This study was planned to examine the effect of blue light exposure and exposure time on puberty. Eighteen 21-day-old female Sprague Dawley rats were divided into three groups consisting of six rats in each group: Control Group (CG), Blue Light-6 hours (BL-6), and Blue Light-12 hours (BL-12). CG rats were maintained with 12/12-hour light-dark cycles. The rats of BL-6 and BL-12 were exposed to blue light(450-470nm/irradiance level 0.03uW/cm2) for 6 hours and 12 hours, respectively. Rats were exposed to blue light until the first signs of puberty. Serum FSH, LH, Estradiol, testosterone, DHEA-S, leptin, and melatonin were studied by the ELISA method. Ovaries and uterus were dissected for histomorphological examination. The medians of the pubertal entry days of the CG, BL-6, and BL-12 were 38^th,32^th, and 30^th days, respectively (p:0.001). The FSH, testosterone, DHEA-S, and leptin concentrations of all groups were similar. However, LH and estradiol concentrations of BL-6 were higher compared to CG. There was a negative correlation between blue light exposure, exposure time, and melatonin concentrations (r=-0.537, p=0.048). Ovarian tissue was compatible with the pubertal period in all groups. As the blue light exposure time increased, capillary dilatation and edema in the ovarian tissue increased. Prolonged exposure caused polycystic ovary-like (PCO) morphological changes and apoptosis in granulosa cells. Our study is the first to show the effects of blue light exposure on puberty. Our study showed that exposure to blue light and the duration of exposure lead to early puberty in female rats. As the duration of blue light exposure increased, PCO-like, inflammation, and apoptosis were detected in the ovaries.

This study was planned to determine the effects of carob use on puberty because of the observation of early puberty or pubertal variants due to the long-term use of carob in our clinic. Forty-eight Wistar albino rats, on postnatal day 21, were assigned into two groups female (n=24) and male (n=24). Groups were divided into four groups Control, and Carob-150, Carob-300, and Carob-600. Ceratonia siliqua L. extract was given to rats in a 0.5% carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) solution. CMC (0.5%) was given to the control, Ceratonia siliqua L. extract was given 150 mg/kg/day to the Carob-150, 300 mg/kg/day to the Carob-300, 600 mg/kg/day to the Carob-600 by oral gavage. The treatments were performed once daily until the first sign of puberty. Serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol, total testosterone, leptin, glutathione, glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and malondialdehyde were measured by commercial rat-specific ELISA kits. Testis, uterus and ovarian tissue were examined histologically. The median time of preputial separation in male rats was ^38th, 31^st, 31^st, and 31^st days in the Control, Carob-150, Carob-300, and Carob-600 groups, respectively (p=0.004). The median day of vaginal opening day was the 39^th, 31^st, 34^th, and 31^st days in the Control, Carob-150, Carob-300, and Carob-600 groups, respectively (p=0.059). FSH, LH, testosterone (male), estradiol (female) and leptin levels of the groups were similar. However, GPx levels were higher in male and female animals given C. siliqua extract compared to the Control (male p=0.001 and female p=0.008). Testicular and ovarian tissues were concordant with the pubertal period in all groups. As the dose of Ceratonia siliqua extract increased, it induced spermatogenesis and spermiogenesis, causing abnormal changes, such as ondulation in the basement membrane, capillary dilatation, and increased congestion in males. In females, edema in the medulla gradually increased with increased dosage, and granulosa cell connections were separated in Carob-300 and Carob-600 groups. This study demonstrated that C. siliqua caused early puberty and increased spermiogenesis and folliculogenesis. Antioxidant mechanisms were impaired with increasing dose, possibly leading to tissue damage at high doses.

Objectives: Autoverification (AV) is releasing laboratory results using predefined rules. AV standardizes the verification of laboratory results, improves turnaround time (TAT), detects errors in the total test process, and enables effective use of laboratory staff. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the outcomes of implementing the AV in a tertiary hospital. Methods: The study was performed in Gazi University Health Research and Application Hospital, Core Biochemistry Laboratory, between August 2017 and October 2019. Step by step, AV algorithms were designed and implemented via middleware for 29 clinical biochemistry tests. A comprehensive validation was performed before the AV system was run. Initially, AV system was tested with datasets and simulated patients (dry testing). Next, samples that may violate AV rules were tested anonymously with no-named trial barcodes (wet testing). Finally, validation of the system was performed with real patients, while the AV was running in the background but not active (i.e., while the manual verification was still going on). After all these steps were successful, the system was started. Results: In the daytime, AV rates were ≥75 % for 23 of 29 tests. In night-shift, AV rates were ≥70 % for 16 of 25 tests. Report-based performance was found 26 % for daytime. TAT in the daytime decreased after AV implementation. Conclusions: Although this is the first time we have implemented the AV, a significant percentage of the tests have been verified. However, approaches that will increase the percentage of report-based verification will enhance the efficiency of autoverification.

Introduction: Many chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) patients have highly stressful life events and exhibit psychiatric comorbidities. Emotional stress can cause or exacerbate urticaria symptoms by causing mast cell degranulation via neuromediators. Objectives: To investigate the frequency of stressful life events and compare psychiatric comorbidities and serum neuromediator levels in patients with CSU who responded to omalizumab with healthy controls. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we included 42 patients with CSU who received at least 6 months of omalizumab treatment and a control group of 42 healthy controls. Stressful life events were evaluated with the Life Events Checklist for DSM-5 (LEC-5). The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-42 (DASS-42) was used to evaluate depression, anxiety and stress levels. Serum nerve growth factor (NGF), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and substance P (SP) levels were measured using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. Results: Twenty-six (62%) patients reported at least one stressful life event a median of 3.5 months before the onset of CSU. There were no significant differences in all three variables in the DASS subscales between the patient and control groups. Serum NGF levels were found to be significantly lower in patients with CSU (p <0.001), whereas CGRP levels were found to be significantly higher (p <0.001). There was no significant difference for SP. Conclusions: The psychological status of patients with CSU who benefited from omalizumab was similar to that of healthy controls. Omalizumab may affect stress-related neuromediator levels.

Samet Can Demirci, Süreyya Barun, Ahmet Özaslan, Özlem Gülbahar, Tuba Saadet Deveci Bulut, Aysu Duyan Çamurdan, Elvan İşeri. Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci 2024;22:473-83. https://doi.org/10.9758/cpn.23.1149