Search

Local site effects play a vital role in determining the level of structural damage to the structures built on soil. Therefore, correctly determining the underground layer structure and its physical characteristics in the lateral and vertical directions is essential for the geotechnical model. More information and more accurate results will be obtained if the geotechnical model is evaluated multidisciplinary together with geophysical studies, not only based on drilling results. For this purpose, vertical electric sounding, seismic refraction, microtremor, and mechanical drilling techniques were applied within the scope of geotechnical studies in the İnegöl district of Bursa. The methods were evaluated together, and the geotechnical cross‐sections of the underground were interpreted. In addition, microzonation maps determined from Geophysical parameters were created in the study area. These maps, geotechnical cross‐sections, and microtremor data evaluation results predicted how the study area's buildings and soils would behave under dynamic forces such as earthquakes. As a result, the soils in the study area were mainly saturated with water and had weak strength. Existing or newly constructed engineering structures on such soils are predicted from microzonation maps that will damage both the soils and the buildings in a seven‐magnitude earthquake. Plain Language Summary: Cities are generally built on sediments that are easy to settle. However, these sediments' thickness and physical and mechanical properties change the effect of earthquake waves. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the sediments' geotechnical parameters and build structures in light of these parameters. However, in our study, it was seen that many geotechnical parameters of the sediment were not determined correctly, and necessary precautions were not taken. The fact that groundwater is close to the surface and many building foundations are in water shows that the corrosion problem has not been resolved. In addition, it has been understood from microtremor studies carried out inside some buildings and on their natural soil that the buildings will experience resonance problems. In addition, the low Vs30 values of the sediment in the study area indicate that the effect of earthquake waves will increase. As a result, many geotechnical parameters obtained are presented with microzonation maps, and it is understood that the soil of the study area generally has a vulnerable structure in a strong earthquake. Additionally, an accurate geotechnical model is vital for construction. This study compares geotechnical models obtained using different methods and makes suggestions. Key Points: Determination criteria of microzonation maps and geotechnical model in construction through multidisciplinary studiesDetermining the local site interaction caused by the earthquakeResonance criteria of existing structures from microtremor measurements [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are single-stranded RNA molecules of 18-27 nucleotides that regulate gene expression after transcription. The great stability of detectable miRNAs in tissue, blood, and other body fluids provides a rich supply of miRNA-based biomarkers in human malignancies. miRNA dysregulation has been linked to cancer often, especially since they are commonly involved in mechanisms such as transcriptional control, epigenetic regulation and genomic instabilities. Despite the fact that a growing number of potential miRNA biomarkers have been identified, the translation of miRNA-based biomarkers from bench to bedside still faces a number of obstacles. miR-96 is encoded by conserved & paralogous miR-183/-96/-182 cluster that is widely studied in cancer. miR-96 is one of the most important miRNAs that is fast emerging as a novel biomarker with great potential as a diagnostic and therapeutic target in all types of cancers of the body. miR-96 plays a direct or indirect role as an oncogene in various cancers. miR-96 was believed to suppress Epithelial-mesenchymal transition, Osteosarcoma, Gastric adenocarcinoma and Bladder cancer. The miR-96 is also considered to have the function to promote malignancy as well as chemoresistance in Breast cancer. We present the most recent research findings on miR-96's clinicopathological relevance, development, and progress in this review, highlighting its oncogenic and tumor suppressive capabilities and an intermediate role in progressing the development of cancer, being a part of some cancer promoting pathways.

Anisotropy is expressed as the direction-dependent change of material properties and it is a very important parameter to the correct determination of the concrete quality. For the aim of determining the concrete anisotropy, geophysical measurements in the study were carried out on the reinforced concrete samples with different strengths, before concrete strengths were determined from Uniaxial Compressive Strength test. Since the propagation direction of concrete pores and saturation type of it is important parameters in affecting the concrete anisotropy, prepared samples were cured as oven-dried, water-saturated, and dried in outside. Thus, the effects of curing conditions on the anisotropy of reinforced concrete were investigated by geophysical measurements. For this purpose, ultrasonic P and S wave measurements were made on two opposite surfaces of cubic samples with different reinforcement diameters. In addition, a total of 8 resistivity measurements were performed by taking two diagonal measurements on each surface in except of reinforced surfaces of the sample. The velocity and resistivity anisotropies of samples were determined by using the anisotropy relations given in the literature. As a result, it is determined that while reinforcement diameter has no distinctive effect on anisotropy, curing conditions are especially very effective on resistivity anisotropy.

