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Background: The aim of this study is to determine whether the saliva analysis is an alternative to routine biochemical and immunoassay analyses in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD) or hemodialysis (HD). Methods: Study group consisted of 40 healthy control, 44 PD and 44 HD patients. Routine biochemical analytes, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free T3, free T4, vitamin B12, ferritin and folic acid were measured. Results: Compared to pre-HD, urea, creatinine, uric acid, potassium levels were lower in post-HD, and calcium, magnesium, vitamin B12 levels were higher in post-HD both in saliva and serum. Positive correlations between saliva and serum were found for TSH and ferritin in control; urea, LDH, K in PD; urea, creatinine, alkaline phosphatase in pre-HD, and gamma-glutamyl transferase, iron, TSH in post-HD. There was a negative correlation only for creatine kinase and Mg in pre-HD and calcium in post-HD. In all groups, a positive correlation was found for urea, creatinine and a negative correlation was found for magnesium. Conclusions: Our study showed higher salivary urea and creatinine levels in patient groups, consistent with serum levels. Based on these results, salivary urea and creatinine levels may be useful in the evaluation of azotemia in dialysis patients

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease of the human central nervous system. It is one of the most common neurological disorders around the world and there is still no complete cure for MS. Purification of a terpenoid from Capparis ovata was carried out and its structure was elucidated as stigmast-5,22-dien-3β-ol, myristate (3β,22E-stigmasteryl myristate; SDM) by NMR and mass spectral analyses. No information regarding its any health effect is available in the literature. In the present study, we have described its effects on inflammatory factors such as the expression levels of cytokines, chemokines and adhesion molecules as well as apoptosis/infiltration and myelination in SH-SY5Y cells. The expression levels of proinflammatory or inflammatory cytokines and chemokines such as NF-κB1, CCL5, CXCL9, CXCL10 and HIF1A along with T-cell activating cytokines such as IL-6 and TGFB1 were significantly downregulated with SDM treatment. Moreover, the expression levels of the main myelin proteins such as MBP, MAG and PLP that are essential for healthy myelin architecture were significantly up-regulated. The results presented in this study strongly suggest that the SDM offers a unique possibility to be used with autoimmune diseases, including MS due to its activity on the manipulation of cytokines and the promotion of myelin formation.

The antioxidant properties of the methanol extract of leaves and flowers of Erica arborea and the ethyl acetate, butanol and water soluble fractions were investigated. The ethyl acetate extract was found to be the richest for phenolic and flavonoid content which showed the highest antioxidant activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the binding behavior of β-sitosterol with lysozyme (LZM) was elucidated by surface plasmon resonance (SPR), computational molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation studies. Chicken egg white lysozyme (CEWLZM) served as a model protein. Tri-N-acetylchitotriose (NAG3) was used in the redocking experiments to generate precise binding location of the protein. β-sitosterol displayed a slightly better binding energy (-6.68±0.04 kcal/mol) compared to NAG3. Further molecular dynamics simulations and MMPBSA analysis revealed that residues Glu35, Gln57-Asn59, Trp62, Ile98, Ala107 and Trp108 contribute to the binding energy. Then, 2.5 mg/mL CEWLZM, 1X PBS buffer (pH 7.4) as running and coupling buffers, 30 µL/min as flow rate were applied for SPR analysis. Serial β-sitosterol injections (20-150 μM) were performed through SPR sensor surface. According to SPR binding study, KD value for β-sitosterol-CEWLZM binding interaction was calculated as 71.34±9.79 µM. The results could provide essential knowledge for nutrition, pharmaceutical science, and oral biology., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

