Potential Inherited Causes of Recurrent Prosthetic Mitral Valve Thrombosis in a Pregnant Patient Suffering from Recurrent Miscarriage

Macit Kalcik,M. Ozan Gursoy,Suleyman Karakoyun,Mahmut Yesin,Mehmet Ali Astarcioglu,Mehmet Ozkan 대한심장학회 2014 Korean Circulation Journal Vol.44 No.4

An effective anticoagulation is critical in pregnant patients with prosthetic heart valves. Inherited disorders may interfere with the coagu-lation cascade and may be associated with obstetrical complications as well as with prosthetic valve-derived complications. The patient inthe present case had a history of recurrent prosthetic heart valve thrombosis (PHVT) despite an effective anticoagulation. She underwenta thrombolysis with low-dose prolonged infusion of tissue-type plasminogen activator for the management of her recurrrent prostheticvalve thrombosis. The genetic testing showed homozygous mutations of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) A 1298 C andheterozygous mutations of ß-fibrinogen 455 G-A. Inherited disorders such as MTHFR A 1298 C and fibrinogen 455G/A polymorphismsmay be involved in the pathogenesis of recurrent PHVT and/or pregnancy loss.

Natural Rate of Unemployment and the Flexibility of the Labor Markets

( Fatih Macit ) 한양대학교 경제연구소 2012 JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH Vol.17 No.1

In this paper I investigate how the natural rate of unemployment is affected from various institutions of the labor market. I find that union density, benefit replacement rate, expenditure on ac- tive labor market policies per unemployed person, and employ- ment protection legislation play a significant role in explaining the differences in long-term unemployment rates across the OECD countries. Besides that, I also look at whether the vacancy rate and the participation rate are affected from the structure of the la- bor markets. An increase in the employment protection legislation index and union density generate a decline in the vacancy rate. As far as the participation rate is concerned, an increase in the employment protection legislation index and benefit replacement rate increase the inactivity rate, whereas an increase in expen- diture on active labor market policies causes an increase in the participation rate.

Tertiary Cytoreduction for Recurrent Epithelial Ovarian Cancer: a Multicenter Study in Turkey

Arvas, Macit,Salihoglu, Yavuz,Sal, Veysel,Gungor, Tayfun,Sozen, Hamdullah,Kahramanoglu, Ilker,Topuz, Samet,Demirkiran, Fuat,Iyibozkurt, Cem,Bese, Tugan,Ozgu, Burcin Salman,Vatansever, Dogan,Tokgozoglu Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2016 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.17 No.4

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine the benefit of tertiary cytoreductive surgery (TC) for secondary recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), focusing on whether optimal cytoreduction has an impact on disease-free survival, and whether certain patient characteristics could identify ideal candidates for TC. Materials and Methods: Retrospective analysis of secondary recurrent EOC patients undergoing TC at three Turkish tertiary institutions from May 1997 to July 2014 was performed. All patients had previously received primary cytoreduction followed by intravenous platinum-based chemotherapy and secondary cytoreduction for first recurrence. Clinical and pathological data were obtained from the patients' medical records. Survival analysis was caried out using the Kaplan Meier method. Actuarial curves were compared by the two tailed Logrank test with a statistical significance level of 0.05. Results: Median age of the patients was 49.6 years (range, 30-67) and thirty-eight (72%) had stage III-IV disease at initial diagnosis. Twenty six (49%) had optimal and 27 (51%) suboptimal cytoreduction during tertiary debulking surgery. Optimal initial cytoreduction, time to first recurrence, optimal secondary cytoreduction, time interval between secondary cytoreduction and secondary recurrence, size of recurrence, disease status at last follow-up were found to be significant risk factors to predict optimal TC. Optimal cytoreduction in initial and tertiary surgery and serum CA-125 level prior to TC were independent prognostic factors on univariate analysis. Conclusions: Our results and a literature review clearly showed that maximal surgical effort should be made in TC, since patients undergoing optimal TC have a better survival. Thus, patients with secondary recurrent EOC in whom optimal cytoreduction can be achieved should be actively selected.

