A case with Pyle type metaphyseal dysplasia: clinical, radiological and histological evaluation

Pyle type metaphyseal dysplasia is a rare autosomal recessive disease that is primarily affect metaphyses. Here we present a case with Pyle type metaphyseal dysplasia. The characteristic features of the case were metapyhseal broadening with undertubulation and Erlenmeyer flask sign at distal femoral and proximal tibial metaphyses. There were also platyspondyly with biconcave lens appearance of the vertebral bodies, congenital hip dislocation and normal cranium. Bone histopathology showed decreased number of osteoclasts. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of Pyle type metaphyseal dysplasia from Turkey.     

Cementifying fibroma diagnosed by fine needle aspiration cytology. A case report.

A case of cementifying fibroma in the right lateral mandible was diagnosed by fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology. The aspirate was a cellular specimen composed of clusters of oval and spindle-shaped fibroblasts with no atypical features. These cells were admixed with spherical, calcified structures. A diagnosis of "consistent with benign fibroosseous lesion, suggestive of cementoossifying fibroma" was made, and subsequent histologic examination confirmed this cytologic diagnosis. The clinical, cytologic and histologic findings in the case are presented, and the value of FNA cytology in the diagnosis of jaw lesions is discussed.     

Risk-Based Evaluation of Turkish Agricultural Strategies using Fuzzy AHP and Fuzzy ANP

In this article, we propose a model for selection of an agricultural strategy for Turkey by using fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and analytical network process (ANP) based on linguistic terms. Fuzzy AHP-based methodology will be discussed to tackle the different decision criteria such as risk factors, ecological structure, socioeconomic structure, and technological structure involved in the selection of an agricultural strategy for Turkey and ANP will represent an effective tool for providing a suitable solution for managers and government administrators of this case. The linguistic levels of comparisons produced by the experts for each comparison are tapped in the form of triangular fuzzy numbers in order to construct fuzzy pairwise comparison matrices. The implementation of the system is demonstrated by a problem having four stages of hierarchy that contains 4 criteria and 15 sub-criteria.     

The tangled core at the heart of the bryozoan suborder Phylloporinina

Abstract: The family Phylloporinidae was introduced in the late 19th century to accommodate a small number of Palaeozoic bryozoan genera characterized by irregularly fenestrated colonies generated by anastomosis of unilaminate branches. Among the first named of these genera were Chasmatopora Eichwald, 1855 and Phylloporina Ulrich in Foerste, 1887. The two names have been variously in fashion, and there has been confusion about whether they are subjective synonyms or are distinct genera. This taxonomic confusion has been due in large part to whether the single species (Retepora angulata Hall, 1847) assigned to Phylloporina in Foerste (1887) or the species that Ulrich intended (Retepora trentonensis Nicholson, 1875) is the type species and also because of lack of sufficient information about Foerste’s material to characterize it well. We here redescribe the pertinent species, erect the new species Chasmatopora foerstei for the species that Foerste incorrectly assigned to Phylloporina angulata (Hall), and suggest that Retepora trentonensis Nicholson be retained as type species of Phylloporina based on prevailing usage, until the issue is settled by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature.     

PRE-EXERCISE ARGININE SUPPLEMENTATION INCREASES TIME TO EXHAUSTION IN ELITE MALE WRESTLERS

Dietary supplements containing arginine are among the most popular ergogenics intended to enhance strength, power and muscle recovery associated with both anaerobic and aerobic exercise. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the possible effect of pre-exercise acute intake of arginine on performance and exercise metabolism during incremental exhaustive exercise in elite male wrestlers. Nine volunteer elite male wrestlers (24.7±3.8 years) participated in this study. The test-retest protocol was used on the same subjects. The study was conducted using a cross-over design. A single dose of arginine (1.5 g · 10 kg^-1 body weight) or placebo was given to the subjects after 12 hours fasting (during the night) for both test and retest. Subjects were allowed to drink water but not allowed to eat anything between arginine or placebo ingestion and the exercise protocol. An incremental exercise protocol was applied and oxygen consumption was measured during the exercise. Heart rate and plasma lactate levels were measured during the exercise and recovery. Results showed that in the same working loads there was no significant difference for the mean lactate levels and no difference in maximum oxygen consumption (arginine 52.47±4.01 mL · kg^-1 · min^-1, placebo 52.07±5.21 mL · kg^-1 · min^-1) or in maximum heart rates (arginine 181.09±13.57 bpm, placebo 185.89±7.38 bpm) between arginine and placebo trials. Time to exhaustion was longer with arginine supplementation (1386.8±69.8 s) compared to placebo (1313±90.8 s) (p < 0.05). These results suggest that L-arginine supplementation can have beneficial effects on exercise performance in elite male wrestlers but cannot explain the metabolic pathways which are responsible from these effects.     