In this comprehensive screening study, the chemical composition, and cytotoxic, antimicrobial, and anticholinergic activities of the green algae Penicillus capitatus, collected from Antalya-Türkiye, were determined as in vitro and in silico. GC-MS analysis of the hexane extract revealed a high content of fatty acids, with hexadecanoic acid constituting half of the total fatty acid content. LC-HRMS analysis of the DCM:MeOH extract identified ascorbic acid as the most abundant compound, followed by (-)-epigallocatechin and salicylic acid. The DCM:MeOH extract exhibited potent cytotoxicity against MDA-MB-231 and MCF7 breast cancer cell lines, outperforming doxorubicin with lower IC 50 values and a higher selectivity index. Additionally, the extract demonstrated significant antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans, along with selective inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (hAChE) over butyrylcholinesterase (hBChE). Molecular docking and dynamics studies revealed that apigenin-7-O-glucoside and epigallocatechin form stable interactions with estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) and hAChE, suggesting their potential as inhibitors. In silico ADME studies indicated favorable pharmacokinetic profiles for the detected compounds, supporting their potential as drug candidates. The promising cytotoxic activity of the P. capitatus extracts, coupled with significant antimicrobial properties and selective hAChE inhibition, highlights their therapeutic potential for breast cancer treatment, infection management, and neurodegenerative disease intervention., (© 2024 Wiley-VHCA AG, Zurich, Switzerland.)

Context: The genus Sideritis L. (Lamiaceae) is represented by 46 species in Turkey with an 79% endemism ratio, 42 of 46 belonging to the section Empodoclia., Objective: In this review article, Sideritis species growing in Turkey have been evaluated for phytochemical constituents and biological activities., Methods: The data for the isolates, components and extracts of the Anatolian Sideritis species and their bioactivity studies were retrieved from the main databases WoS, Scopus and PubMed from 1975 until 31 December 2022., Results: In this review article, terpenoids, flavonoids, phenolics and other secondary metabolites isolated from Turkish Sideritis species were reported. Anatolian Sideritis species, which primarily consist of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes, were studied in detail. Sideritis plants are represented by 46 species in Turkey, and 25 of them were investigated for their diterpenoids through isolation or LC-MS studies. Most of the diterpenoids of Turkish Sideritis species have ent -kaurene skeleton, among them linearol, siderol, 7- epi candicandiol and sideridiol were found to be the main compounds. Exceptionally, labdane, pimarane and beyerene diterpenoids were only found in a few species. For phenolics and flavonoids, only 12 species were investigated until now, and they were found to be rich in phenylethanoid glycosides and flavonoid glycosides. In terms of activity, most of the species were tested for antioxidant activity, followed by antimicrobial and anti-ulcer/anti-inflammatory activities. Their cytotoxic, enzyme inhibitory, antinociceptive and antistress activities were less frequently studied., Conclusions: Sideritis species should be considered promising therapeutic agents in the treatment of upper respiratory tract and ulcer/inflammatory diseases.

The use of medicinal plants for treating various diseases dates back thousands of years and has been a part of many cultures around the world. Various parts of plants, including roots, leaves, and flowers, and their extracts have been used to develop remedies to cure different ailments like fever, pain, inflammation, infections, among others. In this research, the aerial parts of both Salvia varieties were extracted with ethanol and water to obtain infusion and decoction, separately. S . sericeotomentosa var. hatayica Celep & Doğan (SH) and Salvia sericeotomentosa Rech. f. var. sericeotomentosa (ST) plants were chemically analyzed for polar compounds using LC-HRMS for the first time. All SH and ST extracts were found to be very rich in rosmarinic acid, salvianolic acid B, hispidulin-7- O -glucoside, and caffeic acid. The study also investigated the antiinflammatory and carbonic anhydrase inhibition properties of the most abundant secondary metabolites extracted from SH and ST. In silico studies were conducted for the first time to explore the effects of these metabolites on TNF-α, iNOS, and human carbonic anhydrase isoenzymes (hCAI and hCAII). Salvianolic acid B should be considered a strong antiinflammatory agent and a carbonic anhydrase I and II inhibitors due to low binding energy scores with the tested enzymes (TNF-α: -12.391 kcal/mol), (iNOS: -7.547 kcal/mol), (hCAI: -7.877 kcal/mol), and (hCAII: -4.312 kcal/mol)., (© TÜBİTAK.)

