Digital Commons Network^™

A Determination Of The Factors That Affect The Level Of Pediatric Nurses' Liking Of Children, Yurdagül Erdem, Veli̇ Duyan

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Every person under the age of 18 is a child. One's attitude towards children is made up of the person's basic beliefs about children and their reaction to the idea of being with children. Pediatric nurses are expected to understand children's physical, intellectual, emotional, and social development, to advocate for children, and to show affection towards and interest in children. This study is conducted to determine the level of liking of children of nurses who are working at pediatric clinics. Materials and methods: This descriptive study was conducted on 207 nurses employed at pediatric clinics of university and state hospitals. …

Investigation Of Toxin Genes In Staphylococcus Aureus Strains Isolated In Mustafa Kemal University Hospital, Cemi̇l Demi̇r, Özkan Aslantaş, Ni̇zami̇ Duran, Sabahatti̇n Ocak, Burçi̇n Özer

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of genes encoding staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs), exfoliative toxins (ETAs, ETBs), and toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 (TSST-1) by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from various clinical samples from the Mustafa Kemal University Hospital. In addition, PCR-based restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of the coa gene was employed to genotype the isolates. Materials and methods: A total of 120 S. aureus strains isolated from various clinical samples (blood, wounds, urine, conjuctival swabs, and tracheal aspirate) over a 1 year period, 2007-2008, were used in this study. Results: …

Serum Osteoprotegerin (Opg) Measurement In Behçet's Disease, Nafi̇ye Fulya İlhan, Nesri̇n Demi̇r, Tamer Demi̇r, Ahmet Gödekmerdan

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Recent studies indicate that osteoprotegerin (OPG) acts as an important molecule in the development of vascular diseases. The aim of the present study was to examine the association between serum OPG levels and Behcet's disease (BD). Materials and methods: Twenty-five patients with BD and 20 healthy control subjects, matched for age and sex, were included in this study. Serum levels of OPG were determined using ELISA. Results: We found that serum levels of OPG were significantly higher in patients with BD than in healthy control subjects (813.75 ± 11 vs. 655.56 ± 17 pg/mL, P = 0.002). There was no …

The Effect Of Alkali Burn On Corneal Glutathione Peroxidase Activities In Rabbits, İlknur Akyol Salman, Ahmet Kiziltunç, Orhan Baykal

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) is an important corneal defense enzyme for protecting against hydrogen peroxides and lipid peroxides. In the present study, corneal GPx activities after alkali burn of the cornea were evaluated in rabbits. Materials and methods: Corneal alkali burn was created in the right eye of 10 rabbits by applying a 6 mm round filter paper soaked in 1 N NaOH onto the central cornea for 60 s. The right eyes of 10 healthy rabbits served as controls. The corneal GPx activities were determined by the method of Paglia and Valentina, 10 days after the burn. Results: GPx activities …

Clitoral Length In Female Newborns: A New Approach To The Assessment Of Clitoromegaly, Hati̇ce Alev Kutlu, Fati̇h Akbiyik

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

The normative data for the newborn clitoral length will enable physicians to avoid overdiagnosing or underdiagnosing disorders related to the condition. This study is the first to investigate clitoris length in newborn females in Turkey. Materials and methods: A total of 325 newborns with normal gestational age born by uncomplicated spontaneous vaginal delivery were included in the study. The body weight, body length, head circumference, and clitoral size were measured. Results: A special equation was generated to estimate clitoris length, and clitoral length percentiles were prepared. The 3rd (2.00 mm) and 97th percentile (8.04 mm) values for clitoris length were …

Association Of Acp1 Genotypes And Clinical Parameters In Patients With Metabolic Syndrome*, Mustafa Akki̇pri̇k, Fi̇li̇z Özdemi̇r Sertoğlu, Si̇nan Çağlayan, Cenk Aral, Gökhan Özişik, Zehra Atabey, Meti̇n Özata, Sidika Ayşe Özer