Short-term exercise improves myocardial tolerance to in vivo ischemia-reperfusion in the rat.

These experiments examined the independent effects of short-term exercise and heat stress on myocardial responses during in vivo ischemia-reperfusion (I/R). Female Sprague-Dawley rats (4 mo old) were randomly assigned to one of four experimental groups: 1) control, 2) 3 consecutive days of treadmill exercise [60 min/day at 60-70% maximal O2 uptake (VO2 max)], 3) 5 consecutive days of treadmill exercise (60 min/day at 60-70% VO2 max), and 4) whole body heat stress (15 min at 42 degrees C). Twenty-four hours after heat stress or exercise, animals were anesthetized and mechanically ventilated, and the chest was opened by thoracotomy. Coronary occlusion was maintained for 30-min followed by a 30-min period of reperfusion. Compared with control, both heat-stressed animals and exercised animals (3 and 5 days) maintained higher (P < 0.05) left ventricular developed pressure (LVDP), maximum rate of left ventricular pressure development (+dP/dt), and maximum rate of left ventricular pressure decline (-dP/dt) at all measurement periods during both ischemia and reperfusion. No differences existed between heat-stressed and exercise groups in LVDP, +dP/dt, and -dP/dt at any time during ischemia or reperfusion. Both heat stress and exercise resulted in an increase (P < 0.05) in the relative levels of left ventricular heat shock protein 72 (HSP72). Furthermore, exercise (3 and 5 days) increased (P < 0.05) myocardial glutathione levels and manganese superoxide dismutase activity. These data indicate that 3-5 consecutive days of exercise improves myocardial contractile performance during in vivo I/R and that this exercise-induced myocardial protection is associated with an increase in both myocardial HSP72 and cardiac antioxidant defenses.     

Tuning the Cellular Trafficking of the Lysosomal Peptide Transporter TAPL by its N‐terminal Domain

The homodimeric ATP‐binding cassette (ABC) transport complex TAPL (transporter associated with antigen processing‐like, ABCB9) translocates a broad spectrum of peptides from the cytosol into the lumen of lysosomes. The presence of an extra N‐terminal transmembrane domain (TMD0) lacking any sequence homology to known proteins distinguishes TAPL from most other ABC transporters of its subfamily. By dissecting TAPL, we could assign distinct functions to the core complex and TMD0. The core‐TAPL complex, composed of six predicted transmembrane helices and a nucleotide‐binding domain, is sufficient for peptide transport, showing that the core transport complex is correctly targeted to and assembled in the membrane. Strikingly, in contrast to the full‐length transporter, the core translocation complex is targeted preferentially to the plasma membrane. However, TMD0 alone, comprising a putative four transmembrane helix bundle, traffics to lysosomes. Upon coexpression, TMD0 forms a stable non‐covalently linked complex with the core translocation machinery and guides core‐TAPL into lysosomal compartments. Therefore, TMD0 represents a unique domain, which folds independently and encodes the information for lysosomal targeting. These outcomes are discussed in respect of trafficking, folding and function of TAPL.     

Identification of heat responsive genes in cotton

High summer temperature negatively affects cotton yield, and better understanding of genetic mechanisms of heat stress responses in cotton may facilitate development of new heat tolerant cultivars. We attempted to determine heat responsive genes in cotton using tolerant (Stoneville 453, BA 119) and susceptible (Nazilli 84S) cultivars. Twenty five expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were sequenced and studied for gene homology. Sixteen ESTs were significantly similar to known genes, whereas eight ESTs were similar to not annotated cDNA clones and 1 EST did not show homology to any known gene. Expression of some ESTs was analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR and IAA-ala hydrolase (IAR3), folylpolyglutamate synthase (FPGS3), and two not annotated ESTs (GhHS126 and GhHS128) were consistently up-regulated under both short- and long-term heat stress. Since cotton is considered relatively more heat tolerant than most of the other crops, it can be suggested that these genes and ESTs could play a significant role in heat tolerance. In addition, GhHS126 and GhHS128 might be parts of the new candidate genes for heat tolerance.