MERT

Being the green gold of the future, cyanobacteria have recently attracted considerable interest worldwide. This study investigates the adaptability and biocompatibility of the cyanobacterial strain Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 with human dermal cells, focusing on its potential application in biomedical contexts. First, we investigated the adaptability of Synechococcus PCC 7002 bacteria to human cell culture conditions. Next, we evaluated the biocompatibility of cyanobacteria with common dermal cells, like 3T3 fibroblasts and HaCaT keratinocytes...

BACKGROUND: As with any other invasive procedure, esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) may lead to considerable anxiety in patients. This study aimed to investigate and compare the effects of sedated and non-sedated procedures on anxiety in patients undergoing EGD and to better recognize patient groups at risk for anxiety. METHODS: In this prospective and 2-armed designed study, demographic data, including age, gender, comorbidities, height, weight, body mass index (BMI), and educational background, were collected...

Tympanic membrane (TM) perforations, primarily induced by middle ear infections, the introduction of foreign objects into the ear, and acoustic trauma, lead to hearing abnormalities and ear infections. We describe the design and fabrication of a novel composite patch containing photocrosslinkable gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) and keratin methacryloyl (KerMA) hydrogels. GelMA-KerMA patches containing conical microneedles in their design were developed using the digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing approach...

Tight junctions are a barrier-forming cell-cell adhesion complex and have been proposed to regulate cell proliferation. However, the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Here, we used cells deficient in the junction scaffold ZO-1 alone or together with its paralog ZO-2, which disrupts the junctional barrier. We found that ZO-1 knockout increased cell proliferation, induced loss of cell density-dependent proliferation control, and promoted apoptosis and necrosis. These phenotypes were enhanced by double ZO-1/ZO-2 knockout...

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective, population-based cohort study. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to develop machine learning (ML) models to predict five-year and 10-year mortality in spinal and sacropelvic chordoma patients and integrate them into a web application for enhanced prognostication. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Past research has uncovered factors influencing survival in spinal chordoma patients. While identifying individual predictors is important, personalized survival predictions are equally vital...

In this study, we investigated the diagnostic value of opsonic activity against Acinetobacter baumannii in Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia (VAP) among 50 patients, compared to 102 negative and positive controls. Out of the 50 patients, only 33 (66 %) were diagnosed with VAP using the Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score (CPIS). The opsonic activity assay demonstrated three key findings: (i) 95 % sensitivity and 91.7 % specificity, with a Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) area of 0.976 for distinguishing A...

The estimation of groundwater levels is crucial and an important step in ensuring sustainable management of water resources. In this paper, selected piezometers of the Hamedan-Bahar plain located in west of Iran. The main objective of this study is to compare effect of various pre-processing methods on input data for different artificial intelligence (AI) models to predict groundwater levels (GWLs). The observed GWL, evaporation, precipitation, and temperature were used as input variables in the AI algorithms...

In this study, the thermal behaviours of Cannabis sativa (CS), coal and their five different blends at a heating rate (β) of 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50°C min-1 ; the synergistic effects between CS and coal; and the distribution of gases formed during pyrolysis and combustion were investigated by using the thermogravimetric analysis/Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (TGA/FTIR) integrated system. The TG and DTG curves showed that the thermal decomposition of pyrolysis and combustion of all feedstocks at all β values had three main decomposition stages...

The observation of mortality in Mediterranean mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) distributed in the Çanakkale Strait in recent years was influential in developing the research question for this study. In this study, the presence of bacteria (Vibrio spp.) and parasites (Marteilia spp. and Haplosporidium spp.) in mussels collected from Kumkale, Kepez, and Umurbey stations in the Çanakkale Strait was investigated seasonally. Microbiological findings, histopathology, oxidative stress enzymes and their gene expressions, lipid peroxidation, lysosomal membrane stability, and changes in haemolymph were examined...

Because of aging and rising rates of chronic diseases, the demand for palliative care services is increasing worldwide, and patients need family members to care for them throughout the palliative care process. This study aimed to investigate the experiences of the relatives of palliative care patients during hospitalization. This was a qualitative study conducted with 15 family members. A topic guide was used to conduct semistructured face-to-face interviews. Content analysis was used to analyze the textual data...

BACKGROUND: Chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) often requires surgical evacuation, but recurrence rates remain high. Middle meningeal artery (MMA) embolization (MMAE) has been proposed as an alternative or adjunct treatment. There is concern that prior surgery might limit patency, access, penetration, and efficacy of MMAE, such that some recent trials excluded patients with prior craniotomy. However, the impact of prior open surgery on MMA patency has not been studied. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on patients who underwent MMAE for cSDH (2019-2022), after prior surgical evacuation or not...

