Search

The South Shetland Islands (SSIs) region, located on the northern Antarctic Peninsula (AP), is influenced by different climatic configurations from regional (five atmospheric circulation patterns, sea ice extent-concentration and surface temperature) to global (Southern Annular Mode-SAM, El Niño-Southern Oscillation-ENSO and deep convection in the central tropical Pacific-CPAC) scales. However, few studies have been developed to assess the influence of these climatic conditions on the surface mass balance (SMB) of glaciers located in the SSIs. To fill this gap, we analyzed correlation between annual SMB, reconstituted with a physical surface energy balance model (COSIPY), and regional-global climate indices from 1970 to 2020. COSIPY was calibrated and validated with 19 years of annual SMB observations from three glaciers (Johnsons, Hurd and Bellinghausen), showing a good ability to capture inter-annual (R² = 71%) variability. Results showed a break in the annual SMB trend following the warming and cooling periods of the surface air temperature in the AP. In addition, our results indicated low dependence of the SMB with main global atmospheric variability (SAM, ENSO and CPAC) and high dependence with custom regional climate indices (Drake Passage, Amundsen–Bellingshausen and Weddell regions). This study highlights the Drake Passage as a key region that has the potential to influence the interannual variability of the SMB and other climate variables such as surface air temperature and snowfall in the SSIs. We suggest that future work should consider this region to better understand the past, present and future climate changes on the SSIs and surrounding areas., The 28th IUGG General Assembly (IUGG2023) (Berlin 2023)

Atmospheric rivers (ARs) traveling thousands of kilometers over arid North Africa could interact with the highlands of the Near East (NE), and thus affect the region's hydrometeorology and water resources. Here, we use a state-of-the-art AR tracking database, and reanalysis and observational datasets to investigate the climatology (1979-2017) and influences of these ARs in snowmelt season (March-April). The Red Sea and northeast Africa are found to be the major source regions of these ARs, which are typically associated with the eastern Mediterranean trough positioned over the Balkan Peninsula and a blocking anticyclone over the NE-Caspian region, triggering southwesterly air flow toward the NE's highlands. Approximately 8% of the ARs are relatively strong (integrated water vapor transport >similar to 275 kg m(-1) s(-1)). AR days exhibit enhanced precipitation over the crescent-shaped orography of the NE region. Mean AR days indicate wetter (up to + 2 mm day(-1)) and warmer (up to + 1.5 degrees C) conditions than all-day climatology. On AR days, while snowpack tends to decrease (up to 30%) in the Zagros Mountains, it can show decreases or increases in the Taurus Mountains depending largely on elevation. A further analysis with the observations and reanalysis indicates that extreme ARs coinciding with large scale sensible heat transport can significantly increase the daily discharges. These results suggest that ARs can have notable impacts on the hydrometeorology and water resources of the region, particularly of lowland Mesopotamia, a region that is famous with great floods in the ancient narratives.

Leishmaniasis is a vector borne zoonotic parasitic disease transmitted by sand flies and it can be seen in all continents except Antarctica. It is a common disease in the countries located in Mediterranean basin (Turkey, Syria, North Africa, Jordan, Italy, Iran). It may present with three clinical forms such as cutaneous, mucocutaneous visceral leishmaniasis (VL). VL is an endemic disease in the Mediterranean and Aegean regions of Turkey and it is seen sporadically in the other regions. In this report a case who is living in Izmir province with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) secondary to VL was presented. A 50-year-old woman admitted to our department with fever, weakness, sweating and fatique for about three weeks. The patient’s temperature was 38.7°C. Laboratory tests revealed pancytopenia with hemoglobin level of 8.91 g/dl (11.7-16.0 g/dl), platelet level 104 x 103/µl (150-450 x 103/µl) and leukocyte (1.35 x 103/µl (4.5-11 x 103/µl) counts. Ferritin and triglyceride levels were increased. Ferritin level was 764.4 ng/ml (13-150 x 103/µl) and triglyceride level was 232 mg/dl (< 150 mg/dl). HLH was diagnosed according to the 2004 HLH current diagnostic guidelines. After this diagnosis the patient was investigated for underlying disease such as malignancy, autoimmune diseases, medications and infectious diseases. Bone marrow aspiration showed hemophagocytosis and intracellular Leishmania amastigotes. Leishmania indirect fluorescent antibody IgG (IFAT) was positive in titre of (1/1024). In addition, in the bone marrow aspiration sample taken from the patient, the causative agent of leishmaniasis was searched by polymerase chain reaction, and it was determined that etiological agent was Leishmania infantum. The patient was evaluated as HLH secondary to VL. Liposomal amphotericin B therapy was started and in the 5th day of treatment, the patient’s fever was measured as normal. There was a significant decrease in fatigue and sweating. After two months of treatment, the complaints disappeared completely and hemoglobin, leukocyte, platelet counts were found normal. HLH and VL can be fatal if they are not early diagnosed and treated. Physicians must be alert for HLH when cytopenia, uncontrolled fever, high triglyceride and high ferritin level and parasitological tests should be done for possible underlying disease. In this case report, we aimed to draw attention to the diagnosis of HLH, which is a very rare clinical presentation of leishmaniasis. © 2020 Ankara Microbiology Society. All rights reserved.