Introduction: Although there are studies in the literature showing that celiac disease (CD) is more common in patients with microscopic colitis (MC), there are publications to the contrary. The pathophysiologies of both diseases are different from each other., Aim: To investigate the frequency of CD in MC patients, the different features of these 2 diseases, and the relationship between them., Material and Methods: In our prospective and cross-sectional analytical study, the presence of CD was investigated in 90 patients diagnosed with MC by colonoscopy and biopsy due to chronic diarrhoea between September 2011 and December 2021., Results: We detected MC in 102 (9.3%) of 1096 patients investigated for chronic diarrhoea. We detected CD in 1 (1.1%) of 90 patients with MC who participated in the study. Only 10% of the patients were positive for AGA IgA, 3.3% for EMA IgA, and 2.2% for Anti-TG2 IgA. There was no difference in autoantibody titre in treatment-responsive and treatment-resistant MC patients. HLA DQ2 was positive in 32.2% ( n = 29) of the MC patients, and HLA DQ8 was found in 5.5% ( n = 5). Intraepithelial lymphocyte increase was remarkable in the duodenal biopsies of MC patients who did not respond to treatment (40% vs. 11.4%; p = 0.007)., Conclusions: We did not reach the conclusion that CD is more common in MC patients. An increase in IEL may also occur in the small intestine in patients with MC who do not respond to treatment., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Termedia.)

In this study, we evaluated the relation between the presence of lymphopenia and the need of intensive care unit (ICU) or mortality. A total of 1670 COVID-19 patients were divided according to the severity of lymphopenia developing at the time of COVID-19 infection. According to the symptoms and need of ICU, the infection was classified as mild or severe. The rates of severe infection, ICU admission, and mortality were evaluated between the groups. Among 1670 patients, 576 (34.4%) patients had severe disease and 1094 (65.6%) patients had a mild form of the disease; 213 (12.7%) patients with severe COVID-19 died. The severe form of COVID-19 was more common in patients with low lymphocyte levels (<500) than in those with normal lymphocytes count (64.7% vs. 5.2%; p<0.001). The odds ratio of lymphopenic patients was 2.4 (1.8-3.0; p=0.001). The risk of severe COVID-19 infection and mortality was 8.9 and 12.4 times higher in patients with low lymphocyte count compared to patients with normal lymphocyte count subsequently. ROC analysis showed that lymphocyte counts lower than 615 lym/mcL had 96.4% sensitivity for severe disease (AUC:0.89 (0.842-0.938); p<0.001). There was a significant negative correlation between lymphocyte count and mortality rate and severe COVID-19 disease (for severe COVID-19 r=-0.590; p<0.001and for mortality r=-0.511; p=0.001). In conclusion, we found a strong correlation between lymphopenia and COVID-19 outcomes. Lymphopenia in patients with COVID-19 was a prognostic factor in the course of the disease. Lymphopenia is an easy and inexpensive prognostic factor that can be used in the management of COVID-19 patients., (Sestre Milosrdnice University Hospital.)