Background : The reconstruction of plantar load-bearing foot defects faces many plastic surgeons with a major challenge. The optimal patient- and defect-oriented reconstructive strategy must be selected. Methods : To analyze the current trends and recommendations in reconstruction of plantar load-bearing foot defects, we conducted an international survey among plastic surgeons querying them about their recommendations and experiences. Results : The survey revealed that the most common strategies for reconstruction of the foot sole are locoregional and microvascular free flaps, emphasizing the relevance of plastic surgery...

A series of novel pyrazole-dicarboxamides were synthesized from pyrazole-3,4-dicarboxylic acid chloride and various primary and secondary sulfonamides. The structures of the new compounds were confirmed by FT-IR, 1 H-NMR, 13 C-NMR, and HRMS. Then the inhibition effects of newly synthesized molecules on human erythrocyte hCA I and hCA II isoenzymes were investigated. Ki values of the compounds were in the range of 0.024-0.496 µM for hCA I and 0.006-5.441 µM for hCA II. Compounds 7a and 7i showed nanomolar level of inhibition of hCA II, and these compounds exhibited high selectivity for this isoenzyme...

The aim of this study was to compare closed percutaneous screw reduction to traditional open reduction-internal fixation (OR-IF) for the treatment of anterior table fractures. Both groups were evaluated in terms of operative variables, complications, and treatment success. Of 32 patients included, 19 patients underwent OR-IF, while 13 underwent percutaneous screw reduction. The median operative time, length of hospital stays, and treatment cost of the OR-IF group were 100 min (range 60-130), 4 days (range 3-9), and $727 (range $642-$1291), respectively...

Distal radius fractures rank among the most prevalent fractures in humans, necessitating accurate radiological imaging and interpretation for optimal diagnosis and treatment. In addition to human radiologists, artificial intelligence systems are increasingly employed for radiological assessments. Since 2023, ChatGPT 4 has offered image analysis capabilities, which can also be used for the analysis of wrist radiographs. This study evaluates the diagnostic power of ChatGPT 4 in identifying distal radius fractures, comparing it with a board-certified radiologist, a hand surgery resident, a medical student, and the well-established AI Gleamer BoneView™...

OBJECTIVE: Sleep quality in those with cardiovascular disease is significantly lower than in the general population. This study aimed to explore the effect of transcatheter or surgical closure of atrial septal defect (ASD) on sleep quality. METHODS: One hundred nineteen adult patients with ASD who underwent transcatheter or surgical closure were included in the study. Sleep quality was investigated prospectively just before defect closure and six months after defect closure...

AIMS: Digoxin has been used in the treatment for heart failure for centuries, but the role of this drug in the modern era is controversial. A particular concern is the recent observational findings suggesting an increase in all-cause mortality with digoxin, although such observations suffer from biased results since these studies usually do not provide adequate compensation for the severity of disease. Using a nationwide registry database, we aimed to investigate whether digoxin is associated with 1-year all-cause mortality in patients with heart failure irrespective of phenotype...

OBJECTIVE: The MORtality in CORonary Care Units in Türkiye (MORCOR-TURK) trial is a national registry evaluating predictors and rates of in-hospital mortality in coronary care unit (CCU) patients in Türkiye. This report describes the baseline demographic characteristics of patients recruited for the MORCOR-TURK trial. METHODS: The study is a multicenter, cross-sectional, prospective national registry that included 50 centers capable of 24-hour CCU service, selected from all seven geographic regions of Türkiye...

PURPOSE: Body donors continue to have an important role in anatomy education in medical schools. Furthermore, the demand for organ transplantation is increasing as life expectancy increases. In Turkey, there are efforts to enable both donations to be made through a single system. These issues were addressed together, and it was aimed to evaluate the level of knowledge and attitudes of medical and law students regarding tissue-organ and body donation. METHODS: A questionnaire consisting of 29 questions was administered to 693 individuals to measure these aspects...

Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) was administered to a patient with refractory coronary angina, whose complaints of pain did not regress despite intensive medical treatment, in our algology department. Prior to the administration of SCS, the patient was experiencing 10 to 15 pain attacks a day, limiting his physical activity. Following the administration of SCS, the frequency of pain attacks decreased to 1 to 2 times every 2 days. Accordingly, in this case report, the use of spinal cord stimulation in the treatment of chronic refractory angina pectoris pain based on a 61-year-old male patient is presented...