Kefir Improves the Efficacy and Tolerability of Triple Therapy in Eradicating Helicobacter pylori

Onder Bekar,Yusuf Yilmaz,Macit Gulten 한국식품영양과학회 2011 Journal of medicinal food Vol.14 No.4

Preliminary evidence has suggested that probiotics may improve eradication rates in patients infected with Helicobacter pylori treated by triple therapy. This study examined the effect of combining triple therapy with kefir, a fermented milk drink containing probiotics. A randomized, double-blind study was carried out on 82 consecutive patients with symptoms of dyspepsia and H. pylori infection confirmed by the urea breath test. Patients were given a two times a day, 14-day course of lansoprazole (30 mg), amoxicillin (1,000 mg), and clarithromycin (500 mg) with either 250 mL of kefir twice daily (triple therapy + kefir, n = 46) or 250 mL of milk containing placebo (triple therapy + placebo, n = 36). Side effects were determined using a standard questionnaire form at 15 days after beginning treatment. Patients returned for urea breath tests 45 days after beginning treatment. Significantly more triple therapy + kefir patients achieved eradication (36 of 46 [78.2%]) compared with triple therapy + placebo patients (18 of 36 [50.0%]) (P = .026, χ^2 test). Side effects were significantly less frequent and less severe in triple therapy + kefir patients than in triple therapy + placebo patients. We conclude that a 14-day regimen of triple therapy with kefir is more effective in achieving H. pylori eradication than is triple therapy alone.

The Effects of Raw and Physical Processed Common Vetch Seed (Vicia sativa) on Laying Performance, Egg Quality, Metabolic Parameters and Liver Histopatology of Laying Hens

Kaya, Hatice,Celebi, S.,Macit, M.,Geyikoglu, F. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2011 Animal Bioscience Vol.24 No.10

This experiment was designed to evaluate the effects of the processing method of common vetch seed (CVS) (Vicia sativa) on laying performance, egg quality, metabolic parameters and liver histopatology during the peak production period in hens. Lohman layers, 46 wk of age in 6 replicate cages each containing 4 hens, were allocated randomly to one of four dietary treatments. Diets were control (C) diet containing no common vetch and experimental diets containing 25% raw common vetch (RCV), 25% soaked in water for 72 h with exchange of water every 24 h (SCV) and 25% soaked&boiled at $100^{\circ}C$ for 30 minute common vetch (SBCV). Inclusion of RCV into the diet deteriorated all laying performance variables. SCV did not alleviate the adverse effect of raw common vetch on feed intake, egg weight, feed conversion, final weight and weight change. SCV partially alleviated egg production (p<0.001). SBCV diminished the adverse effect on feed intake, egg weight, feed conversion, final weight and weight change compared to raw vicia sativa (p<0.001). No significant difference was detected between SBCV and the control group in terms of egg production, feed conversion, final weight and weight change. Regardless of the processing method, all the common vetch groups had lower shell strength compared to the control group. Haugh units did differ between all groups (p<0.001). Inclusion of RCV and SCV into the basal diet decreased triglyceride, cholesterol, total protein and serum glucose concentrations (p<0.001). Hovewer, inclusion of SBCV into the basal diet increased these parameters. Liver samples were stained with Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) and evaluated by light microscopy. A biopsy of native liver tissue was used as a control. No histopathologic finding was present in the control group. Raw V. sativa compared with the control caused lipid accumulations in hepatocytes, severe congestion of hepatic blood vessels, inflammation, increased numbers of Kupffer cells and sinusoidal dilatations. Whereas, the livers from groups given treated V. sativa showed only different degrees of sinusoidal dilatations. Findings from the present study point out the risk of increased hepatic damage due to use of raw Vicia sativa. Increasing treatment of V. sativa lead to a decrease of liver damages. Inclusion of raw and soaked vetch seeds in rations affected adversely all parameters examined in laying hens. But alleviation was observed when soaked and boiled vetch seeds (SBCV) were fed. The results of these experiments indicated that soaked&boiled Vicia sativa seeds may safely be used at a 25% level in rations of laying hens.

Nutrition Practice to Alleviate the Adverse Effects of Stress on Laying Performance, Metabolic Profile, and Egg Quality in Peak Producing Hens: I. The Humate Supplementation

Hayirli, Armagan,Esenbuga, N.,Macit, M.,Lacin, E.,Karaoglu, M.,Karaca, H.,Yildiz, L. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2005 Animal Bioscience Vol.18 No.9

This experiment was conducted to determine the effects of cage density (CD) and humate supplementation (HS) on laying performance, metabolic profile, and egg quality during the peak production period in hens. Lohman layers (n = 180, 46 wks of age) were blocked according to the location of cages and then allocated randomly to two levels of CD (4 or 6 hens per cage or 540 vs. 360 $cm^2$/hen) and three levels of HS (0, 0.15, and 0.30%). Egg production (EP) and feed consumption (FC) were measured daily; egg weight was measured bi-weekly; and BW was measured before and after the experiment. Blood and additional egg samples were obtained at the end of the experiment for determination of metabolic profile and egg quality. The data were analyzed using two-way ANOVA as repeated measures. Except for FC, CD did not affect laying performance parameters. Hens placed in high-density cages had lower FC than hens placed in normal-density cages. Increasing HS level linearly increased FC, EP, and feed conversion ratio (FCR). There was a CD by HS interaction effect on FC and EP. Hens placed in high-density cages had greater serum glucose, total protein, albumin, globulin, Ca, and P concentrations and tended to have greater serum corticosterone concentration than hens placed in normaldensity cages. Increasing HS level linearly increased serum glucose, total protein, albumin, globulin, creatine, and Ca concentrations and linearly decreased serum triglyceride and very low-density lipoprotein concentrations. There was a CD by HS interaction effect on serum glucose and albumin concentrations. There were no alterations in egg quality parameters in response to increasing CD. Albumen index and Haugh unit decreased linearly and other egg quality parameters did not change as HS level increased. In conclusion, increased caging density adversely affected metabolic profile, despite insignificantly deteriorating laying performance. Moreover, benefits from humate supplementation seem to be more noteworthy for hens housed in stressing conditions than for hens housed in standard conditions.

