Tumors of the spine

Spine tumors comprise a small percentage of reasons for back pain and other symptoms originating in the spine.The majority of the tumors involving the spinal column are metastases of visceral organ cancers which are mostly seen in older patients.Primary musculoskeletal system sarcomas involving the spinal column are rare.Benign tumors and tumor-like lesions of the musculoskeletal system are mostly seen in young patients and often cause instability and canal compromise.Optimal diagnosis and treatment of spine tumors require a multidisciplinary approach and thorough knowledge of both spine surgery and musculoskeletal tumor surgery.Either primary or metastatic tumors involving the spine are demanding problems in terms of diagnosis and treatment.Spinal instability and neurological compromise are the main and critical problems in patients with tumors of the spinal column.In the past,only a few treatment options aiming short-term control were available for treatment of primary and metastatic spine tumors.Spine surgeons adapted their approach for spine tumors according to orthopaedic oncologic principles in the last 20 years.Advances in imaging,surgical techniques and implant technology resulted in better diagnosis and surgical treatment options,especially for primary tumors.Also,modern chemotherapy drugs and regimens with new radiotherapy and radiosurgery options caused moderate to long-term local and systemic control for even primary sarcomas involving the spinal column.

Conversion of Waste Parasitic Insect(Hylobius abietis L.)into Antioxidative,Antimicrobial and Biodegradable Films

Hylobius abietis is a plant parasitic insect belonging to the order Coleoptera and which causes severe damages to coniferous forests in Northern and Eastern Europe.This current study is aimed to provide a new viewpoint into the waste of this insect by producing chitosan.Dry insect corpses consisted of 27.9%chitin and 86.2%of the chitin was converted into the chitosan.FT-IR spectra analyses confirmed the purity and the deacetylation degree of the produced chitosan(molecular weight of chitosan;7.3 kDa).This chitosan exhibited antimicrobial activity against 18 bacterial strains.Further,biodegradable chitosan composite films with β-carotene were produced.Antioxidant activity of chitosan films were found to be higher than chitosan gels;andβ-carotene incorporation further increased the antioxidative properties of the chitosan films.This study demonstrated that the waste of parasitic insect like H.abietis can be evaluated as a source for production of biodegradable and edible chitosan-based films for applications in food coating.

Necrotic Appendix in Amyand’s Hernia: A Case Report

A three-month-old boy was admitted by red, firm, painful swelling in the right groin and vomiting. Surgical repair with appendectomy was performed. We want to emphasize that if the patient has an irreducible strangulated inguinal hernia, appendix or bowel necrosis can be found in the hernia sac.

An updated checklist of poisonous ifshes of Turkish Aegean Sea

The current status of marine poisonous fish species ranging in the Aegean Sea coastline in Turkey were introduced.Turkey is a peninsula surrounded by seas with different ecological features on three sides.The total length of shoreline is 8333 km including the islands.The total number of fish species in Turkish seas is 512,of which 449 live in the Aegean Sea followed by the Mediterranean Sea(441 species),the Marmara Sea(257 species)and the Black Sea(154species).On the Aegean Sea coasts,the richest sea regarding fish diversity,the number of poisonous fish species is also high.This mini-review revealed 51 poisonous fish species belonging to 14 families in the Turkish Aegean Sea.On the Aegean Sea coasts poisonous fish species can be categorized into three groups:(i)Fish that contain venomous spines on the tail or on the operculum(ii)Fish that carry poisonous bite and(iii)Fish having poisonous flesh or liver.Poisoning fish that contain venomous spines on the tail or on the operculum mostly are dangerous because of their poisonous thorns whereas the passive poisonous fish species poison when they are eaten.These toxins can cause morbidity and rarely,mortality in humans.Apart from these,swallowing the blood of species such as European eel Anguilla anguilla and European conger Conger conger might also cause poisoning.Besides,as there has been an invasion of puffer fish especially on the Turkish Mediterranean and Aegean coasts in recent years,there is a danger in question.Thus,it is very important to particularly draw attention to these fish on the Turkish coasts.