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Acid phosphatase locus 1 (ACP1) encodes a polymorphic enzyme and has potential implications for the development of metabolic syndrome (MS) by altering insulin sensitivity. The aim of this study was to determine whether a relationship exists between ACP1 genotypes and various metabolic syndrome risk factors. Materials and methods: We employed a PCR-RFLP based genotyping of ACP1 in a cohort of 70 patients with MS and 168 healthy individuals. Results: When compared to controls, genotypes associated with low enzyme activity were observed at significantly lower frequencies in both sexes. Of note, high enzyme activity genotypes were more common in patients with …

Antiproliferative, Apoptotic And Antioxidant Activities Of Wheatgrass (Triticum Aestivum L.) Extract On Cml (K562) Cell Line, Oya Sena Aydos, Aslihan Avci, Tüli̇n Özkan, Aynur Karadağ, Ebru Gürleyi̇k, Buket Altinok, Asuman Sunguroğlu

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Plant-based diet supplements help the prevention and therapy of several kinds of cancer because they contain micronutrients, a class of substances that have been shown to exhibit chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic activities. In the present study the effects and oxidant/antioxidant status of aqueous and ethanol extracts of wheatgrass were tested in human chronic myeloid leukemia CML (K562) cell line. Materials and methods: K562 cell lines were treated with 10% (w/v) concentration of aqueous and ethanol wheatgrass extracts. Cytotoxicity and apoptosis were determined morphologically and by MTT and DNA laddering. MDA level and CAT, SOD, and ADA activities of the cell lines …

The Effect Of Caffeine On Oxidative Stress In Liver And Heart Tissues Of Rats, Hati̇ce Paşaoğlu, Fatma Ebru Ofluoğlu Demi̇r, Canan Yilmaz-Demi̇rtaş, Ahmed Hussein, Özge Tuğçe Paşaoğlu

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

To investigate the effect of caffeine on the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO), and advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP) in the liver and heart tissues of rats. Materials and methods: The current study included 30 rats, which were divided into 3 groups: a control group and 2 caffeine-treated groups. Group 1 was given caffeine at 30 mg/kg and Group 2 was given caffeine at 100 mg/kg (a high nontoxic dose) for 14 days. Results: MDA and AOPP levels in the liver tissue of the caffeine-treated groups decreased significantly as a result of the dose. MDA and AOPP levels …

Developing And Comparing Two Different Prognostic Indexes For Predicting Disease-Free Survival Of Nonmetastatic Breast Cancer Patients, Zehra Füsun Tokatli, Mevlüt Türe, İmran Kurt Ömürlü, Ruşen Çoşar Alas, Mustafa Cem Uzal

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

To determine 2 different prognostic indexes (PI) for the differentiation of subgroups of nonmetastatic breast cancer patients with the Cox regression analysis and survival tree (ST) methods and the additional usage of the Kaplan-Meier estimates to investigate the predictive power of these methods. Materials and methods: Prognostic factors data were collected for 410 patients. The Cox regression analysis examines the relationship of the survival distribution and covariates. The ST method is a tree-structured survival analysis based on a recursive partitioning algorithm. In this study, Harrell's concordance indexes of models for training and test sets were computed. Furthermore, survival curves were …

Subclinical Hypoxia Of Infants With Intrauterine Growth Retardation Determined By Increased Serum S100b Protein Levels, Özlem Kirmemi̇ş, Mustafa Mansur Tatli, Cüneyt Tayman, Cemi̇le Koca, Ahmet Karadağ, Nurdan Uras, Uğur Di̇lmen, Hasan Kafali

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

To test the hypothesis that serum S100B levels could be useful in detecting neurological damage in infants with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR). Materials and methods: The study group consisted of infants with IUGR and the control group consisted of age-matched healthy infants. S100B protein levels were measured after birth and compared between groups. Results: For this study, 43 infants with IUGR and 25 infants as a control group were recruited. Gender, gestational age, type of delivery, and maternal age of the groups were statistically insignificant, with the exception of the mean birth weights (2120 ± 450 g in the IUGR …

