Recurrent molar pregnancy after ovulation induction and repeat ovulation induction. A case report

BACKGROUND: Although hydatidiform mole is not commonly encountered following ovulation induction, patients who have already had molar pregnancies are at increased risk of developing further molar diseases with worsening histologic characteristics. That fact underlies the ethical dilemma of repeat ovulation induction. CASE: A 38-year-old woman, gravida 3, para 0, had three consecutive episodes of hydatidiform subsequent to clomiphene citrate and gonadotropin ovulation induction. She seems to be the first in the literature to develop three consecutive molar pregnancies without a normal intrauterine pregnancy. CONCLUSION: Although ovulation induction commenced again in this patient after she gave informed consent, the risks underlying the ethical dilemma persist.     

Antioxidant and anticholinesterase evaluation of selected Turkish Salvia species

Since Salvia species (Lamiaceae) have been recorded to be used against memory loss in European folk medicine, we herein examined in vitro anticholinesterase and antioxidant activities of 56 extracts prepared with petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol obtained from 14 Salvia species (Salvia albimaculata Hedge and Hub, Salvia aucheri Bentham var. canescens Boiss and Heldr, Salvia candidissima Vahl. ssp. occidentalis, Salvia ceratophylla L., Salvia cryptantha Montbret and Bentham, Salvia cyanescens Boiss and Bal., Salvia frigida Boiss, Salvia forskahlei L., Salvia halophilaHedge, Salvia migrostegia Boiss and Bal., Salvia multicaulis Vahl., Salvia sclarea L., Salvia syriaca L., Salvia verticillata L. ssp. amasiaca) growing in Turkey. The antioxidant activities were assessed by both chemical and enzymatic methods against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging and xanthine/xanthine oxidase (XO) system generated superoxide anion radical inhibition. Anticholinesterase effect of the extracts was tested against both acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) at concentrations of 0.2 and 1 mg/ml using a microplate-reader assay based on the Ellman method. Most of the extracts did not show any activity against AChE at 0.2 mg/ml, while the chloroform extracts had noticeable inhibition against BChE between 47.7% and 74.7%. The most active extracts at 1 mg/ml for AChE inhibition were observed to be petroleum ether extract of Salvia albimaculata (89.4%) and chloroform extract of Salvia cyanescens (80.2%), whereas ethyl acetate extracts of Salvia frigida and Salvia migrostegia, chloroform extracts of Salvia candidissima ssp. occidentalis and Salvia ceratophylla, as well as petroleum ether extract of Salvia cyanescens were found to inhibit potently BChE (92.2%, 89.6%, 91.1%, 91.3%, and 91.8%, respectively). Particularly, the ethyl acetate and methanol extracts were observed to be highly active against both DPPH and XO. Our data indicates that nonpolar extracts of Salvia species for anticholinesterase activity and the polar extracts for antioxidant activity are worth further phytochemical evaluation for identifying their active components.     

Measurement of wood grain angle, moisture content and density using microwaves

In many wood products manufacturing processes, it is important to ensure that the physical properties of the raw material lie within acceptable ranges and are measured reliably. It is also important for practical use that the measurement process is robust, low-maintenance, fast and preferably non-contacting. This paper describes the development and demonstration of a microwave system for simultaneously identifying wood grain angle, moisture and density. The method involves propagating a microwave beam through the wood and measuring the resulting depolarization, attenuation and phase shift. The wood physical properties can then be identified from these measurements. In a series of measurements, the prototype microwave system successfully identified wood grain angles for hemlock and Douglas fir respectively with standard errors of 0.9° and 2.5° (measured range = -90° to +90°), moisture content 1.2% and 1.9% (measured range = 7–28%), moisture density 3.7 kg/m³ and 7.9 kg/m³ (measured range = 40–150 kg/m³, and dry density 16 kg/m³ and 30 kg/m³ (measured range = 325–625 kg/m³).     

