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OBJECTIVE: Irinotecan (IR/CPT-11) is a semisynthetic, water-soluble derivative of the alkaloid camptothecin. It is a topoisomerase I group antineoplastic drug commonly used for the treatment of many cancer types, although it has side effects in tissues such as the testis. Curcumin (CRC) is a polyphenol compound produced from the Indian saffron root; it is used as food colouring and food flavouring. This study examined the testis-specific side effects of IR and the ability of CRC to protect against these side effects. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty male Sprague-Dawley rats were used in our study (n = 10). The rats were randomly divided into the following four groups: control, IR, IR + CRC, and CRC. IR 10 mg/kg/day was administered intraperitoneally and CRC 100 mg/kg was administered orally. Blood and testicular samples were collected from rats in all four groups on day 30 after drug administration. Histological, biochemical, and spermatological analyses were conducted. RESULTS: Testis tissue and blood samples were collected from the four groups. Tissue samples from the control and CRC groups demonstrated normal histological appearance on light microscopy. The IR group exhibited the following findings: vascular congestion in the tunica albuginea layer; tubular degeneration and vascular congestion in the interstitial area; oedema, vacuolisation, and luminised cells in the seminiferous tubule; and cells that temporarily stopped dividing at any stage of division in the seminiferous tubule epithelium. In the IR+CRC group, histopathological damage was significantly reduced by CRC treatment. Biochemical analysis showed that the level of thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) was significantly increased in the IR group, compared with the other groups. CRC treatment significantly decreased this IR-mediated increase in TBARS level, and the TBARS level in the IR + CRC group approached the level observed in the control group. IR treatment caused significant decreases in glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and catalase (CAT) levels. However, CRC administration tended to ameliorate the decreases in GSH, SOD, CAT, and GPx levels. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, IR had some toxic effects in rat testis tissue; these effects were ameliorated by CRC treatment. Further studies are warranted to confirm our results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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.

Background: The whole-body computed tomography (WBCT) procedure is increasingly common in evaluating patients presenting with high-energy trauma. However, it remains unclear in which population WBCT provides benefit and whether its routine application is truly beneficial. In this study, we aimed to compare physician predictions with WBCT findings in patients with high-energy blunt trauma., Methods: The study was conducted as a single-center prospective observational study at a tertiary center. Patients presenting with high-energy blunt trauma between 01.03.2021-01.03.2023 were included. Both physician predictions and WBCT findings were recorded and compared in three categories: "no pathology," "no life-threatening pathology," and "life-threatening pathology." The predictive values of physician predictions for each category were calculated. The characteristics of patients evaluated as less severe than predicted by clinicians were examined., Results: The study included a total of 92 patients. The median age was 27 years (IQR 25-75; 20-54). Among the patients, 27 (%) had life-threatening injuries according to CT findings in any region. A total of 34 (37%) patients were predicted by physicians to have "no pathology" in all three regions. Among these patients, none had life-threatening pathology in all three regions. There were 10 (10.9%) patients with CT findings more severe than physician predictions in at least one region. The sensitivity of physician predictions for life-threatening injury to the head/cervical region was 94.1% (95% CI: 71.3-99.9). For life-threatening injury to the chest, the sensitivity was 85.7% (95% CI: 42.1-99.6). For the presence of life-threatening abdominal pathology, the sensitivity was 100% (95% CI: 63.1-100). CONCLUSıON: It appears reasonable to utilize WBCT in patients where physicians expect life-threatening injury in any system. However, in cases where no pathology is expected in any system according to clinical prediction, we believe that performing WBCT solely based on trauma mechanism will not provide sufficient benefit., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics committee approval: Our study received ethical approval from the Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University Clinical Research Ethics Committee with decision number 2021/01 on 27.01.2021. Patient enrollment began after obtaining ethical approval. The study protocol conforms to the ethical guidelines of the 1975 Declaration of Helsinki as reflected in a priori approval by the institution's human research committee. Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany.)

Aim: We aimed to investigate whether there is a difference in the rate of decrease in carboxyhemoglobin (COHB) values between high-flow nasal oxygen (HFNO) and normobaric oxygen (NBO) therapy., Material and Method: This retrospective observational study included patients with carbon monoxide poisoning who were treated with HFNO or NBO (control group). All patients were started on NBO therapy with a non-rebreather face mask at a rate of 15 L/min. In the NBO group, NBO treatment was continued until the COHB value fell below 10%. In the HFNO group, as soon as the preparation of the HFNO device was completed, NBO treatment was terminated and HFNO treatment was started and continued until the COHB value fell below 10%. The primary outcome of the study was the difference between HFNO and NBO in terms of COHB half-life rates., Results: A total of 81 patients were included in the study, 44 in the HFNO group and 37 in the NBO group. The median of COHB t 1/2 values between HFNO and the NBO treatment groups were 47.3 (IQR: 25-75%: 31.5-65.4) and 46 (IQR: 25-75%: 32.3-56.2), respectively, but this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.81)., Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that HFNO treatment does not have a significant advantage over NBO treatment in the carbon monoxide elimination rate within the first 60 min of treatment., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Medizin Verlag GmbH, ein Teil von Springer Nature.)

Statins are suggested to possess healing properties due to their antioxidant and antiinflammatory effects in animal ulcer models. In contrary, a clinical report indicated the formation of gastric ulcer by the use of atorvastatin. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of atorvastatin (0.5, 5 and 50mg/kg, p.o.) after single (acute) and multiple (subchronic, 5 days) applications on indomethacin-induced gastric ulcer in rats. In both acute and subchronic models high dose atorvastatin (50mg/kg), unlike to lower doses (0,5 and 5mg/kg), significantly aggravated ulcer lesions induced by indomethacin (30 mg/kg) although, a direct ulcerogenic influence was lacking. Proulcerogenic effect of atorvastatin are likely to be associated with decreased mucosal defense mechanisms (GSH and PGE2), and increased neutrophil infiltration and proinflammatory factors (TNF-a and iNOS) possibly via independently from mevalonate pathway. Thus, atorvastatin therapy should be monitorized in patients for an increased risk of gastric ulcer particularly when used concomitantly with NSAIDs., (Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.)