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The holy grail of achieving efficient operation of infrared (IR) rectennas continues to be the realization of a high performance rectifier. In this paper, we have fabricated metal–insulator–metal (MIM) diodes based on TiO2, ZnO, and NiO thin films using shadow mask evaporation, photolithography, and sputtering. The electron affinities of oxides have been measured by a combination of variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, as well as deduction from the extraction of metal/oxide barrier heights of Fowler–Nordheim tunneling plots. Our results confirm a low value for the electron affinity of NiOx of ∼2.1–2.5 eV, which correlates with the high zero-bias dynamic resistance (RD0) of ∼500 kΩ of an associated MIM diode. These values render NiOx to be unsuitable for use in a rectenna device. Better performance has been observed from diodes based on TiO2 and ZnOx films. The best rectification performance was achieved for a Au/2.6 nm ZnOx/Cr diode, scaled down to 1 μm2 device area, showing a zero-bias dynamic resistance of RD0 = 71 kΩ, zero-bias responsivity β0 = 0.28 A/W, and a coupling efficiency of ηc = 2.4 × 10−5% for rectification at 28.3 THz. The main significance of this study is that it employs a methodology whereby key parameters of the MIM stack are derived from physical measurements, which are then used to assist in the fitting of electrical current–voltage data to produce a reliable appraisal of diode performance in an IR rectenna. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to analyze the clinical data and pathologic aspects of endometrial polyps (EMPs) excised completely during surgical hysteroscopy and assess the connection between premalignant and malignant EMPs. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This retrospective study includes 489 participants who underwent hysteroscopy due to endometrial polyps, and the clinical features and histological findings of the resected polyps analyzed. RESULTS: Participants with EMPs were divided into six groups according to histologic findings. The histologic finding of most cases was simple benign endometrial polyp [397 patients (81.2%)]. Malignant polyp was detected in 3 patients (0.6%). The histologic findings according to age, menopausal status, and menstrual bleeding patterns at the time of presentation to the outpatient clinic were compared; however, no significant difference was observed. 237 patients were observed to have menometrorrhagia, which was the most prevalent symptom reported. The distribution of polyp sizes observed at hysteroscopy according to histologic findings was compared, but no significant difference was observed. CONCLUSIONS: EMPs are often benign but can include premalignant or malignant tissue changes. Hysteroscopy is used for direct observation of the uterine cervix and resection of existing polyps, considering the increasing frequency of its use as a diagnostic and treatment tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: Cerebral ischemia (CI) is a condition in which metabolic stress increases when blood flow is interrupted in a part of the brain, resulting in oxygen and glucose deprivation. It is known that asprosin (Asp), secreted from adipose tissue during fasting, has an effect on some metabolic processes such as apoptosis, autophagy, and glucose metabolism. This study aimed to explain which of the cell death/survival Asp induces in the CI/reperfusion model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the study, 48 male Wistar Albino rats were divided into 6 groups: Sham, CI, Asp+CI, CI+Asp, CI+Asp+3- MA, and Asp+CI+3-MA (n=48). CI was created using the intraluminal filament technique for 60 minutes, autophagy inhibitor 3-MA (15 mg/kg/ day) and Asp (1 µ g/kg/day) injections were administered 3 days before or 3 days during reperfusion. Beclin-1, ATG5, ATG7, p62, Bcl-2, Bax, active-caspase-3, and active-caspase-9 protein levels from brain tissues were determined by the Western-Blot method. The infarct area was determined by triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining. The Kruskal-Wallis' test was used to compare differences between groups. p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Compared to the Sham group, the increase in ischemic area and the decrease in Beclin-1, ATG-5, ATG-7, Bcl-2, Bax, active-caspase-3 and active-caspase-9 levels in the CI groups are statistically significant (p<0.05). The increase of Beclin-1, ATG-7, Bcl-2, and Bax levels in the Asp groups is statistically significant compared to the CI group (p<0.05). When Asp+CI groups and CI+Asp groups are compared, an increase in Beclin-1 levels in the Asp+CI group and the increase in Bcl-2, Bax, active- caspase-3/9 and ATG-5 levels in the CI+Asp groups are statistically significant (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Asp has protective and therapeutic effects against CI/R damage. While applying Asp before ischemia activates the autophagy pathway more, applying it after ischemia protects the neuronal death/survival balance by activating the apoptosis pathway more. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This research is aimed to identify the mediating role of psychological safety and life satisfaction in the effect of organizational support on organizational trust from the healthcare workers' perspective.Methodology: Cross-sectional design was preferred in line with the purpose of the study. This cross-sectional study was carried out on all healthcare professionals of a private healthcare organization which operates as a branch of a chain hospital group in Ankara. A total of 450 people expressed their willingness to participate in the questionnaire. However, 53 people could not finish the survey due to overcrowding. Thus, the final sample comprised of 397 people. Data were collected by face-to-face survey method. Path analysis, one of the structural equation modeling (SEM) methods, was used in the analysis of the data set. Findings: This research finds that organizational support directly and indirectly affects organizational trust in a significant way and that organizational trust will rise as organizational support grows. When the mediating variables of psychological safety and life satisfaction are entered into the model together, the effect of organizational support on organizational trust is not significant. Thus, psychological safety and life satisfaction are full mediating variables. These results indicate that as the level of organizational support increases, the level of organizational trust can be indirectly increased through the mediation of psychological safety and life satisfaction.Originality: These findings suggest that organizational support directly and indirectly significantly impacts organizational trust and that psychological safety and life satisfaction mediate the association between organizational support and organizational trust.

Mehmet Emin Buyukbayram,1 Zekeriya Hannarici,1 Yakup Duzkopru,2 Aykut Turhan,1 Alperen Akansel Caglar,1 P&inodot;nar Coban Esdur,1 Mehmet Bilici,1 Salim Basol Tekin,1 Do&gbreve;an Yaz&inodot;l&inodot;ta&scedil;2 1Department of Medical Oncology, Atatürk University Faculty of Medicine, Erzurum, Turkey; 2Department of Medical Oncology, Ankara Etlik City Hospital, Ankara, TurkeyCorrespondence: Mehmet Emin Buyukbayram, Department of Medical Oncology, Atatürk University Faculty of Medicine, Erzurum, 25100, Turkey, Tel +905392449362, Email m.eminbuyukbayram@hotmail.comObjective: Hormone positive breast cancer is a tumor with high mortality. Combining antihormonal therapy with cyclin dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitors (CDK4/6i) has resulted in longer survival. The effect of inflammatory parameters such as c-reactive protein and c-reactive protein/lymphocyte ratio (CLR) on efficacy and survival in CDK4/6i treatment is unknown. In our study, we aimed to investigate the role of CLR and some parameters in predicting progression-free survival (PFS) with CDK4/6i.Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 78 patients with denovo and recurrent metastatic breast cancer treated with CDK4/6i. Cut off values for the prediction of mortality by various numerical parameter scores were performed by ROC Curve analysis. The effect of clinical variables, inflammatory and histopathological parameters on survival was analyzed by Kaplan–Meier method.Results: Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and CLR were statistically significant in predicting mortality (p < 0.05). Ki67 and CLR were correlated with PFS. Age and CLR were correlated with OS (p < 0.05). CLR was statistically significant for both PFS (p = 0.022) and OS (p = 0.006).Conclusion: In patients with metastatic hormone-positive breast cancer using CDK4/6i, low CLR and low Ki67 were correlated with longer PFS duration.Keywords: C-reactivated protein/lymphocyte ratio, hormone-positive breast cancer, progression-free survival

Objective: In metastatic gastric cancer (MGC), the goals of treatment are palliation and prolongation of overall survival (OS). Systemic chemotherapy, with docetaxel, cisplatin, infusional 5-fluorouracil (DCF) the most preferred regimen, is the mainstay of the treatment. We evaluated the efficacy and tolerability of weekly DCF (wDCF) compared to standard DCF regimen. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 49 and 32 MGC patients treated with DCF and wDCF regimens as first-line treatment, respectively. The wDCF protocol included 25 mg/m² docetaxel, 25 mg/m² cisplatin and 750 mg/m² infusional 5-FU on day 1, every week. Each cycle was repeated every 3 weeks. Results: The patients in wDCF arm were significantly older (median 54 vs 72.5) and had poor Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG PS) than patients in DCF arm (p < 0.001). Progression-free survival was 3 vs 5 months (p=0.75) and OS was 7 vs 9 months in wDCF and DCF arms (p=0.33), respectively. Overall response rate was observed in 28.5 and 31.2% of the patients in DCF and wDCF arms, respectively (p = 0.65). Haematologic toxicities were observed more common in wDCF arm. Conclusion: Weekly DCF is an effective and tolerable regimen and may be an alternative in patients who are elderly and have poor ECOG PS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: There are limited studies investigating the role of irisin in colorectal cancer, and the results are diverse. The role of irisin in colorectal cancer patients was investigated in this study. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 53 patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer (CRC) and 87 healthy volunteers. Serum irisin, glucose, insulin, C-peptide, and whole blood hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels were measured in venous blood samples taken from patients and the control group. RESULTS: The mean serum irisin levels were significantly lower in the patient group (23.97 ± 16.94 ng/mL) than in the control group (32.71 ± 17.26 ng/mL) (p = 0 .004). S erum g lucose l evels were 96.58 ± 15.12 mg/dL in the patient group and 81.91 ± 11.24 mg/dL in the control group. Serum glucose levels were significantly higher in the patient group than in the control group (p < 0.01). In the patient group, there was no statistically significant difference between metastasis (+) patients and metastasis (-) patients in terms of serum irisin levels (27.53 ± 18.48 ng/mL and 21.23 ± 15.43 ng/mL, respectively; p = 0.182). CONCLUSIONS: Our study has provided new insights into the potential role of irisin in CRC. However, further studies, including in vitro, in vivo, and larger patient groups, are necessary to fully understand the potential of irisin as a biomarker or therapeutic target for CRC and other diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The fibrosis can be detected using non-invasive methods including prolidase activity, proline levels and galectin-3 (GAL-3) detection in the serum. The aim of this study was to investigate the liver fibrosis through non-invasive methods in chronic hepatitis B patients. Patients and methods: This prospective case control study includes 56 patients with Chronic Active Hepatitis B (CAHB), 57 patients with Inactive Hepatitis B (IHB), and 60 healthy matched control subjects. The first group included the CAHB [hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg): positive; HBV DNA >2,000 IU/mL; normal or high alanine aminotransferase (ALT) value] undergo a liver biopsy, while the second group included the IHB (HBsAg: positive; HBV DNA: negative; normal ALT value). The third group comprised the healthy controls. Serum prolidase enzyme activities (SPEA), proline and galectin-3 levels were measured for each group. Results: Patients with CAHB had significantly higher SPEA levels (1,004.3±186.8 IU/L) than did the controls (196.5±306 IU/L) (p<0.001). Significantly higher serum GAL-3 levels were found in the CHB group compared with HBV carrier and the control groups (27.4±32.2 ng/mL, 6.5±13.4 ng/mL, 3.1±5.7 ng/mL, respectively, p<0.001). The relationship between serum prolidase activity, hidroxiprolyne and fibrosis (p<0.05). There were no significant differences in ALT levels between inactive HBV carriers and the control groups (p>0.05). Conclusions: We suppose that hidroxiprolyne levels and prolidase enzyme activity might be an indicator as a marker for fibrosis in CAHB and the evaluation of response to treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: Atherosclerosis plays a major role in the development of coronary artery disease (CAD). It has been shown that mitochondrial open-reading-frame of the twelve S rRNA-c (MOTS-c), a mitochondrial-derived peptide, has preventive effects on atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between MOTS-c levels and CAD presence and severity using SYNTAX score (SS) in patients with stable angina pectoris. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Ninety-two consecutive patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD+) and ninety-two consecutive patients with normal coronary artery (CAD-) were included. Presence and severity of coronary artery disease were determined using the SS. RESULTS: We observed that the MOTS-c levels was lower in the CAD group (111±13 vs. 161±23, p<0.001). The MOTS-c levels were also found to be significant independent predictors for CAD in multiple regression analysis (p<0.001). A MOTS-c levels =130.9 had 80.3% sensitivity and 73.2% specificity (area under the curve [AUC]: 0.858, 95% CI: 0.895-0.999, p<0.001) for predicting CAD. CONCLUSIONS: The authors revealed that there is a strong correlation between MOTS-c levels and CAD. Therefore, MOTS-c may help identify patients with CAD, thus allowing for early preventive treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]