BACKGROUND:Elevated serum uric acid levels and increased arginase activity are risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (CVD). The aim of the present study was to investigate effects of serum uric acid levels on the arginase pathway in women with metabolic syndrome (MetS).METHODS:Serum arginase activity, and nitrite and uric acid levels were measured in 48 women with MetS and in 20 healthy controls. The correlation of these parameters with components of MetS was also evaluated.RESULTS:Our data show statistically higher arginase activity and uric acid levels but lower nitrite levels in women with MetS compared to controls. Serum uric acid levels were negatively correlated with HDL cholesterol, nitrite levels and positively with Body Mass Index, waist to hip ratio, triglyceride and total cholesterol levels, systolic blood pressure, Homeostasis Model Assessment-Insulin Resistance-Index, serum arginase activity, and LDL-cholesterol levels in women with MetS.CONCLUSION:Results of the present study suggest that serum uric acid levels may contribute to the pathogenesis of MetS through a process mediated by arginase pathway, and serum arginase activity and nitrite and uric acid levels can be used as indicators of CVD in women with MetS.

The present study aimed to compare the effect of gender difference on hemodynamic consequences in the development of monocrotaline (MCT)-induced pulmonary hypertension in rat. The effect of antioxidant enzyme systems on the development of pulmonary hypertension mediated by the phytotoxin MCT and the effect of gender on these antioxidant systems were also investigated. For this purpose, the right ventricular pressures (RVPs) and right ventricular/heart weight (HW) ratios were compared between groups and the glutathione (GSH) level and superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activities were determined in lung and liver tissue samples of rats. RVP and right ventricular/HW ratios significantly increased in the MCT group compared to the control group. In the MCT group, RVP was significantly higher in males than females. MCT-induced pulmonary hypertension resulted in decreased GSH level, decreased GST and SOD activities and increased CAT activity in lung and liver tissues of both male and female rats. In addition, the lung and liver GSH level and GST and SOD levels were higher in female control rats compared to male control rats. The results of the present study, that antioxidant enzyme activities were different between the groups, highlight the possible role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of MCT-induced pulmonary hypertension in rats. Moreover, the lower antioxidant defense capacity of male rats than female rats may be considered as a cause of more aggressive course of MCT-induced pulmonary hypertension in males compared to females.

<正>该研究旨在比较野百合碱诱导大鼠形成肺动脉高压过程中,性别差异对血流动力学的影响,同时评估抗氧化酶系统对野百合碱诱导的肺动脉高压发生的影响,以及性别对抗氧化酶系统的影响。方法:比较组间

The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of antiseptics meatal care in preventing catheter-related urinary tract infections (UTIs) in patients with an indwelling urinary catheter in the intensive care unit of Osmangazi University Medical School. One hundred patients were divided into four groups (25 per group) and treated with once or twice daily application of chlorhexidine gluconate or povidone–iodine. A control group was also studied (N=30). Urine samples were taken weekly and cultures were evaluated quantitatively. Meatal swabs were obtained on the first, fifth, and 10th day and determinated semiquantitatively. UTI was defined as bacteriuria with 105 cfu/L. Cultures showing no growth or mixed growths were stated as negative for UTI. UTI developed in 16 patients on days two, three, four, five and seven (including control group). Dominant micro-organisms in the meatal area were found to be Candida species. In nine cases the causative agents of UTI were Candida species. It was therefore decided that the use of antiseptics to clean the periurethral area provides no benefit in decreasing the rate of bacteriuria.

A simple, precise, rapid, and accurate reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) method has been developed for the determination of sildenafil citrate (SLD) in pharmaceutical dosage forms and spiked human plasma. Chromatography was carried out on a C-18 reversed-phase column, using a mixture of acetonitrile:water(45:55, v/v) as a mobile phase at a flow rate of 1 mL . min(-1). Phenobarbital sodium was used as an internal standard (IS) and detected using a diode array detector at 220 nm. Retention times of SLD and IS were 7.2 and 3.2 min, respectively. The linear range of SLD was found to be 5 x 10(-8)-1 X 10(-5)mol . L-1. Limit of quantitation (LOQ) and limit of detection (LOD) were calculated to be 7.5 x 10(-8) and 2.2 x 10(-8) mol . L-1, respectively. The method was validated for its linearity, precision, accuracy, stability, robustness, and ruggedness. The proposed method was applied to sildenafil tablets and spiked human plasma. In addition, the results were compared with those obtained from UV-spectrophotometry.