Background: To investigage the thiol and disulphide levels in Helicobacter pylori-positive patients with non-ulcer dyspepsia and investigate the change in these levels with eradication therapy., Methods: This is a prospective observational study. A total of 320 patients diagnosed with dyspepsia according to Rome IV criteria were included in the study. First, blood samples were drawn from patients to determine their serum thiol and disulphide levels. Endoscopic biopsy was performed on all patients and the biopsy specimens obtained were examined pathologically. Patients positive for H. pylori were administered eradication therapy. Blood samples were drawn from these patients for the second time, and their serum thiol and disulphide levels were measured. The thiol-disulfide levels of the patients who were successful in H. pylori eradication treatment, with those who were not, were compared before and after the treatment., Results: The mean plasma disulphide level decreased significantly from 14.0 ± 6.6 to 10.9 ± 5.9 μmol/L in H. pylori-positive patients that responded to the H. pylori eradication treatment (P = 0.033). On the other hand, there was an insignificant increase in the mean serum thiol level (341.4 ± 30.5 vs. 342.6 ± 29.8 μmol/L; P = 0.273) and an insignificant decrease in the mean serum disulphide level (15.2 ± 2.5 vs. 14.8 ± 2.3 μmol/L; P = 0.163) in H. pylori-positive patients that did not respond to the H. pylori eradication treatment., Conclusion: The inflammation caused by H. pylori shifted the thiol-disulphide equilibrium in the cell redox system towards the direction of disulphide. The study findings suggest that the restoration of the said hemostatic balance with eradication therapy relieved the organism from oxidative stress., Competing Interests: None

Background and Aim: Several studies have suggested that treatment with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) may be associated with an increased risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We investigated the incidence and risk factors of HCC in HCV patients who achieved a sustained virologic response (SVR) following DAA therapies., Materials and Methods: The medical data of patients who were diagnosed with HCV and received DAA therapy in two tertiary centers in Turkey were retrospectively collected., Results: Among them, 75 patients (52.4%) were noncirrhotic and 68 patients (47.6%) were cirrhotic. The overall SVR rate was 97.2% (139/143). It was 100% in noncirrhotic and 94.1% in cirrhotic patients. HCC was developed in 5 (7.4%) patients, all of whom had baseline cirrhosis. The annual rate of HCC occurrence was 2.94%, and the 5-year cumulative incidence of HCC was 7.3%. The mean Child-Pugh score (CPS) and Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score significantly decreased after DAA treatment (CPS 7.0 vs 5.9, p=0.001; MELD 10.8 vs 9.5, p=0.003)., Conclusion: There was no significant increase in the rate of HCC in cirrhotic HCV patients treated with DAAs. This treatment led to a remarkably high SVR rate and lowered CPS and MELD scores in cirrhotic HCV patients., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflict of interest to declare., (© Copyright 2022 by Hepatology Forum.)

Background: We investigated associations between baseline use of immunosuppressive drugs and severity of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in autoimmune hepatitis (AIH)., Patients and Methods: Data of AIH patients with laboratory confirmed COVID-19 were retrospectively collected from 15 countries. The outcomes of AIH patients who were on immunosuppression at the time of COVID-19 were compared to patients who were not on AIH medication. The clinical courses of COVID-19 were classified as (i)-no hospitalization, (ii)-hospitalization without oxygen supplementation, (iii)-hospitalization with oxygen supplementation by nasal cannula or mask, (iv)-intensive care unit (ICU) admission with non-invasive mechanical ventilation, (v)-ICU admission with invasive mechanical ventilation or (vi)-death and analysed using ordinal logistic regression., Results: We included 254 AIH patients (79.5%, female) with a median age of 50 (range, 17-85) years. At the onset of COVID-19, 234 patients (92.1%) were on treatment with glucocorticoids (n = 156), thiopurines (n = 151), mycophenolate mofetil (n = 22) or tacrolimus (n = 16), alone or in combinations. Overall, 94 (37%) patients were hospitalized and 18 (7.1%) patients died. Use of systemic glucocorticoids (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 4.73, 95% CI 1.12-25.89) and thiopurines (aOR 4.78, 95% CI 1.33-23.50) for AIH was associated with worse COVID-19 severity, after adjusting for age-sex, comorbidities and presence of cirrhosis. Baseline treatment with mycophenolate mofetil (aOR 3.56, 95% CI 0.76-20.56) and tacrolimus (aOR 4.09, 95% CI 0.69-27.00) were also associated with more severe COVID-19 courses in a smaller subset of treated patients., Conclusion: Baseline treatment with systemic glucocorticoids or thiopurines prior to the onset of COVID-19 was significantly associated with COVID-19 severity in patients with AIH., (© 2022 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Viral infections can cause acute pancreatitis. Idiopathic pancreatitis has an important proportion in the etiology of acute pancreatitis., Objective: To investigate the rate of development of acute pancreatitis (AP) in COVID-19 patients and to determine the rate of idiopathic pancreatitis in the etiology of this pancreatitis., Methods: A total of 6.467 patients hospitalized with the COVID-19 diagnosis were included in the study. Patients diagnosed with AP based on the Atlanta criteria were identified. Etiological factors were determined in patients who developed acute pancreatitis and compared with the etiological factors in 315 patients with non-COVID-19, hospitalized with the diagnosis of AP before the COVID-19 pandemic. AP was detected in 0.1% of patients with COVID-19. While gallstone was the etiologic factor in 2 (28.6%) of seven patients who developed acute pancreatitis during COVID-19, hyperlipidemia was the factor for 1 (14.3%) patient. Moreover, the etiologic factor could not be determined in 4 (57.1%) patients, and they were regarded as idiopathic pancreatitis patients. Biliary pancreatitis was the most common etiologic factor in 315 (78.4%) patients admitted to the hospital for AP before the COVID-19 pandemic. Idiopathic pancreatitis was ranked second with 16.8%., Conclusion: It was observed that there was a significant difference in the incidence of idiopathic pancreatitis between patients with COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 (P=0.015). Results suggest that the SARS-Cov-2 virus may be among the factors leading to AP.