Herein, new derivatives of α,β-unsaturated ketones based on oleanolic acid (4 a-i) were designed, synthesized, characterized, and tested against human prostate cancer (PC3). According to the in vitro cytotoxic study, title compounds (4 a-i) showed significantly lower toxicity toward healthy cells (HUVEC) in comparison with the reference drug doxorubicin. The compounds with the lowest IC 50 values on PC3 cell lines were 4 b (7.785 μM), 4 c (8.869 μM), and 4 e (8.765 μM). The results of the ADME calculations showed that the drug-likeness parameters were within the defined ranges according to Lipinski's and Jorgensen's rules. For the most potent compounds 4 b, 4 c, and 4 e, a molecular docking analysis using the induced fit docking (IFD) protocol was performed against three protein targets (PARP, PI3K, and mTOR). Based on the IFD scores, compound 4 b had the highest calculated affinity for PARP1, while compound 4 c had higher affinities for mTOR and PI3K. The MM-GBSA calculations showed that the most potent compounds had high binding affinities and formed stable complexes with the protein targets. Finally, a 50 ns molecular dynamics simulation was performed to study the behavior of protein target complexes under in silico physiological conditions., (© 2023 Wiley-VHCA AG, Zurich, Switzerland.)

This study investigated the preventive health behaviors against the COVID-19 outbreak in Turkey according to the health belief model. The relationships between perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, barriers, and preventive health behaviors were examined. 1401 participants consisting of 992 (70.8%) females and 409 (29.3%) males participated in an online survey. Independent groups t-test, hierarchical regression analysis and Process Macro were used for analyses. The findings showed that women perceived higher levels of severity of the disease and the benefits of preventive health behaviors than men. Men perceived more barriers to preventive health behaviors. The levels of anxiety and preventive health behaviors of women were higher than men. In regression analysis, male gender and perceived barriers were found as risk factors for preventive health behaviors. However, female gender, perceived severity, and benefits were protective factors for preventive health behaviors. People with low and moderate anxiety levels were more likely to comply with preventive health behaviors.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic on obstetrics and gynecology residency in Turkey., Materials and Methods: A 40-item questionnaire was prepared by the European Network of Trainees in Obstetrics and Gynecology. The survey included four parts, namely, workload, training aspects, trainees' health and safety, and women's and maternal health, conducted between April 2020 and September 2020. The submission of the questionnaire was voluntary., Results: A total of 103 trainees from 28 cities responded to the survey. The mean duration of training was 2.5 years, and first- to fifth-year residents were included. In this study, 66 trainees (65.3%) were deployed in COVID-19 units, and the number of working hours was 84 hours per week. Moreover, 67% of the trainees reported insufficient outpatient clinic experience to meet education targets. Almost all trainees (101 of 103) trainees reported that the number of surgeries and/or elective surgeries decreased or were canceled. In addition, 63% and 68% of the trainees reported that their surgical skills were hindered by the reduced number of surgeries and dissatisfaction by not achieving a sufficient number of surgeries, respectively. Overall, 71% (n=73) were worried about their training. Only 45 trainees (43.6%) have raised their concerns to their program coordinators. Trainees in Turkey experienced a decrease in the workload during the first COVID-19 wave by 62% (n=64). In average, trainees worked nearly 30 h less than their usual workweek. Only 5% of the trainees (n=5) worked from home. Trainees claimed to have used sufficient personal protective equipment, and 66% (n=68) could keep their social distance in the hospital. The availability of health care was different between departments, and the family planning and reproductive medicine departments were the most affected., Conclusion: The obstetrics and gynecology training in Turkey has significantly been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is one of the most prevalent causes of dementia in the world, and no drugs available that can provide a complete cure. Cholinergic neurons of the cerebral cortex of AD patients are lost due to increased activity of cholinesterase enzymes., Objective: Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and Butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) are the two major classes of cholinesterases in the mammalian brain. The involvement of oxidative stress in the progression of AD is known. Thus, the objective of this study is to determine strong ChE inhibitors with anti-oxidant activity., Methods: In this study, 41 abietane diterpenoids have been assayed for antioxidant and anticholinesterase (both for AChE and BuChE) properties in vitro, which were previously isolated from Salvia species, and structurally determined by spectroscopic methods, particularly intensive 1D- and 2DNMR and mass experiments. Molecular modeling studies were performed to rationalize the in vitro ChE inhibitory activity of several abietane diterpenoids compared with galantamine., Results: Thirteen out of the tested 41 abietane diterpenoids exhibited at least 50% inhibition on either AChE or BuChE. The strongest inhibitory activity was obtained for Bractealine against BuChE (3.43 μM) and AChE (33.21 μM) while the most selective ligand was found to be Hypargenin E against BuChE enzyme (6.93 μM). A full correlation was not found between anticholinesterase and antioxidant activities. The results obtained from molecular modelling studies of Hypargenin E and Bractealine on AChE and BuChE were found to be in accordance with the in vitro anti-cholinesterase activity tests., Conclusion: Abietane diterpenoids are promising molecules for the treatment of mild-moderate AD., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