An Analysis Of Her-2/Neu Gene Status In Invasive Ductal Carcinomas Using Immunohistochemistry And Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization, Reşi̇t Doğan Köseoğlu, Ahmet Müslehi̇ddi̇noğlu, Ünal Erkorkmaz, Jüli̇de Sali̇ha Caferler, Pervi̇n Dürer, Yavuz Hakan Özön

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

To determine the concordance rates between results from immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) assays for the HER-2/neu gene in cases of invasive ductal carcinoma. IHC and FISH are 2 of the most frequently used methods to determine HER-2/neu gene status in invasive breast carcinomas. Materials and methods: The present study includes 59 female patients with invasive ductal carcinoma. The mean age was 57.8 years. Axillary lymph node status could be evaluated in 30 patients with axillary dissection. HER-2/neu gene overexpression and amplification were analyzed in primary tumor tissues by IHC and FISH assays, respectively. The evaluation of …

The Paraoxonase 1 (Pon1) Gene Polymorphisms In Coronary Artery Disease In The Southeastern Turkish Population, Abdussemet Hazar, Fuat Di̇lmeç, Mustafa Göz, Aydemi̇r Koçarslan, Mehmet Sali̇h Aydin, Abbas Heval Demi̇rkol

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

To investigate the association between the paraoxonase 1 (PON1) c.163T>A and c.575A>G polymorphisms and coronary artery disease (CAD), and whether specific polymorphisms in the PON1 gene are associated with CAD in the southeastern Turkish population. Many different genetic and clinical factors have been identified as causes or contributors to atherosclerosis. Complex diseases such as CAD, hypertension, and diabetes are usually caused by an individual’s susceptibility to various genes, environmental factors, and the interactions between them. The PON1 enzyme has been implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and CAD. Materials and methods: Enrolled in this study were 61 patients …

A Quantitative Appraisal Of The Genuine Contribution Of Turkey And Turkish Universities To Science, Altan Onat

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

To assess quantitatively the cumulative and genuine contribution of Turkish universities to science in the main fields over the past 30 years. Materials and methods: In the Citation Reports section of the Web of Science, over 70 main scientific institutions were searched; and publications that received 60 or more citations by May 2010 were selected. Papers having more than a minor share by international authors were excluded. Results: Only 47 universities and 6 institutions generated articles that were cited >-60 times. These publications, numbering 541, received a total of 51.215 citations. Eight universities (İstanbul University, İstanbul Technical University, Hacettepe University, …

Gamma-Glutamyl Transferase Activity Increases In Prehypertensive Patients, Özlem Karakurt, Göksel Çağirci, Nesli̇han Ebru Eryaşar

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

To investigate the association between serum gamma-glutamyl transferase (gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, GGT) levels and prehypertension in a nationally representative sample of Turkish adults. GGT is an enzyme present in serum and most cell surfaces. It is used as an oxidative stress marker. Increased serum GGT levels are implicated in increased blood pressure and the progression of hypertension. GGT may also have a role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, and metabolic syndrome. Materials and methods: Prehypertension was identified as systolic blood pressure ranging from 120 to 139 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure ranging from 80 …

Detection And Genotyping Of Cryptosporidium Spp. In Diarrheic Stools By Pcr/Rflp Analyses, Selma Usluca, Ümi̇t Aksoy

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

To compare microscopy and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as methods for diagnosing Cryptosporidium spp. and identifying the genotype of the parasite in diarrheic stool. Materials and methods: Stool samples from diarrheic patients admitted to Dokuz Eylül University Medical Faculty were collected on a specific day of the week. Stool samples sent to our laboratory from patients affected by a diarrhea epidemic in İzmir were also included in the study. A total of 162 stool samples were examined by microscopic and molecular methods, and the validity of the molecular method was investigated. Results: Using Kinyoun acid-fast dye, Cryptosporidium spp. was found …