Background and Study Aims: In this study, we investigated the efficacy of nine non-invasive fibrosis markers in the assessment of the degree of fibrosis in patients with chronic Hepatitis B (CHB) in comparison with liver biopsy., Patients and Methods: A total of 1454 untreated CHB patients from two different centers who underwent liver biopsy were included in the study. Laboratory results of patients were reviewed retrospectively and the pathology slides were re-evaluated in accordance with the Ishak score. Degree of fibrosis ≥ 3 was accepted as "significant fibrosis", ≥ 4 as "advanced fibrosis", and ≥ 5 as cirrhosis. The diagnostic performance of the markers Aspartate aminotransferase to Platelet Ratio Index (APRI), Fibrosis-4 score (FIB-4), Aspartate aminotransferase to Alanine aminotransferase Ratio (AAR), AAR to Platelet Ratio Index (AAPRI), Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase to Platelet Ratio (GPR), King's Score, Fibro quotient (Fibro-Q), S Index and Platelet to Lymphocyte Ratio (PLR) were evaluated with ROC analysis., Results: In detecting significant fibrosis, APRI, GPR, King's Score and S Index had AUROC values over 0.70. For advanced fibrosis, all of the models except AAPRI; and for cirrhosis, all of the models had AUROC values over 0.70. In accordance with the chosen staging system, GPR, King's Score and S Index had high diagnostic efficacy whereas APRI, FIB-4, FibroQ and PLR had moderate diagnostic efficacy, AAR and AAPRI had low diagnostic efficacy., Conclusions: GPR, King's Score and S Index had moderate diagnostic performance in detecting significant fibrosis and advanced fibrosis, and high diagnostic performance in detecting cirrhosis., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest, (© Acta Gastro-Enterologica Belgica.)

