Detection of borderline and/or low positive anti-HCV results by enzyme immunoassay (EIA) leads to severe problems in routine laboratories and needs confirmation with nucleic acid amplification tests which can increase the cost. In EIA tests, if the ratio of sample to cut-off (S/Co) is ≥ 1, the sample is accepted as positive according to the manufacturers' instructions. Although over the last decade the application of S/Co values have also applied to HCV-RNA readings, the current study aims to determine whether the S/Co value is adequate and applicable for the anti-HCV EIA test, and to determine whether a correlation exists between HCV-RNA and HCV infections. A total of 658 cases (402 female, 256 male; mean age: 49.4 ± 17.0 years) who were found anti-HCV positive between January 2011-July 2013 were included in the study. Anti-HCV tests were performed by chemiluminescent EIA (Architect i2000SR, Abbott, USA and LiaisonXL Murex, DiaSorin, Italy) and HCV-RNA by real-time PCR (Cobas Ampliprep/Cobas TaqMan HCV, Roche, USA). The mean S/Co value of the cases was 7.3 ± 4.8 (range: 1.00-17.59) and mean HCV-RNA value was 2.3x105 ± 2.1x106 copies/ml. When the anti-HCV S/Co value of varying ranges was compared with HCV-RNA readings a particular trend was noted. In the anti-HCV S/Co values of 1.0-4.0; 4.1-7.0; 7.1-10.0; 10.1-13.0; 13.1-16.0 and ³16.1, HCV-RNA positivity rates were detected as 1.9%, 24.7%,37.1%, 46.7%, 56.4% and 75%, respectively. Statistical analysis indicated an intermediate positive correlation (r= 0.454) between anti-HCV ve HCV-RNA readings (p= 0.000). An adequate S/Co value was accepted as 5.0 based on the ROC analysis, and this value gave a performance confidence level of 95.6% when determining whether a patient is HCV positive. Based on the data of this study it became evident that further EIA testing is not required if the S/Co value is ≥ 5.0, however if the S/Co value is less than 5.0, then further clinical analysis and revaluation of the patient is required.

In this study, chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of Sideritis cypria, which is an endemic taxon in Northern Cyprus, were investigated. The essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). In general, the GC and GC-MS analysis illustrated that fifty compounds were identified representing 96.9% of the oil. Major components were epi-cubebol (11.9%), trans-piperitol (8.9%) and pinene (8.1%), respectively. The antimicrobial activity of the essential oil was tested by disc diffusion method against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), Bacillus cereus (ATCC 10876), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923) bacteria and Candida albicans (ATCC 90028) yeast. The results showed that the inhibition zone of S. cypria essential oil against C. albicans at maximum dose (10 μl) was higher than positive control Nystatin. The oil showed similar inhibitory zone to that of the positive control (TMP-SMX) against B. cereus at maximum dosage 10 μl. In addition, the inhibitory effect of the oil against E. coli measured only at the 10 μl as 10.33 ± 0.58. Furthermore, the inhibition zones against S. aureus was ranged from 9.00 ± 2.00 to 24.00 ± 1.73 while P. aeruginosa was found to be resistant in all doses.

Background: Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is a non-fermentative gram-negative bacillus which is widely recognised as an important nosocomial pathogen causing pneumonia, blood-stream, wound and urinary tract infections, particularly in immunosuppressed patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate a nosocomial outbreak of by S. maltophilia in an intensive care unit of a tertiary hospital and evaluate unexpected multiclonality. Methods: A total of 11 isolates from respiratory cultures in intensive care unit of a 24 bed tertiary hospital obtained over a one months period and one isolate obtained from the nebuliser during environmental screening were investigated. The bacteria were identified by Phoenix 100 system. The clonal relatedness was evaluated by PFGE and semi-automated repetitive sequence-based PCR. Genotyping tests were repeated for 10 serial subcultures. Results: PFGE and DiversiLab yielded 10 genotypic profiles for 12 isolates. Four to eight different genotypes were observed from 10 subcultures of the same isolate. Conclusion: We conclude that, high genetic diversity and supposed multiclonal appearance of the outbreak isolates may be due to changing profiles during subcultures most probably depending on hypermutation.

Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the antimicrobial effect of Erbium, chromium-doped yttrium, scandium, gallium, and garnet (Er,Cr:YSGG) laser with and without NaOCl solution. A total of 81 extracted human mandibular premolar teeth were used. Materials and Methods: After root canal preparation and sterilization, the samples were inoculated with E. faecalis for 24 hours. The specimens were divided into 4 experimental groups. Group 1 (n = 25) was irradiated with 2 W laser, group 2 (n = 25) was irradiated with 0.75 W laser in combination with 2.5% NaOCl, group 3 (n = 25) was irrigated with 5% NaOCl and group 4 (n = 6) was not treated. Statistical analysis was performed by using Wilcoxon Signed Ranks, Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis H tests. Results: The combination of 0.75 W laser with 2.5% NaOCl regime was found to be just as effective at inhibiting the growth of E. faecalis and sterilization of all root canals as 5% NaOCl irrigation (P > 0.001). The 2 W laser had significant bactericidal effect in infected root canals however it did not eradicate all bacteria. The SEM observations were in accordance with the microbiologic findings. Conclusions: Within the limitations of this laboratory study, NaOCl irrigation improved the antimicrobial effect of Er,Cr:YSGG laser irradiation. When the toxic effects of high percentage of NaOCl was considered, the combination of low-powered laser and low concentration of NaOCl can be used as an effective disinfection method in root canal treatment.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women and in order to create alternative treatments different types of in vivo and in vitro studies have used various plant-based therapeutic agents. Humic acid (HA) induces apoptosis and has various pharmacological properties including anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative effects. In our study, we examined the cytotoxic effects of HA at concentrations of 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 μg/mL in human breast adenocarcinoma MCF-7 cell line for 24 and 48 h. By using MTT method, it has been found out that HA 100 g/mL had cytotoxic effect on human breast adenocarcinoma MCF-7 cell line at both 24 and 48 h; also found out that the effective dose of HA at the same time (24 and 48 h) was 50 μg/mL. The results of our study will shed light on the development of alternative therapeutic approaches in the treatment of cancer by evaluating the cytotoxic effect of HA.