Let us define A = [aij ] and B = [bij ] as n × n Toeplitz matrices such that aij ≡ Fi−j and bij ≡ Li−j where F and L denote the usual Fibonacci and Lucas numbers, respectively. We have found upper and lower bounds for the spectral norms of these matrices

It is the aim of this paper to explore some new properties of the Padovan sequence using matrix methods. We derive new recurrence relations and generating matrices for the sums of Padovan numbers and 4n subscripted Padovan sequences. Also, we define one type of (0,1) upper Hessenberg matrix whose permanents are Padovan numbers.

Trimethylaminuria (fish malodour syndrome) is a rare genetic metabolic disorder presented with a body odour which smells like a decaying fish. This odour is highly objectionable, that can be destructive for the social, and work life of the patient. Trimethylamine is derived from the intestinal bacterial degradation of foods that are rich of choline and carnitine. Trimethylamine is normally oxidised by the liver to odourless trimethylamine N-oxide which is excreted in the urine, so, uremia may worsen the condition. Uremia itself may cause more or less unpleasant odour. Poor uremic control may worsen the odour. We reported this case because Trimethylaminuria is not usually considered in the differential diagnosis of malodour in chronic renal failure and it is the first case that shown the association with Trimethylaminuria and chronic renal failure in the literature.

Hemophagocytic syndrome (HPS) is mostly associated with malignant and infectious diseases. The causes and prognosis of this clinical syndrome depend on the underlying disease. And also treatment of this disease must be arranged according to the underlying causes. While non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL) associated with HPS has been frequently observed, anaplastic T-cell NHL associated with HPS has been rarely reported. In this article we report a case of Ki-1+ anaplastic T-cell lymphoma associated with HPS in a 16-year-old woman who presented with fever and lymphadenopathy.

The changes in the values of solvent swelling ratios and glass transition temperatures from the Kozlu K20 G borehole with increased burial depths were reported.

WOS: 000183326800025, PubMed ID: 12803129, Here we present a patient with multiple myeloma course. The first clinical manifestation was superior vena cava syndrome due to a huge sternal plasmocytoma. The patient was treated with a combination of high dose radiotherapy and autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. We suggest careful evaluation of these patients with respect to aggressive therapy.

Encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis (EPS) is a clinical syndrome associated with ileus symptoms and irreversible sclerosis of the peritoneal membrane. Inflammation, fibrosis, and neoangiogenesis are the main features of the pathophysiology. No evidence-based therapy is currently available for EPS. In recent years, anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive (IS) treatment modalities have become more popular. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of various IS treatment strategies—glucocorticosteroid (GC), azathiopurine (AZT), and cyclosporin (CsA)—on regression of EPS. We divided 52 nonuremic Wistar albino rats into six groups: Control group—2 mL isotonic saline injected intraperitoneally (IP) daily for 3 weeks; CG group—2 mL/200 g 0.1% chlorhexidine gluconate (CG) and 15% ethanol dissolved in saline injected IP daily for 3 weeks; Resting group—CG (weeks 1 – 3), plus peritoneal rest (weeks 4 – 6); Corticosteroid (GC) group—CG (weeks 1 – 3), plus 10 mg/L prednisolone in drinking water (weeks 4 – 6); AZT group—CG (weeks 1 – 3), plus 100 mg/L azathioprine in drinking water (weeks 4 – 6); and CsA group—CG (weeks 1 – 3), plus cyclosporin 7.5 mg/kg by subcutaneous injection daily (weeks 4 – 6). At the end of the study, under ketamine HCl anesthesia, the rats were humanely killed by bleeding. Parietal peritoneal samples were then taken from same location (away from the injection site) and changes of parietal peritoneum morphology were examined by a single pathologist. The CG severely disturbed parameters of peritoneal morphology, increasing peritoneal thickness, inflammatory activity, vascularity, and fibrosis score as compared with the Control group ( p < 0.05). No benefit was observed for any parameter in the Resting group as compared withthose parameters in the CG group ( p < 0.05). We observed a lower fibrosis score and less peritoneal thickness in the GC group as compared with the Resting group ( p < 0.05). No beneficial effects of AZT on peritoneal morphology were observed as compared with the effects of peritoneal rest or corticosteroid therapy. Treatment with cyclosporin resulted in more fibrosis, vascularity, and inflammation than was seen with corticosteroid therapy ( p < 0.05). Immunosuppressive therapies, especially those that are corticosteroid-based, may have therapeutic value in the management of EPS. Patients treated with cyclosporin may have a risk for developing EPS.