Object: We aimed to evaluate the elevation of amylase and lipase enzymes in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients and their relationship with the severity of COVID-19., Method: In this study, 1378 patients with COVID-19 infection were included. Relation of elevated amylase and lipase levels and comorbidities with the severity of COVID-19 was analysed. The effects of haemodynamic parameters and organ failure on pancreatic enzymes and their relations with prognosis were statistically analysed., Results: The 1378 patients comprised of 700 (51.8%) men and 678 (%49.2) women. Of all patients, 687 (49.9%) had mild and 691 (50.1%) patients had severe COVID-19 infection. Amylase elevation at different levels occurred in 316 (%23) out of 1378 patients. In these patients, the amylase levels increased one to three times in 261 and three times in 55 patients. Pancreatitis was detected in only six (%1.89) of these patients according to the Atlanta criteria. According to univariate and multivariate analyses, elevated amylase levels were significantly associated with the severity of COVID-19 (odds ratio [OR]: 4.37; P < .001). Moreover, diabetes mellitus (DM; OR: 1.82; P = .001), kidney failure (OR: 5.18; P < .001), liver damage (OR: 6.63; P < .001), hypotension (OR: 6.86; P < .001) and sepsis (OR: 6.20; P = .008) were found to be associated with mortality from COVID-19., Conclusion: Elevated pancreatic enzyme levels in COVID-19 infections are related to the severity of COVID-19 infection and haemodynamic instability. In a similar way to other organs, the pancreas can be affected by severe COVID-19 infection., (© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Aim: Oesophageal squamous papilloma (ESP) is a rare tumoural lesion of the oesophagus considered to have a benign course. Due to the fact that they are rare lesions, there are not many publications with large case series on ESPs in the literature. In this study, we aimed to investigate the clinical, endoscopic and histopathological characteristics of ESPs., Methods: Reports of upper gastrointestinal endoscopies performed in the endoscopy unit within the Division of Gastroenterology of a tertiary care hospital in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey in the last 8-year period were evaluated retrospectively. Patients who were determined to have oesophageal polypoid lesions during the endoscopic procedure and were then diagnosed with oesophageal squamous cell papilloma in the histopathological examination were included in the study., Results: Of 11 541 patients who underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, 51 were diagnosed with a total number of 55 ESPs (0.44%). In addition, 26 of these patients (51%) were female, and the mean age of the patients at the time of diagnosis was 42.2 years. The average size of the ESPs was 3.47 mm, and the most frequent location was the middle oesophagus with 51%. No statistically significant relationship was found between the location of ESPs and gender, endoscopy indication, oesophagitis, lower oesophageal sphincter dysfunction, hiatal hernia, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and Helicobacter pylori positivity., Conclusion: In this study with the largest case series ever reported from Turkey, it was determined that ESPs were seen in younger ages in Turkey and were also smaller in size, which is not in agreement with the literature data. Besides, this study, in which ESPs were most frequently detected in the middle oesophagus, supports the view that GERD may not be the main factor in ESP aetiology., (© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background and Aim: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) biomarkers are limited, as even the best studied, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), is elevated in no more than 50% of HCC patients. The aim was to evaluate several serum liver function tests in relation to survival and tumor characteristics in a large cohort of Turkish HCC patients., Methods: We retrospectively examined the serum levels of gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) in relation to patient survival., Results: Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that only GGT and albumin amongst liver function tests, were significantly associated with survival. Survival worsened with increase in GGT levels semi-quantitatively. Increase in GGT levels was also found to significantly correlate with an increase in maximum tumor diameter from 4.5 to 7 cm, a 20-fold increase in serum alpha-fetoprotein level, an increase in tumor multifocality from 20 to 54% of patients, and a doubling in percent of patients with portal vein thrombosis (PVT) from 20 to 40%. Serum GGT levels also showed significant survival differences for patients with low AFP levels. A doublet combination of serum GGT with albumin levels was associated with higher hazard ratios in a Cox regression analysis, as compared with single parameter GGT. The combination parameter pair was also prognostically useful in the low-AFP patient subcohort and was associated with significant differences in patient tumor characteristics., Conclusions: Serum GGT levels and especially combination serum GGT plus albumin levels, were significantly associated both with HCC patient survival and tumor aggressiveness characteristics, regardless of AFP levels in a large Turkish cohort. This might be especially useful since the majority of HCC patients do not have elevated levels of AFP., Competing Interests: Disclosure statement The authors declare no conflict of interest. All authors have read and agree with this paper.