Nutrition Practice to Alleviate the Adverse Effects of Stress on Laying Performance, Metabolic Profile and Egg Quality in Peak Producing Hens: II. The Probiotic Supplementation

Hayirli, Armagan,Esenbuga, N.,Macit, M.,Yoruk, M.A.,Yildiz, A.,Karaca, H. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2005 Animal Bioscience Vol.18 No.12

In this experiment, the effects of cage density (CD) and probiotic supplementation (PS) on laying performance, metabolic profile, and egg quality in peak-producing hens were evaluated. After blocking according to the cage location, Lohman layers (n = 180, 46 wks of age) were allocated randomly to two levels of CD (540 vs. 360 $cm^2$/hen) and three levels of PS (0, 0.15, and 0.30%). Probiotic contained Enterococcus faecium culture (10${\times}$10$^9$ cfu/g). Egg production (EP) and feed consumption (FC) were measured daily; egg weight (EW) was measured bi-weekly; BW was measured before and after the experiment; and blood samples were obtained at the end of the experiment. The data were analyzed using two-way ANOVA. Increasing CD decreased FC (125.0 vs. 120.8 g/d, p<0.0001) and FCR (1.93 vs. 1.87, p<0.0001) and did not alter EP, EW, and BW. Increasing level of PS linearly decreased FC (p<0.02) and FCR (p<0.006). Averages were 123.9, 123.2, and 121.6 g/d for FC and 1.91, 1.92, and 1.86 for FCR in hens supplemented with 0, 0.15, and 0.30% probiotic, respectively. Hens placed in high-density cages had greater serum corticosterone concentration than hens placed in normal-density cages (12.8 vs. 11.3 $\mu$g/dL, p<0.04); CD did not affect concentrations of other metabolites. Increasing level of PS linearly increased serum glucose, albumin, and creatine concentrations and quadratically increased total protein, globulin, Ca, and P concentrations. Average concentrations (mg/dL) were 260, 297, and 305 for glucose; 6.28, 8.09, and 7.58 for total protein; 1.98, 2.48, and 2.38 for albumin; 4.30, 5.62, and 5.19 for globulin; 0.40, 0.52, and 0.54 for creatine; 16.0, 16.5, and 16.3 for Ca; and 6.27, 8.14, and 7.17 for P in hens supplemented with 0, 0.15, and 0.30% probiotic, respectively. There was no effect of CD on egg quality. Increasing level of PS linearly improved yolk color (YC) and quadratically increased albumen index (AI) and Haugh unit (HU). The mean values were 9.67, 9.75, and 10.58 for YC; 8.94, 6.93, and 8.72% for AI; and 85.6, 74.9, and 82.9 for HU for hens supplemented with 0, 0.15, and 0.30% probiotic, respectively. There was also CD by PS effect on FC, EP, and serum glucose, total protein, albumin, globulin, creatine, Ca and P concentrations. In conclusion, increased CD partially depressed laying performance and caused stress. Probiotic supplementation improved laying performance and metabolic profile. It also partially alleviated the adverse effects of stress resulting from increased caging density.

pH and Colour Characteristics of Carcasses of Broilers Fed with Dietary Probiotics and Slaughtered at Different Ages

Karaoglu, Mevulut,Aksu, M.I.,Esenbuga, N.,Macit, M.,Durdag, H. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2006 Animal Bioscience Vol.19 No.4

