body mass index (BMI) measurements and assays of metabolic and inflammatory markers were taken in patients in an SG surgery group and a healthy control group and compared at baseline and 12 months after SG. Correlations with changes in these parameters and variations in sLOX-1 were analyzed., Results: Metabolic and inflammatory marker values in the surgery (n = 20) and control (n = 20) groups were significantly different at baseline (p < 0.001). The majority of surgery group biomarker levels significantly decreased with mean BMI loss (- 11.8 ± 9.0, p < 0.001) at 12 months, trending toward control group values. Baseline albumin level as well as percentage reductions in oxLDL and the cholesterol retention fraction (CRF) were found to be significantly correlated with percentage reduction in sLOX-1 at 12 months following SG., Conclusion: Metabolic and inflammatory biomarkers elevated at baseline significantly decreased after SG weight loss. Weight loss induced by SG may limit endothelial damage by reducing levels of oxLDL and LOX-1 as assessed by sLOX-1. These findings suggest that sLOX-1 may function as a marker of atherosclerotic disease states in patients with morbid obesity and that metabolic/bariatric surgery can play a meaningful role in CVD prevention., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Introduction: Colonic lipomas are benign tumors of adipose tissue that are often asymptomatic, but they may present with rectal bleeding or obstructive symptoms. These tumors are unique in that they are rarely encountered within the gastrointestinal system and can mimic malignant tumors in appearance. Surgical resection and endoscopic removal of tumors have been shown to be successful in their management., Patient Concerns: In this report, we present 3 cases of colonic lipomas, 2 of which are located in the cecum and the other within the sigmoid colon. The presenting symptoms of the patients included abdominal pain, constipation, and dyspepsia., Diagnosis: Patients typically presented with anemia and an elevated C-reactive protein count. Colonoscopic and computerized tomography findings were used for diagnosis., Interventions: Hemicolectomy was performed, depending on the localization, and the pathologic specimens were consistent with lipoma., Outcomes: Surgical resection was curative in all patients. The postoperative period was uneventful in all patients and all patients are symptom-free and alive at 3 years follow-up., Conclusion: Colonic lipomas are benign mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal system with a male predominance and are observed within the fourth to sixth decades of life. Various genetic abnormalities have been reported and they have been linked to the formation of intussusception. The squeeze sign on radiological imaging, cushion sign and tenting sign in colonoscopy, and naked fat sign during pathologic examination is helpful towards reaching a diagnosis. Surgical resection is the treatment of choice but minimally invasive endoscopic approaches have also been shown to be successful., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2022 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)