Introduction and Aims: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a consequence of chronic liver disease, particularly from hepatitis B or C and increasingly from obesity and metabolic syndrome. Since lipids are an important component of cell membranes and are involved in cell signaling and tumor cell growth, we wished to evaluate the relationship between HCC patient plasma lipids and maximum tumor diameter and other indices of HCC human biology., Methods: We examined prospectively-collected data from a multi-institutional collaborative Turkish HCC working group, from predominantly HBV-based patients, for plasma lipid profiles, consisting of triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol (LDL) and HDL-cholesterol (HDL) and compared these with the associated patient maximum tumor diameter (MTD), portal vein thrombosis, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and also with patient survival., Results: We found that both low HDL (p=0.0002) and high LDL (p=0.003) levels were significantly associated with increased MTD, as well as in a final multiple linear regression model on MTD. The combination of low HDL combined with high HDL levels were significant in a regression model on MTD, PVT and an HCC Aggressiveness Index (Odds Ratio 12.91 compared to an Odds Ratio of 1 for the reference). Furthermore, in a Cox regression model on death, the HDL plus LDL combination had a significantly higher Hazard Ratio than the reference category., Conclusions: Low plasma HDL, high plasma LDL and especially the combination, were significantly related to more aggressive HCC phenotype and the combination was significantly related to a higher Hazard Ratio for death., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest None by any author. All authors have read and approved this paper.

Background and Aims: Data regarding outcome of COVID-19 in patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) are lacking., Approach and Results: We performed a retrospective study on patients with AIH and COVID-19 from 34 centers in Europe and the Americas. We analyzed factors associated with severe COVID-19 outcomes, defined as the need for mechanical ventilation, intensive care admission, and/or death. The outcomes of patients with AIH were compared to a propensity score-matched cohort of patients without AIH but with chronic liver diseases (CLD) and COVID-19. The frequency and clinical significance of new-onset liver injury (alanine aminotransferase > 2 × the upper limit of normal) during COVID-19 was also evaluated. We included 110 patients with AIH (80% female) with a median age of 49 (range, 18-85) years at COVID-19 diagnosis. New-onset liver injury was observed in 37.1% (33/89) of the patients. Use of antivirals was associated with liver injury (P = 0.041; OR, 3.36; 95% CI, 1.05-10.78), while continued immunosuppression during COVID-19 was associated with a lower rate of liver injury (P = 0.009; OR, 0.26; 95% CI, 0.09-0.71). The rates of severe COVID-19 (15.5% versus 20.2%, P = 0.231) and all-cause mortality (10% versus 11.5%, P = 0.852) were not different between AIH and non-AIH CLD. Cirrhosis was an independent predictor of severe COVID-19 in patients with AIH (P < 0.001; OR, 17.46; 95% CI, 4.22-72.13). Continuation of immunosuppression or presence of liver injury during COVID-19 was not associated with severe COVID-19., Conclusions: This international, multicenter study reveals that patients with AIH were not at risk for worse outcomes with COVID-19 than other causes of CLD. Cirrhosis was the strongest predictor for severe COVID-19 in patients with AIH. Maintenance of immunosuppression during COVID-19 was not associated with increased risk for severe COVID-19 but did lower the risk for new-onset liver injury during COVID-19., (© 2021 by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.)

Aim of the Study: Vitamin D deficiency is known to be associated with disease severity, unresponsiveness to treatment, and morbidity among patients with chronic viral hepatitis B and C, autoimmune hepatitis, and alcoholic hepatitis. This study aims to research vitamin D levels in patients suffering from cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic phases of hepatitis D., Material and Methods: 170 individuals in total were included in the study in the form of two groups: the first group of 100 patients with chronic hepatitis D (CHD), 30 of whom had cirrhosis, and the second control group of 70 individuals with similar characteristics to those of the first group in terms of age, type, and seasonal sampling. Levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D [25(OH)D] were measured in the serum collected from patients and the control group., Results: The lowest 25(OH)D levels were identified in patients with cirrhotic CHD. When these levels were compared with those of the control group, they were found to be significant (15.30 ±6.92 and 18.90 ±8.30 ng/ml, respectively, p = 0.04). 25(OH)D deficiency (< 10 ng/ml) was detected at significantly higher rates in patients with both cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic CHD compared to the healthy controls (30%, 25%, and 8.5%, respectively, p = 0.01). A significant correlation was established between 25(OH)D levels and bilirubin in patients with CHD ( r = 0.252, p = 0.012). Multivariate analysis showed that chronic hepatitis D (odds ratio [OR] = 3.608, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.31-9.89, p = 0.013) and age (OR = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.00-1.08, p = 0.033) were associated with vitamin D deficiency., Conclusions: Frequency of 25(OH)D vitamin deficiency is higher in patients with CHD. The identification of vitamin D levels and the replacement of any deficiency may create a positive effect on disease progression, morbidity, and mortality levels., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Clinical and Experimental Hepatology.)

