Abstract:Objective: To study the occurrence of bacterial translocation and to assess the impact of breastfeeding on bacterial translocation in the animal model of necrotizing enterocolitis. Methods: A total of 20 neonate Sprague-Dawley rats were enrolled in the study. Rats were randomly allocated into either control or study group just after birth. Ten newborn rats in the control group were left with their mother to be breast-fed. In contrary, necrotizing enterocolitis group consisted of neonates that were separated from their mothers, housed in an incubator and were gavaged with a special rodent formula three times daily. Survival rates, weight changes, and morphologic scoring obtained after microscopic evaluation were determined as microbiologic evaluation criteria. Results: All the rats in the control group survived, while 1 (10 %) rat died in the necrotizing enterocolitis group. Mortality rates of the two groups were similar. All the formula-fed animals in the necrotizing enterocolitis group had signifi cant weight loss compared to the breast milk-fed rats in the control group (p<0.05). A total of 7 (70 %) and 2 (20 %) E. coli growths were identifi ed in the bowel lumen, liver, and spleen of necrotizing enterocolitis and control groups, respectively. This difference was statistically signifi cant. In peritoneal smear cultures, a total of 3 (30 %) growths were detected in the necrotizing enterocolitis group and 1 (10 %) growth in the control group. Conclusion: As the result of a disturbance in the intestinal fl ora and impairment of the intestinal barrier in necrotizing enterocolitis, microrganisms in the bowel pass through the intestinal barrier and reach the liver and the spleen via the hematogenous route. This condition is closely related to the impairment of physiological and functional features of the intestinal barrier and is independent from the degree of intestinal injury. Bacterial translocation should be remembered in cases suspected of necrotizing enterocolitis, and a rapid and effective treatment algorithm should be applied in such circumstances (Tab. 3, Fig. 3, Ref. 21). Full Text in PDF www.elis.sk.

Objectives: This study aims to evaluate of patients with acute cholecystitis in terms of clinical and laboratory parameters. Patients and methods: Fifty-five patients (14 males, 41 females; mean age 60.5±16.4 years; range 18 to 83 years) who admitted Emergency Department with complaint of abdominal pain and diagnosed as acute cholecystitis between January 2012 and January 2015 were included in this study. The patients with missing information on patient files were excluded from the study. Results: The most common complaint was pain of right upper quadrant and the most common accompanied symptom was nausea-vomiting. The most common imaging technique was USG (60%) and the percentage of patients who received medical treatment was 42.8% and the percentage of patients with surgical treatment was 58.2%. The mean neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was 5.37±4.9. There was no statistically significant correlation between NLR and age, sex and treatment (p>0.05). Conclusion: The predictors of acute cholecystitis are right upper quadrant abdominal pain, accompanied by nausea-vomiting, the positivity of Murphy sign and the elevations of white blood cell count, C-reactive protein and NLR.

Objective: Stroke is an important cause of morbidity and mortality and has an increasing trend in the emergency department. It has become crucial to treat ischemic stroke with thrombolytic therapy. We reviewed the findings of the initial examinations, arrival times, clinical and demographic characteristics of stroke patients in our emergency department. Material and Methods:One hundred forty-seven stroke patients who registered at the emergency department within the first 24 hours were included in this study. Parameters, such as stroke type, age, gender, medical history, arrival complaints, application time, hospitalization department, and time, were recorded.Results: Patients' mean age was 66.01±13.07 years (ischemic stroke: 85.7%, hemorrhagic stroke: 14.3%). No significant difference was observed between the ages, arrival complaints, and stroke types. The main risk factor was hypertension. While ischemic stroke patients were typically brought in the morning time, the hemorrhagic stroke patients were brought in the afternoon. While the common complaint of ischemic stroke patients was hemiparesis/plegia, hemorrhagic stroke patients mostly complained of impairment/loss of consciousness. Conclusion:The majority of stroke patients came with numerous clinical hallmarks that help in the diagnosis. Since early medical intervention is life-saving, evaluation of these clinical clues of the patient in a short time is the key to lifesaving treatment. (JAEM 2014; 13: 135-8)

Heavy metals are one of the components that threaten human health and the ecosystem the most among the components of air pollution, which has become a global problem. Sulfur, an important air pollutant, is not only a serious threat to human health at high concentrations, but also extremely dangerous for the ecosystem and constitutes a significant part of the pollutant load in many cities. Therefore, monitoring the change of sulfur pollution in the air is very important. In this study, the usability of Cedrus atlantica annual rings was investigated in observing the change in sulfur pollution in the air. Within the scope of the study, samples taken from a Cedrus atlantica tree grown in Düzce, one of Europe's 5 most polluted cities, were analyzed, and the change of sulfur concentration from the past to the present was investigated. As a result of the study, the highest concentrations were obtained in the outer bark and north direction. In addition, it has been found that there has been a substantial increase in sulfur pollution in recent years.