Palladium-Catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura Reaction Using Saturated N-Heterocarbene Ligands

Recent studies have pointed to the heptamethylbenzenium cation as a prominent intermediate in the methanol to hydrocarbons (MTH) reaction. The reactions of the heptamethylbenzenium cation in a H-beta zeolite was studied at 300 °C by feeding its corresponding base (WHSV = 0.4 h^?1). The reactant was converted completely into aliphatic products, polymethylbenzenes and coke under the employed conditions. The results testify that the proposed reaction intermediate yields the same product spectrum as methanol. The composition of the material retained in the catalyst micropores after 15 min of reaction was determined by dissolving the catalyst in 15% HF. Polymethylated benzenes (predominantly pentamethylbenzene), dihydro-trimethylnaphthalenes, and hexamethylnaphthalene were the major components. The results also support the idea that the lowest naphthalene derivative is formed from the heptamethylbenzenium cation by a molecular rearrangement. Hence, the heptamethylbenzenium cation is inherently linked to both product formation and catalyst deactivation in the MTH reaction.     

Epicardial fat thickness is associated with impaired coronary flow reserve in hemodialysis patients

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the main cause of mortality in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Epicardial fat tissue (EFT) is a new risk factor in CVD. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between EFT and coronary artery flow reserve (CFR), which is an early indicator of endothelial dysfunction in coronary vessels of HD patients. We performed a cross‐sectional study including 71 chronic HD patients and 65 age‐ and sex‐matched healthy controls. Epicardial fat tissue was significantly higher in HD patients when compared to healthy controls (6.53 ± 1.01 mm vs. 5.79 ± 1.06 mm, respectively, P < 0.001). On transthoracic Doppler echocardiography, CFR values were significantly lower in HD patients when compared to healthy controls (1.73 ± 0.11 vs. 2.32 ± 0.28, P < 0.001). Correlation analysis showed CFR values to be inversely correlated with EFT (r = ?0.287, P < 0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis was used to define independent determinants of EFT in HD patients. Artery flow reserve, age, body mass index and total cholesterol levels were independently correlated with EFT thickness. This study demonstrated that EFT was significantly higher among HD patients compared to healthy controls. In addition, this study was the first to demonstrate an inverse correlation between EFT and CFR in this patient population.     

Liquid–Liquid Diffusion‐Assisted Crystallization: A Fast and Versatile Approach Toward High Quality Mixed Quantum Dot‐Salt Crystals

Here, a new, fast, and versatile method for the incorporation of colloidal quantum dots (QDs) into ionic matrices enabled by liquid–liquid diffusion is demonstrated. QDs bear a huge potential for numerous applications thanks to their unique chemical and physical properties. However, stability and processability are essential for their successful use in these applications. Incorporating QDs into a tight and chemically robust ionic matrix is one possible approach to increase both their stability and processability. With the proposed liquid–liquid diffusion‐assisted crystallization (LLDC), substantially accelerated ionic crystallization of the QDs is shown, reducing the crystallization time needed by one order of magnitude. This fast process allows to incorporate even the less stable colloids including initially oil‐based ligand‐exchanged QDs into salt matrices. Furthermore, in a modified two‐step approach, the seed‐mediated LLDC provides the ability to incorporate oil‐based QDs directly into ionic matrices without a prior phase transfer. Finally, making use of their processability, a proof‐of‐concept white light emitting diode with LLDC‐based mixed QD‐salt films as an excellent color‐conversion layer is demonstrated. These findings suggest that the LLDC offers a robust, adaptable, and rapid technique for obtaining high quality QD‐salts.     

Effect of Solution Treatment on Thermal Conductivity of Porous NiTi Shape Memory Alloy

In this study, a new solution treatment “solution treatment under loading” was applied to a porous Ni–50 at.%Ti shape memory alloy (SMA), which was fabricated by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS), to explore the microstructural improvement regarding single-phase NiTi. The effects of solution treatment under loading and without loading on the phase constituent and thermal conductivity were investigated and discussed. The phase constituent and thermal conductivity of the specimens considerably changed with solution treatment under loading, but they were not affected significantly with solution treatment without loading. Intermetallic phases such as B19′(NiTi), Ti₂Ni, and Ni₄Ti₃ disappeared, the density of the B2(NiTi) phase increased with solution treatment under loading, and thus the thermal conductivity was increased. It was also seen that the thermal conductivity of porous NiTi was less than that of solid NiTi.