Ginger (zingiber officinale) might improve female fertility: A rat model

Background

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is a well known and extensively used antioxidant in traditional remedies. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of ginger powder on ovarian folliculogenesis and implantation in rats.

Gaseous distension of the urinary bag during CO2 laparoscopy in the usual operative settings: Does the CO2 diffuse into the urinary bladder or is it a sign of urinary tract injury?

ObjectiveTo compare the amounts of any clinically detectable gas passage into the urinary bag in laparoscopic and open surgeries.MethodsSeventy-nine women were allocated into two surgical groups; Group 1: carbon dioxide (CO₂) laparoscopy (n=37) and Group 2: gasless laparoscopy or laparotomy (n=42). All patients had urinary catheter during the surgeries. After checking the tightness of the connection of the urinary catheter and bag operations were performed. At the end of each surgery the urine volumes were recorded. The bags were immersed into a water containing container with a volume scale. The volume rise of the container was recorded. The valve of the outlet of the bag was turned on under the water and any leakage of air bubbles was observed. The final volume of the container was recorded once again while the bag was still in the water. The two groups were compared by using the Student's t or Mann Whitney U tests.ResultsWe did not observe and hence measure any gas accumulation in the urine bags of both groups. The women's ages, total intraoperative urine volume, urine production rate and total operative times of the groups were not significantly different. The mean operative time was (82.98±62.14) min in open surgeries and (73.46±52.74) minutes in CO₂ laparoscopic surgeries. The difference between the groups was not significant (P=0.468).ConclusionsAny gas accumulation in the urine bag during CO₂ laparoscopic surgery should raise the suspicion of urinary tract injury. Urinary catheterization helps to diagnose the unnoticed bladder injuries.     

Congenital Horner’s Syndrome Associated with Unilateral Agenesis of the Internal Carotid Artery and Unusual Aortic Arch Anomaly

Unilateral congenital agenesis of the internal carotid artery (ICA) is a very rare vascular anomaly. Rarely, congenital Horners syndrome has been associated with agenesis of the ICA. This article describes a rare case of congenital Horners syndrome in a patient with ICA agenesis and very unusual aortic arch anomaly. This study was done at Zonguldak Karaelmas University, Faculty of Medicine, No financial support was required for this study.     

Compliance With Dyslipidemia Guidelines in Daily Practice: How Effective Is Cardiovascular Risk Prevention?

Purpose

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) due to atherosclerosis is the leading cause of early mortality and morbidity. The current European guidelines on CVD prevention in clinical practice recommend the use of the Systematic Coronary Risk Estimation (SCORE) system. The current American Heart Association guidelines recommend the use of the new pooled cohort risk assessment equations to estimate the 10-year atherosclerotic CVD risk. The purpose of this article was to investigate the compliance of dyslipidemia guidelines in daily practice in patients with dyslipidemia or who have risk factors for CVD.

2011—2020年安徽省钉螺分布时空分析

目的　分析2011—2020年安徽省钉螺分布时空特征,为全省钉螺精准防控提供参考。方法　收集2011—2020年安徽省实有钉螺面积、新发钉螺面积和感染性钉螺面积等钉螺分布指标并进行描述性分析,对实有和新发钉螺面积进行空间自相关、热点分析、标准差椭圆分析及时空扫描等分析,探索安徽省钉螺聚集与扩散高风险区。结果　2011—2020年,安徽省实有钉螺面积逐渐降低。2020年全省实有钉螺面积26 238.85 hm2,主要分布在湖沼型血吸虫病流行区。各年份间新发钉螺面积波动较大,2016年最高（1 287.65 hm2）;2020年在池州市贵池区新发现1.96 hm2感染性钉螺面积。空间自相关和热点分析显示,2011—2020年安徽省实有钉螺面积分布具有空间聚集性（Z = 3.00 ~ 3.43,P均 < 0.01）,热点主要集中在湖沼型流行区并沿长江南岸分布;冷点主要集中在皖南山区。2011—2020年安徽省新发钉螺面积分布在整体上不存在空间聚集性（Z = -2.20 ~ 1.71,P均> 0.05）,局部呈散点分布。标准差椭圆分析显示,2011—2020年安徽省实有钉螺面积分布相对稳定,与长江流向一致;新发钉螺面积分布重心逐渐从长江安徽段下游向上游移动。时空扫描分析显示,2011—2020年安徽省实有钉螺面积两个高值聚集区以从长江安徽段下游到中游的顺序出现;新发钉螺面积两个高值聚集区聚集时间和范围类似,均分布在山区。结论　2011—2020年安徽省钉螺分布呈空间聚集性,存在向长江南岸、上游聚集的趋势,但山区钉螺扩散问题亦不容忽视,需加强对山区和长江沿岸新发钉螺孳生地的监测力度。     

Evaluation of thrombotic children with malignancy

The purpose of this study was to evaluate inherited and acquired prothrombotic risk factors among children with malignancies who have thrombosis and emphasize the importance of inherited prothrombotic risk factors. Thirty-seven consecutive children with thrombosis and malignancy were included in this study. The patients were evaluated separately for time of development of thrombosis, insertion of a central venous line (CVL), history of l-asparaginase usage, and recent infections. Prothrombotic risk factors such as factor V G1691A and prothrombin G20210A mutation, protein C, protein S, antithrombin III deficiencies, factor VIII and lipoprotein(a) elevation, and antiphospholipid antibodies were analyzed for all patients. Of 387 children with thrombosis, 37 (9.5%) had a malignancy. Thrombosis was detected in 9 patients at the time of diagnosis, during maintenance therapy in 25 patients, and after the discontinuation of treatment in 3 patients. One or two additional prothrombotic risk factors other than l-asparaginase therapy and insertion of central venous lines were present in 20 of these patients (54%). It was found that eight patients had the factor V G1691A mutation in the heterozygote state. One of them had the factor V G1691A mutation associated with a history of infection and one patient had the factor V G1691A mutation associated with factor VIII elevation. One had the the prothrombin G20210A mutation in the heterozygote state, four had lipoprotein(a) elevation, two had factor VIII elevation, one had a decreased protein S level, one had a decreased protein C level, one had antiphospholipid positivity, and two had histories of infection. Malignancy is an important risk factor for the development of childhood thrombosis. However, the risk of thrombosis increases when accompanied by additional prothrombotic risk factors. For this reason, especially children with malignancy and at high risk for the development of thrombosis, such as those who have received l-asparaginase or a replaced CVL during their therapy, might be screened for additional prothrombotic risk factors and appropriate measures might be taken to prevent the development of thrombosis.     

Cardiac involvement in childhood polyarteritis nodosa

In this report, we evaluated the cardiac findings of 15 children with polyarteritis nodosa. The age range of the patients was 4–14 years; with a mean of 10 years. All have had systemic involvement of the disease. The most common findings in cardiac evaluation were diminished left ventricular systolic functions and mild mitral and/or tricuspid valve regurgitation. One patient had pericardial thickening with no effusion. One had sinus tachycardia. There were no signs of myocardial infarction or ischemia clinically or electrocardiographically. In conclusion, we did not find cardiac complications, such as pericarditis or myocardial infarction, to be as frequent as in previous reports. However, even in asymptomatic patients, systolic dysfunction or valvular involvement were common findings in patients with polyarteritis nodosa, which were not reported previously. These findings may be due to the histological changes of the myocardium or atrioventricular valves. Although these were not severe and fatal lesions, long-term follow-up of these patients with echocardiography may help to determine the course of cardiac involvement.