Background: Even today, repair of the cranial defects still represents a significant challenge in neurosurgery and various options have been used for their reconstruction to date. but there are very few studies investigating the effects of exogenous administration of melatonin (MEL) as an agent that promotes bone regeneration. The goal of this study was to investigate the effects of functional pinealectomy (Px) and exogenous MEL administration on the bone repair properties and surrounding connective tissue alterations in a rat calvaria model. Materials and methods:The total of 30 adult female Wistar-Albino rats was randomly divided into three groups (n = 10): control (CO) group (12 h light/12 h dark exposure), functional Px group (24 h light exposure, light-induced functional Px), and Px+MEL group (light-induced Px plus MEL, 20 mg/kg/day for 12 weeks). Critical-sized burr-hole defects (diameter = 3.0 mm) were surgically created by a single operator in the calvarium of all rats, using an electric drill. Animals in Px+MEL group received MEL 20 mg/kg/day for 12 weeks.At the end of the study, bone healing and connective tissue alterations surrounding drilled defect area in the rat calvaria were determined in hematoxylin/eosin-stained and mallory azan slices applied in anti-bone sialoprotein (BSP). Image Pro Express 4.5 program was used for histomorphometric calculation of areas of new bone and fibrotic tissue. Normality control was performed by Shapiro Wilk test. Variance homogeneities were examined by Shapiro Wilk and Levene tests; Tukey HSD test was used as a post hoc method since there was no homogeneity problem. All hypothesis tests were performed at the 0.05 significance level.Results: Histological analysis showed that the bone repair process in the Px+MEL group was similar to that of the CO group, whereas the functional Px group showed a delay.Histomorphometrically, it was found that the Px group had the largest hole diameter and the most fibrotic scar area, although no binary statistical significance was found between the CO and Px+MEL groups (p=0.910). In terms of vascularization, it was observed that the most vascular structure was found in the Px+MEL group among the scar tissue and ossification areas, while the vascularization was the least in the Px group (p < 0.001). Conclusions:Our findings revealed that bone repair process was impaired in functional Px group, but exogenous MEL replacement was able to restore this response. Thus, it is concluded that utilization of MEL may improve the bone repair in calvarial defects.

Background/aim Nonalcoholic fatty liver is one of the most common forms of liver disease and role of microRNAs (miRNAs) on this illness is currently unclear. It was aimed to evaluate the predictive role of circulating miR-33a and mir-200c on high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)-induced fatty liver and vitamin D 3 supplementation-related hepatic changes. Materials and methods Twenty-four rats were randomized into three groups: sham (n = 8), experimental fatty liver group (n = 8), and fatty liver + vitamin D 3 supplementation group (n = 8). In the treatment group, 10 μg/kg/week of vitamin D 3 was given by orogastric tube weekly for 4 weeks in addition to a high fructose diet. Serum AST, ALT, TNF-α, and MDA levels were tested. Liver tissue samples were examined using hematoxylin/eosin, periodic acid-Schif (PAS) and Masson’s Trichrome staining. Circulating miR-33a and mir-200c were quantified by qRT-PCR method. Moreover, in silico analyses were accomplished. Results In the vitamin D 3 group, results of biochemical parameters were significantly different than those of the fatty liver group (p < 0.001). Moreover, significant differences in serum levels of circulating miR-33a and mir-200c were identified among all groups (p < 0.05). Finally, more favorable histopathological changes were noticed in the vitamin D 3 supplementation group. The expressions of Ki-67 were also considerably reduced in the vitamin D 3 group. According to KEGG pathway analysis, mir-33a and mir-200c were found to play a common role in the Hippo signaling pathway, lysine degradation, and protein processing. Conclusion Our current experimental fatty liver study showed that, in a specified dose, vitamin D 3 supplementation could alleviate adverse undesirable hepatic effects of HFCS via miR-33a and mir-200c.