Aims: Besides diabetic patients, glycated hemoglobin (HbA(1c)) levels have been reported to predict mortality in non-diabetics patients. However, the importance of HbA(1c) levels in non-diabetic hemodialysis patients still remains unknown. Thus, we aimed to prospectively investigate the impact of HbA(1c) on all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in a large group of prevalent non-diabetic hemodialysis patients. Methods: HbA(1c) was measured quarterly in 489 non-diabetic prevalent hemodialysis patients. Overall and cardiovascular mortality were evaluated over a 3 year follow-up. Results: Mean HbA(1c) level was 4.88 +/- 0.46% (3.5 - 6.9%). During the 28.3 +/- 10.6 months follow-up period, 67 patients (13.7%) died; 31 from cardiovascular causes. In Kaplan-Meier analysis, patients in the lowest (< 4.69%) and highest HbA(1c) (> 5.04%) tertiles had poorer overall survival compared to the middle HbA(1c) tertile (p < 0.001). Adjusted Cox-regression analysis revealed that the highest HbA(1c) tertile was associated with both overall (HR = 3.60, 95% CI 1.57 - 8.27, p = 0.002) and cardiovascular (HR = 6.66, 95% CI 1.51 - 29.4; p = 0.01) mortality. Also, low HbA(1c) levels tended to be associated with overall mortality (HR = 2.26, 95% CI 0.96 - 5.29, p = 0.06). Conclusion: Upper normal HbA(1c) levels are independently associated with cardiovascular and overall mortality in non-diabetic hemodialysis patients, whereas lower HbA(1c) levels are not.

WOS: 000319784600020, PubMed ID: 23620396, The effects of high-flux dialysis and ultrapure dialysate on survival of hemodialysis patients are incompletely understood. We conducted a randomized controlled trial to investigate the effects of both membrane permeability and dialysate purity on cardiovascular outcomes. We randomly assigned 704 patients on three times per week hemodialysis to either high- or low-flux dialyzers and either ultrapure or standard dialysate using a two-by-two factorial design. The primary outcome was a composite of fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular events during a minimum 3 years follow-up. We did not detect statistically significant differences in the primary outcome between high- and low-flux (HR=0.73, 95% CI=0.49 to 1.08, P=0.12) and between ultrapure and standard dialysate (HR=0.90, 95% CI=0.61 to 1.32, P=0.60). Posthoc analyses suggested that cardiovascular event-free survival was significantly better in the high-flux group compared with the low-flux group for the subgroup with arteriovenous fistulas, which constituted 82% of the study population (adjusted HR=0.61, 95% CI=0.38 to 0.97, P=0.03). Furthermore, high-flux dialysis associated with a lower risk for cardiovascular events among diabetic subjects (adjusted HR=0.49, 95% CI=0.25 to 0.94, P=0.03), and ultrapure dialysate associated with a lower risk for cardiovascular events among subjects with more than 3 years of dialysis (adjusted H R=0.55, 95% CI=0.31 to 0.97, P=0.04). In conclusion, this trial did not detect a difference in cardiovascular event-free survival between flux and dialysate groups. Posthoc analyses suggest that high-flux hemodialysis may benefit patients with an arteriovenous fistula and patients with diabetes and that ultrapure dialysate may benefit patients with longer dialysis vintage., Fresenius Medical Care, Turkey, The study was supported by Fresenius Medical Care, Turkey, with an unrestricted grant.