Background: To investigate the topographic measurements and densitometry of corneas in Wilson's disease (WD) patients with or without a Kayser-Fleischer ring (KF-r) compared to healthy individuals., Methods: This cross-sectional study included 20 WD patients without a KF-r (group I), 18 WD patients with a KF-r (group II), and 20 age-matched controls (group III). The Pentacam high resolution imaging system is used to determine corneal topographic measurements and densitometry., Results: Mean age for groups I, II and III was 25.40 ± 6.43 years (14-36 years), 25.38 ± 6.96 years (16-39 years), 23.60 ± 6.56 years (17-35 years), respectively (P = 0.623). There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of the anterior corneal densitometry values (P > 0.05), while the 6-10 mm and 10-12 mm mid stroma and the 2-6 mm, 6-10 mm, and 10-12 mm posterior corneal densitometry values in group II were significantly higher than those in groups I and III (for all values, P <  0.05). However, the 10-12 mm posterior corneal densitometry values in group I were also significantly higher than those in group III (P = 0.038). The central corneal thickness (CCT), thinnest corneal thickness (tCT), and corneal volume (CV) values in groups I and II were significantly lower than those in group III (for CCT values, P = 0.011 and P = 0.009; for tCT values, P = 0.010 and P = 0.005; for CV values, P = 0.043 and P = 0.029)., Conclusion: In WD patients with a KF-r, corneal transparency decreased in the peripheral posterior and mid stromal corneal layers; for these patients, corneal transparency may be impaired not only in the peripheral cornea but also in the paracentral cornea.

Introduction: Hepatocellular carcinoma is associated with several chronic inflammatory conditions. It is increasingly understood that the inflammation may be part of the carcinogenic process and prognostically important., Objective: To evaluate the serum levels of three inflammation markers in relation to survival in HCC patients., Methods: We retrospectively examined the serum levels of CRP, albumin and ESR, both singly and in combination, in relation to patient survival., Results: Survival worsened with increase in CRP or ESR or decrease in albumin levels. Combinations of CRP plus albumin or CRP plus ESR were associated with an even greater range of survival (3-fold), together with significant differences in maximum tumor diameter (PVT) and percent of patients with portal vein thrombosis (PVT). The triplet of CRP plus albumin plus ESR was associated with a sevenfold difference in survival, comparing low vs high parameter levels. These significant differences were found in patients with small or large tumors., Conclusions: Combinations of CRP with albumin or ESR or all three parameters together significantly related to differences in survival and to differences in MTD and percent PVT, in patients with both small and large size HCCs., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background/aims: Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) are the 3 main autoimmune liver diseases (AILDs). The epidemiology of AILD in Turkey is not known. To determine the scientific status, we performed a scientometric analysis of AILD-related original articles that originated from Turkey., Materials and Methods: We searched the Web of Science database, the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-E), and the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) by using the keywords "autoimmune hepatitis," "primary biliary cholangitis/primary biliary cirrhosis," and "primary sclerosing cholangitis" in conjunction with "Turkey." A scientometric analysis was done on the search results., Results: We identified 117 AILD-related papers that were published in Turkey from 1997 to 2019. Among these, 70 case reports, letters, and reviews and 2 original articles that were not cited in SCI-E/SSCI were excluded. The remaining 45 original articles were further analyzed. These studies were related to AIH (n=22), PBC (n=7), PSC (n=9), PBC-AIH overlap (n=5), and others (n=2). Four of the publications originated in pediatric settings; 9 of 45 papers were published from 1997 to 2008 and 36 papers were published from 2009 to 2019. Most papers (75%) were reported from 5 centers; 9 papers (20%) were published in journals with an impact factor of 3 or higher., Conclusion: The overall number and quality of AILD-related papers in Turkey are unexpectedly low, although a number of papers have received considerable international recognition. More epidemiologic, prospective, and multicenter research projects are warranted to advance AILD knowledge and to produce high-quality research from Turkey.