Cyclophosphamide is a well-known alkylating cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agent. Aim: To investigate protective effects of Resveratrol in combination or comparison with Zinc in experimental testicular injury induced by Cyclophosphamide is studied for the first time in literature. Materials and Methods: Rats (n=63) were randomly divided into 9 groups. After 21 days of drug administration biochemical and histological analysis were performed. Daily water consumption, body weights and weight of testes were measured. Johnsen’s testicular scoring and sperm morphology were evaluated. Hematoxylin&Eosin, Periodic acid-Schiff and Masson's trichrome stainings and iNOS, eNOS and CD34 antibodies were applied histologically. To determine oxidative stress, MDA and CAT values were determined. Statistically, one-way ANOVA with post Hoc Tukey HSD test for multiple comparisons was performed via IBM SPSS Version 25.0. Results: Cyclophosphamide caused an increase in testicular MDA levels due to elevated oxidant stress. Testicular MDA levels significantly decreased in Zinc and Resveratrol groups which revealed protective effects related to Cyclophosphamide treatment, while no significant improvement was observed for control and saline groups. However, the most significant decrease was observed in MDA for Cyclophosphamide+Zn+Resveratrol group in comparison to Cyclophosphamide. Telocytes, which are lately defined novel cells, were detected in the interstitium encircling seminiferous tubules as a sheath immunohistochemically. Conclusion: Not only Resveratrol and Zinc, but also their optimum administration separately protects testes in Cyclophosphamide treatment groups. Clinical adaptations of this in vivo model may lead to novel futuristic ideas in preventing infertility due to cancer chemotherapy.

Determining oocyte quality is crucial for successful fertilization and embryonic development, and there is a serious correlation between live birth rates and oocyte quality. Parameters such as the regular/irregular formation of the cumulus cell layer around the oocyte, the number of cumulus cell layers and the homogeneity of the appearance of the ooplasm are used to determine the quality of the oocytes to be used in in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) methods. In this study, classification processes have been carried out using convolutional neural networks (CNN), a deep learning method, on the images of the cumulus-oocyte complex selected based on the theoretical knowledge and professional experience of embryologists. A convolutional neural network with a depth of 4 is used. In each depth level, one convolution, one ReLU and one max-pooling layer are included. The designed network architecture is trained using the Adam optimization algorithm. The cumulus-oocyte complexes (n=400) used in the study were obtained by using the oocyte aspiration method from the ovaries of the bovine slaughtered at the slaughterhouse. The CNN-based classification model developed in this study showed promising results in classifying three-class image data in terms of cumulus-oocyte complex classification. The classification model achieved high accuracy, precision, and sensitivity values on the test dataset. Continuous research and optimization of the model can further improve its performance and benefit the field of cumulus-oocyte complexes classification and oocyte quality assessment.

Objective: Caffeine (CAF), which is in the methylxanthines group (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine), is a neurologically active food component that is widely consumed and has a stimulating effect on the central nervous system. CAF taken in high doses during pregnancy rapidly crosses the placenta and causes many negative conditions such as low birth weight infants, premature births, spontaneous abortion, stillbirth, and principally fetal growth retardation. On the other hand, melatonin (MEL) is an endogenous hormone secreted from the pineal gland that plays a role in the regulation of many biological functions such as sleep, biological rhythm, reproduction, immunity and has neuroprotective effects. In this study, we aimed to investigate the possible effects of exogenous MEL on the fetal hippocampus damage caused by high-dose CAF administration in pregnant rats. Methods: In the study, 32 adult Wistar albino female rats were divided into four experimental groups after conception (n=8). No compound was administered to the control group. In the MEL group, intraperitoneal (i.p.) MEL was administered at a dose of 10 mg/kg/day at 9-20 days of pregnancy. In the CAF group, i.p. CAF was administered at a dose of 60 mg/kg/day at 9-20 days of pregnancy. In the CAF plus MEL group, i.p. CAF and MEL were administered at a dose of 60 mg/kg/day and 10 mg/kg/day, respectively at 9-20 days of pregnancy. Histological tissue processing procedures were performed after the extraction of the brains of the fetuses sacrificed on the 21st day of pregnancy. Hippocampal regions of fetal brains were analyzed by Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) and Cresyl Echt Violet (CEV) histochemical staining, anti-GFAP and anti-synaptophysin immunohistochemical staining methods. Results: While there was a decrease in fetal and brain weights in the CAF group, it was found that the CAF plus MEL group had a closer weight average to that of the control group. In histological examinations, while the MEL group showed similar characteristics with the control group, it was observed that the pyramidal cell layer consisted of 8-10 layers of cells due to the delay in migration in hippocampal neurons in the CAF group. It was found that these findings decreased in the CAF plus MEL group. Conclusion: Ultimately, it was determined that high-dose CAF administration caused delays and deterioration in neurogenesis in the fetal hippocampus region, and it was also shown that MEL administration was effective in reducing these findings.