It is anticipated that oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) and anti-oxLDL are associated with atherosclerosis and mortality. However, data on this issue are controversial and limited. We aimed to investigate the effect of these two markers on the extent and progression of atherosclerosis and mortality in a group of hemodialysis patients. In this prospective observational study with a follow-up of 36 months, 124 hemodialysis patients were studied. Ninety-five patients underwent carotid intima media thickness (CA-IMT) measurement by B-Mode ultrasonography both at baseline and at the end of the study. oxLDL and anti-oxLDL were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The extent and progression of CA-IMT, along with overall and cardiovascular mortality, were assessed. The mean age at baseline was 54.0 +/- 14.8 years, 57.3% male and 20% diabetic. The mean oxLDL and anti-oxLDL levels were 8.11 +/- 3.16?mU/L and 1.30 +/- 0.31, respectively. Baseline mean CA-IMT was 0.82 +/- 0.20?mm. Fifteen patients died during a follow-up period of 28.5 +/- 6.6 months, 11 from cardiovascular causes. Only oxLDL, not anti-oxLDL, was correlated with the extent of atherosclerosis at baseline. However, both had no role in the progression of atherosclerosis. Also, in unadjusted and adjusted models, both parameters were not associated with overall or cardiovascular mortality. Neither oxLDL nor anti-oxLDL level is associated with the progression of atherosclerosis or mortality in hemodialysis patients.

Encapsulated peritoneal sclerosis is characterized by neoangiogenesis and fibrosis. Octreotide, a somatostatin analogue is a well-known antifibrotic, antiproliferative and anti-angiogenic agent. The aim of the study is to evaluate the effects of octreotide in encapsulated peritoneal sclerosis-induced neoangiogenesis and fibrosis and compare the results with resting.Non-uraemic Wistar-Albino male rats (n = 35) were divided into four groups. Group I, control rats, received 2 mL isotonic saline i.p. daily for 3 weeks. Group II, received daily i.p. 2 mL/200 g injection of chlorhexidine gluconate (0.1%) and ethanol (%15) dissolved in saline for 3 weeks. Group III, chlorhexidine gluconate for 3 weeks plus an additional 3 weeks without any treatment (rest), to a total of 6 weeks. Group IV, chlorhexidine gluconate for 3 weeks plus an additional 3 weeks octreotide, 50 mcg/kg bodyweight s.c., for a total of 6 weeks.Octreotide significantly reversed ultrafiltration capacity of peritoneum with decreasing inflammation, neoangiogenesis and fibrosis compared to the resting group. Octreotide also caused inhibition of dialysate transforming growth factor-β1, vascular endothelial growth factor and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 activity and improved mesothelial cell cytokeratin expression. Peritoneal resting has no beneficial effects on peritoneum.In conclusion, octreotide may have a therapeutic value in peritoneal dialysis patients who suffer from encapsulated peritoneal sclerosis.

Bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) is used to assess volume status in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. However, it is proposed that it may be troubling in patients with abnormal fluid distribution and body geometry. It is not clear whether having an empty abdomen or not interferes with the BIS results and its relation with echocardiographic findings in PD patients.Twenty-five prevalent PD patients were enrolled. Echocardiography and body composition analysis using BIS technique (50 frequencies, the Body Composition Monitor, BCM) were performed. Overhydration (OH), extracellular water (ECW) in liters and OH/ECW ratio were used as volume status indices. Differences in volume and echocardiographic findings, in patients with empty and with full abdomen, and their correlations with echocardiographic parameters were investigated.Mean age and PD duration were 61 ± 2.5 years and 42 ± 33 months, respectively. Sixty-four percent were male and 24% were diabetic. Mean left ventricular mass index (LVMi) was 131 ± 43 g/m (,) (2) mean left atrium diameter (LA) was 4.1 ± 0.1 cm, mean left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) was 64 ± 10%. Mean OH in patients with full abdomen were 1.67 ± 1.51 L and 1.68 ± 1.48 L, depending on the inclusion or exclusion of the dialysate volume, respectively. In patients with an empty abdomen, mean OHs were 2.12 ± 1.76 L and 1.91 ± 1.56 L, depending on the inclusion or exclusion of the dialysate volume. BIS measurements with an empty, but not with a full abdomen, was related to the echocardiographic parameters.BIS is a reliable method to evaluate volume status in PD patients. BIS performed after peritoneal equilibration test with an empty abdomen, better reflects overhydration and is related to echocardiographic parameters.