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Aim: To present the results of a new modification of dismembered pyeloplasty performed to prevent the occurrence of secondary obstruction. Methods: Modified dismembered pyeloplasty was performed in 35 children (age range 3 months to 16 years) who had unilateral ureteropelvic junction obstruction. In postoperative follow-up, presence of hydronephrosis on ultrasonography, differential renal function (DRF) and renal drainage half-time on technetium-99m diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) renography were recorded and compared with preoperative data. Results: Mean anteroposterior renal pelvic diameter, mean preoperative DRF and radioisotope clearance half-time on DTPA renography of the affected kidneys were 61.4 mm, 38.6% and 34.3 min in children with prenatal hydronephrosis, and 67.5 mm, 37.6% and 39.4 min in children that presented with symptoms, respectively. After surgery, mean anteroposterior renal pelvic diameter, mean DRF and radioisotope clearance half-time on DTPA renography of the affected kidneys were 10.9 mm, 45.9% and 11.9 min in children with prenatal hydronephrosis, and 20 mm, 41.9% and 15.2 min in children that presented with symptoms, respectively. No failure was observed in any patient at an average follow-up of 26 months (range 1–5 years). Conclusions: Open dismembered pyeloplasty is the treatment of choice for intrinsic ureteropelvic junction obstruction. The modification of dismembered pyeloplasty that we performed is an alternative for the prevention of secondary obstruction. Copyright © 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scale of parental awareness concerning children's bowel habits and its effects on voiding dysfunction were investigated. Parents of toilet-trained children older than 4 years were given questionnaires during the first interview and after follow-up of their children's bowel habits for symptoms and signs of constipation and urinary complaints. Diagnosis of constipation was made according to the Rome III criteria. Eighty-nine patients were included in the study. The number of constipated patients almost doubled after the observation period. Most of the urinary problems resolved upon treatment of constipation. History at first interview was misleading in 42% of the patients who would benefit from a simple treatment. Most of the parents were unaware of their children's bowel habits. Before proceeding with more complicated tests or treatment of voiding dysfunction, the symptoms and signs of constipation should be sought during a close parental observation period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arterial thromboembolic events are not common after chemotherapy. We present a case of a cerebrovascular accident, which developed after chemotherapy in a patient with a germ cell tumor. A 34-year-old man with a testicular germ cell tumor who did not have any comorbid disease was admitted to hospital. After a radical inguinal orchiectomy, BEP (bleomycin, etoposide, and cisplatin) chemotherapy regimen was given. On the 10th day of the third cycle, aphasia and hemiplegia developed. Cerebrovascular accident was diagnosed. This event is a rare complication in a patient receiving BEP chemotherapy who did not have cardiovascular disease or thromboembolic risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: COVID-19 is characterized by an acute inflammatory response with the formation of endothelial dysfunction and may affect arterial stiffness. Studies of cardio-ankle vascular index in COVID-19 patients with considered cardiovascular risk factors have not been conducted., Objective: The purpose of our study was to assess the association between cardio-ankle vascular index and COVID-19 in hospitalized patients adjusted for known cardiovascular risk factors., Methods: A cross-sectional study included 174 people hospitalized with a diagnosis of moderate COVID-19 and 94 people without COVID-19. Significant differences in the cardio-ankle vascular index values measured by VaSera VS - 1500N between the two groups were analyzed using parametric (Student's t-criterion) and nonparametric (Mann-Whitney) criteria. Independent association between COVID-19 and an increased cardio-ankle vascular index ≥ 9.0 adjusted for known cardiovascular risk factors was assessed by multivariate logistic regression., Results: There were significantly higher values of the right cardio-ankle vascular index 8.10 [7.00;9.40] and the left cardio-ankle vascular index 8.10 [6.95;9.65] in patients undergoing inpatient treatment for COVID-19 than in the control group - 7.55 [6.60;8.60] and 7.60 [6.60;8.70], respectively. A multivariate logistic regression model adjusted for age, hypertension, plasma glucose level, glomerular filtration rate and diabetes mellitus showed a significant association between increased cardio-ankle vascular index and COVID-19 (OR 2.41 [CI 1.09;5.30])., Conclusion: Hospitalized patients with COVID-19 had significantly higher cardio-ankle vascular index values compared to the control group. An association between an increased cardio-ankle vascular index and COVID-19 was revealed, independent of age, hypertension, plasma glucose level, glomerular filtration rate and diabetes mellitus., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

Our objective was to analyze the diversity of the microbiota over 180 d of ripening of eight batches of artisanal goatskin Tulum cheeses by culture-dependent and culture-independent (PCR-DGGE) methods. V3 region of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene was amplified with the PCR after direct DNA isolation from the cheese samples. Nine different species and five genera were determined by culturing, while 11 species were identified in the PCR-DGGE technique. This diversity revealed the uniqueness of artisanal cheese varieties. The dominant genera in all the cheese samples were composed of Enterococcus species. The culture-dependent method revealed five genera (Enterococcus,Bacillus,Lactococcus,Lactobacillus, Sphingomonas) while three genera (Enterococcus, Streptococcus, Lactococcus) were detected in the culture-independent method. It was concluded that combining the two methods is important for characterizing the whole microbiota of the Tulum cheese varieties produced in the Anamur region.