We report the synthesis of bromoindenoquinolines (15a-f) by Friedlander reactions in low yields (13-50%) and the conversion of the corresponding phenyl-substituted indenoquinoline derivatives 16-21 in high yields (80-96%) by Suzuki coupling reactions. To explore the structure-activity relationship (SAR), their inhibition potentials to inhibit acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), and human carbonic anhydrase cyctosolic (hCA I and II) enzymes were determined. Monophenyl (16-18) indenoquinolines significantly inhibited the AChE and BChE enzymes in ranges of IC 50 37-57 nM and 84-93 nM, respectively, compared with their starting materials 15a-c and reference compounds (galanthamine and tacrine). On the other hand, these novel arylated indenoquinoline-based derivatives were effective inhibitors of the BChE, hCA I and II, BChE and AChE enzymes with K i values in the range of 37 ± 2.04 to 88640 ± 1990 nM for AChE, 120.94 ± 37.06 to 1150.95 ± 304.48 nM for hCA I, 267.58 ± 98.05 to 1568.16 ± 438.67 nM for hCA II, and 84 ± 3.86 to 144120 ± 2910 nM for BChE. As a result, monophenyl indenoquinolines 16-18 may have promising anti-Alzheimer drug potential and 3,8-dibromoindenoquinoline amine (15f) can be novel hCA I and hCA II enzyme inhibitors., (© 2018 Deutsche Pharmazeutische Gesellschaft.)

Interest in all-inorganic halide perovskites has been increasing dramatically due to their high quantum yield, band gap tunability, and ease of fabrication in compositional and geometric diversity. In this study, we synthesized several hundreds of nanometer long and ∼4 nm thick CsPbBr 3 nanowires (NWs). They were then integrated into electrospun polyurethane (PU) fibers to examine the polarization behavior of the composite fiber assembly. Aligned electrospun fibers containing CsPbBr 3 NWs showed a remarkable increase in the degree of polarization from 0.17-0.30. This combination of NWs and PU fibers provides a promising composite material for various applications such as optoelectronic devices and solar cells.

Vinorelbine (VLB) is a semi-synthetic Vinca alkaloid which is currently used in treatment of different cancer types mainly advanced breast cancer (ABC) and advanced/metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, its marketed formulation has been reported to have serious side effects, such as granulocytopenia, which is the major dose-limiting toxicity. Other unwanted effects include venous discoloration and phlebitis proximal to the site of injection, as well as localized rashes and urticaria, blistering, and skin sloughing. Our long-term aim in synthesizing a novel nanomicellar vinorelbine formulation is to reduce or even eliminate these side effects and increase drug activity by formulating the drug in a lipid-based system as a nanomedicine targeted to the site of action. To this end, the purpose of this study was to prepare, characterize, and determine the in vitro efficacy of vinorelbine-loaded sterically stabilized, biocompatible, and biodegradable phospholipid nanomicelles (SSM; size, ∼15 nm). Our results indicated that vinorelbine incorporate at high quantities and within the interface between the core and palisade sections of the micelles. Incorporation ratio of drug within sterically stabilized micelles increased as the total amount of drug in the system increased, and no drug particles were formed at the highest drug concentrations tested. The nanomicellar formulation of vinorelbine was ∼6.7-fold more potent than vinorelbine dissolved in DMSO on MCF-7 cell line. Collectively, these data indicate that vinorelbine-loaded SSM can be developed as a new, safe, stable, and effective nanomedicine for the treatment of breast and lung cancers.