BACKGROUND Oxidative stress have been shown to play a role in the pathogenesis of acute pancreatitis. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential effect of silybin, a potent antioxidant, on L-arginine-induced acute pancreatitis in an experimental rat model. MATERIAL AND METHODS Forty female Wistar Albino rats were divided into 5 groups as follows: Group 1 (C): control group (n=8), Group 2 (SL): silybin group (n=8), Group 3 (LA): acute pancreatitis group (n=8), Group 4 (SLLA): prophylaxis group (n=8), and Group 5 (LASL): treatment group (n=8). Group C (control) received 2 intraperitoneal (i.p.) injections of physiological saline at an interval of 1 h. Group SL received only a single i.p. injection of silybin. The SLLA group received a single i.p. injection of silybin before the induction of acute pancreatitis with L-arginine, whereas the LASL group received the same injection after the induction of acute pancreatitis with L-arginine. Pancreatic tissues were histopathologically examined. Levels of amylase and oxidative stress markers (total oxidant status and total anti-oxidant status) were determined in the blood samples. Oxidative stress index was calculated. RESULTS In comparison to the LA, the prophylaxis and treatment groups showed significant improvements in serum oxidative stress parameters (p=0.001 and p=0.005, respectively). Histopathological analysis showed that the treatment group had significant improvements in edema scores only (p=0.006), whereas the prophylaxis group had the same improvements in inflammation and necrosis scores as well as in total scores (p=0.004, 0.006, and 0.004, respectively). CONCLUSIONS When used for prophylactic rather than therapeutic purposes, silybin ameliorates serum oxidative stress parameters and improves histopathological results via its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties., Competing Interests: None.

Background: Oxidative stress is known to be implicated in the pathogenesis of malignancies including gastric cancer (GC). Paraoxonase 1(PON1) is a member of antioxidant defense system which acts by hydrolysing peroxidases. Our aim is to assess the levels PON1 activity in different stages and localizations of GC and analyze the predictive role of PON1 activity on overall survival in GC., Materials and Methods: One hundred and twenty six patients with GC were enrolled to the study. Patients were divided into two groups; group I (nonmetastatic GC, n=65) and group II (metastatic GC, n=61). Paraoxonase 1 activity, albumine and lactate dehidrogenase levels and whole blood count were analyzed. Union Internationale Contre le Cancer system was used for staging procedure., Results: Patients at advanced N or M stage have significantly lower levels of PON1 (34.26 U/L and 29.88 U/L, p=0.04 and p=0.03; respectively). Gender, Lauren's classification, grade, localization and T stage of tumor have nonsignificant impact on PON1 activity. PON1 activity was a significant prognostic factor in GC as well as metastasis, localization of tumor and low hemoglobine or albumine level., Conclusions: Lower levels of paraoxonase 1 activity in patients with metastatic gastric cancer may reflect the presence of enhanced oxidative stress in advanced stages of the disease. PON1 activity is a significant and independent predictor of overall survival. Identifying novel prognostic markers can help to establish appropriate therapeutic strategies, to determine preventive measures and to improve survival rates.

Hemangiomas are benign vascular tumors that usually involve the liver, skin, eyes and central nervous system. Hemangioma of the bone is unusual and is generally observed in the vertebrae or skull while hemangioma of the costae is extremely rare. Hemangioma of the rib and chest wall tuberculosis may be misdiagnosed as chest wall tumors. We herein report a case of hemangioma of the rib with a tuberculosis infection of the pleura.