Organic acid contents of acidified and fermented fish silages made from gibel carp ( Caracius gibelio ) and klunzinger's ponyfish ( Equulites klunzingeri ) fishes, and from fish processing residues or by-products, were determined and studied. The silages were undertaken in wet and spray-dried fish-based raw-materials for 3 weeks at room temperature ( ca . 25 °C). Selected lactic acid bacteria (LAB) of Enterococcus gallinarum , Lactobacillus brevis , Lactobacillus plantarum , Pediococcus acidilactici , and Streptococcus spp. were employed to produce fermented fish-based silages, while acidified silage was prepared resorting to the addition of formic acid (3%, v/v). Lactic and propionic acids were the dominant produced organic acids, while succinic acid was formed at the smallest amounts in fermented silages. In the acidified silage, lactic and formic acids were produced in amounts higher than 800 and 1000 mg organic acid /100g sample , respectively. Among the fermented fish-based silages, LAB strains unfolded considerable ability to presumptively produce propionic acid in gibel carp silage (>2370 mg organic acid /100g sample ). Spray-dried fermented silages displayed significantly higher organic acid content than wet silages. Propionic acid accumulation was found at the highest levels in gibel carp silage fermented with L. plantarum (6335.40 mg propion ic acid /100g sample ). This research effort pointed out the good capability of various selected lactic acid bacteria strains to produce significant amounts of organic acids-especially lactic, acetic, and propionic acids-during the fermentation of fish-based silages. In terms of food safety and quality, such a production of relatively high amounts of organic acids in wet and spray-dried fish-based silages clearly indicated their suitableness to be used for animal feed., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Two different RTi-PCR protocol were designed and quantifications were validated by using various amounts of DNA. Multiplex AG R 1 and AG R 2 RTi-PCR amplification reactions quantified successfully for Clostridium perfringens, Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella enterica. Using the validated multiplex RTi-PCR reactions, the presence and quantification of pathogens were investigated in 40 beef, 41 sheep and 30 chicken meat samples. Results showed that the existence of C. perfringens, E. faecalis and S. aureus was 79%, 86% and 94%, respectively in the samples. Presence of E. coli O157:H7 and S. enterica were 90% and 91% in meat samples. The results showed that many meat samples were contaminated by examined five pathogens. Therefore, it is considered that these samples may pose a potential risk to the human health since same equipment are used for different animals in the slaughterhouse. This neglect increases the amount of pathogenic contamination., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: This study aims to investigate the genetic association between single nucleotide mutation in mitochondrial manganese superoxide dismutase and a Behçet's disease (BD) population by using molecular techniques., Patients and Methods: Ninety-three BD patients (45 males, 48 females; mean age 33.15±8.99 years; range 17 to 65 years) and 125 controls (58 males, 67 females; mean age 28.33±7.31 years; range 18 to 62 years) were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. The genotypic distributions in BD patients and controls were consistent with the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium., Results: Significant differences were observed between BD patients and controls in terms of genotypic distribution. Frequencies of alanine (Ala)/Ala, Ala/valine (Val), and Val/Val were 14.0% (n=13), 45.2% (n=42), and 40.9% (n=38) in BD patients and 21.6% (n=27), 53.6% (n=67), and 24.8% (n=31) in controls, respectively (p=0.033)., Conclusion: The Val/Val genotype of the manganese superoxide dismutase gene is associated with the physiopathology of BD in a group of Turkish patients., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

Streptococcus thermophilus is a lactic acid bacterium and used as starter culture in the dairy industry, mainly in the manufacture of yoghurt, with Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus. It produces lactic acid as a major fermentation end product and some carbonyl compounds through sugar metabolism. The level of metabolites could be improved using molecular biotechnology. The genes of als, encoding α-acetolactate synthase (Als), the pflA, encoding pyruvate-formate lyase activating enzyme (PflA), and the adhB which encodes alcohol dehydrogenase (AdhB) of S. thermophilus NCFB2393 strain were amplified by polymerase chain reaction and separately cloned into the overexpression vector pNZ276 under the control of the lacA promoter. The strains were transformed individually with the constructed plasmids. Their abilities to generate important metabolites such as pyruvate, lactate, formate, acetaldehyde, acetoin, ethanol, and 2,3-butanediol in LM17 medium were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography. High level of 2,3-butanediol was obtained by overexpressing the als gene. The level of formate increased slightly by overexpressing the pflA gene. The overexpression of the adhB gene, on the other hand, resulted in a significant increase in the ethanol level.