The objective of the present experiment was to determine the effects of slaughtering at different ages and the use of a commercial probiotic (115-Biogallinox) in broiler diets on the color properties of carcasses, during the first 24 h following slaughter. Ross 308 male broiler chickens obtained from a commercial hatchery were raised to either 35 or 42 days of age. Chickens were fed with different levels of probiotic ($P_0$: 0.0%, $P_1$: 0.1% and $P_2$: 0.2%) containing Saccharomyces cerevisiae during the experimental period. At the end of the trial all birds were slaughtered and then stored at $3^{\circ}C$ for 24 h. The pH and skin colour of carcasses were determined 1, 3, 7, 10, 13, 17 and 24 h after slaughter. Although the use of probiotic and post-mortem ageing time affected the pH (p<0.01), it was not affected by slaughter age (35 and 42 days) (p>0.05). The highest pH values occurred in carcasses of broilers fed 0.2% probiotic. The pH values of carcasses decreased with post-mortem ageing time (p<0.01). Main factors (treatment, slaughter age and post-mortem ageing time) had an effect on colour ($L^*$, $a^*$ and $b^*$) values (p<0.01). $L^*$ values of 42d-old slaughter and $P_2$ group were lower than those of 35d-old slaughter and other probiotic groups. The $a^*$ and $b^*$ values of 35d-old slaughter were lower than those of 42d-old slauhgter. The $a^*$ and $b^*$ values increased during post-mortem ageing (p<0.01). It was determined that changing of the colour traits of broiler carcasses was correlated with probiotic, pH and post-mortem ageing time. Also, it was observed that darkness of carcass colour increased as time progressed.

Comparison of Diagnostic Accuracies of Serum HE-4 Levels and 3D Power Doppler Angiography Parameters between Benign Endometrial Pathologies and Endometrial Cancer

Erenel, Hakan,Bese, Tugan,Sal, Veysel,Demirkiran, Fuat,Arvas, Macit Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2016 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.17 No.5

Purpose: To study the diagnostic accuracies of serum human epididymis protein 4 (HE-4) levels, virtual organ computer-aided analysis (VOCAL) parameters and endometrial volume in endometrial cancer cases. Materials and Methods: One hundred and seven patients (37 with endometrial cancer and 70 with benign endometrial pathology) were included in this study. VOCAL parameters and serum HE-4 levels were compared between the groups. Results: Area under the curve (AUC) values were 0.702, 0.658, 0.706 for vascularization index (VI), the flow index (FI) and the vascularization flow index (VFI), respectively. A cut off value of 0.568 for VI demonstrated 70% sensitivity, 72% specificity, 56% positive predictive value (PPV) and a81% negative predictive value (NPV). A cut off value of 25.8 for showed a senitivith of 70% and a specificity of 58% with aPPV of 46% and NPV of 78%, and with a cut off value of 0.12 for VFI 70%, 69%, 54% and 81%, respectively. The area under the curve for HE-4 was 0.814. A cut off value of 458 pmol/L was predictive of malignancy with 86% sensitivity and 63% specificity. Conclusions: VOCAL parameters and serum HE-4 levels were statistically significantly higher in the endometrial cancer patients. Serum HE-4 levels provided a greater sensitivity compared to power doppler angiography for predicting malignancy or benign endometrial pathology.

Comparison of total plasma lysophosphatidic acid and serum CA-125 as a tumor marker in the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with epithelial ovarian cancer

TUGAN BESE,Merve Barbaros,Elif Baykara,Onur Guralp,Salih Cengiz,Fuat Demirkiran,Cevdet Sanioglu,Macit Arvas 대한부인종양학회 2010 Journal of Gynecologic Oncology Vol.21 No.4

Objective: To evaluate the role of lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) as a tumor marker in diagnosis and follow-up of patients with epithelial ovarian cancer. Methods: Eighty-seven epithelial ovarian cancer patients, 74 benign ovarian tumor patients, and 50 healthy women were enrolled in the study. Twenty-nine of 87 epithelial ovarian cancer patients were followed up for 6 cycles of paclitaxel-carboplatin chemotherapy. CA-125 and total plasma LPA levels were measured preoperatively and before each chemotherapy cycle. Results: Preoperative total plasma LPA and serum CA-125 levels were significantly higher in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer compared to patients with benign ovarian tumors and healthy women. Cut-off value for LPA was determined as 1.3 μmol/L and sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 95%,92%, 95% and 92%, respectively. Mean total plasma LPA level of 29 patients who received chemotherapy was 7.21±6.63μmol/L preoperatively and 6.84±6.34 μmol/L, 6.34±5.92 μmol/L, 6.14±5.79 μmol/L, 5.86±5.68 μmol/L, 5.23±5.11μmol/L and 5.21±5.32 μmol/L in measurements held just before the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th chemotherapy cycles,respectively (ANOVA, p=0.832). Total plasma LPA levels decreased slightly with chemotherapy administration and there was a weak negative correlation (Spearman, rs=−0.151, p=0.034), compared to a significant negative correlation in CA-125 (Spearman, rs=−0.596, p<0.001). Conclusion: LPA is a better biomarker for diagnosis of epithelial ovarian cancer compared to CA-125. However, measurement of total plasma LPA levels during chemotherapy administration have no superiority to the serum CA-125 levels.