Evaluation Of Dose-Related Genotoxicity Of Desflurane By Sce Human Lymphocytes, Bahar Aydinli, Ayşegül Özgök, Zeli̇ha Asli Demi̇r, Seyhan Yağar, Mehmet Ali̇ Ergün, Derya Karaer, Mustafa Necmi̇ İlhan

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

To evaluate dose-related genotoxicity of desflurane. In the literature, there are studies with equivocal data regarding the potential genotoxicity of inhalational anesthetics. However, it is important to know about the genotoxic safety of an anesthetic agent. Materials and methods: Two groups were enrolled into the study. The first group was maintained with a desflurane minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) of 0.5 and the second was maintained with 1 MAC of desflurane. Blood samples were obtained and studied at the baseline and after 3 h of anesthesia via sister chromatid exchange (SCE) assay. Results: In both groups, SCEs per cell were noted …

Attitudes To The Challenges Of Life Among Different Occupation Groups, Olgun Göktaş, Oğuz Teki̇n, İrfan Şencan

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

To determine the attitudes of some occupation groups towards challenges. Materials and methods: In the present study, data were collected by administering the Fatih-Bursa Scale of Attitude to Challenges (F.B.-SATC) to various occupation groups. The participants were divided into 6 occupation groups: healthcare workers, educators, technical staff (engineers, architects, etc.), self-employed people, security staff (police offices, military staff), and housewives. Data were assessed with a F.B.-SATC scoring system measuring attitudes towards challenges. The scale has 5 factors: Thoughts about Challenges (TAC), Outlook on Life (OL), Problem Solving (PS), Targets and Ideals (AI), and Social State (SS) factors. The tool included …

Biomimetic Precipitation Of Uniaxially Grown Calcium Phosphate Crystals From Full-Length Human Amelogenin Sols, Vuk Uskoković, Wu Li, Stefan Habelitz

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Human dental enamel forms over a period of 2 – 4 years by substituting the enamel matrix, a protein gel mostly composed of a single protein, amelogenin with fibrous apatite nanocrystals. Self-assembly of a dense amelogenin matrix is presumed to direct the growth of apatite fibers and their organization into bundles that eventually comprise the mature enamel, the hardest tissue in the mammalian body. This work aims to establish the physicochemical and biochemical conditions for the synthesis of fibrous apatite crystals under the control of a recombinant fulllength human amelogenin matrix in combination with a programmable titration system. The growth …

Nigrostriatal Dopamine-Neuron Function From Neurotrophic-Like Peptide Treatment And Neurotrophic Factor Depletion, Ofelia Meagan Littrell

Theses and Dissertations--Neuroscience

Trophic factors have shown great promise in their potential to treat neurological disease. In particular, glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) has been identified as a potent neurotrophic factor for midbrain dopamine (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra (SN), which lose function in Parkinson’s disease (PD). GDNF progressed to phase II clinical trials, which did not meet proposed endpoints. The large size and binding characteristics of GDNF have been suspected to contribute to some of the shortcomings of GDNF related to delivery to target brain regions. Smaller peptides derived from GDNF (Dopamine-Neuron Stimulating Peptides – DNSPs) have been recently investigated …

Lysophosphatidic Acid Production And Signaling In Platelets, Zachary Bennett Fulkerson

Theses and Dissertations--Physiology

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) belongs to a class of extracellular lipid signaling molecules. In the vasculature, LPA may regulate platelet activation and modulate endothelial and smooth muscle cell function. LPA has therefore been proposed as a mediator of cardiovascular disease.

The bulk of circulating LPA is produced from plasma lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) by autotaxin (ATX), a secreted lysophospholipase D (lysoPLD). Early studies suggest that some of the production of circulating LPA is platelet-dependent. ATX possesses an N-terminal somatomedin B-like domain suggesting the hypothesis that ATX interacts with platelet integrins which may localize ATX to substrate in the membrane and/or alter the catalytic …

Efficient Replication Of Over 180 Genetic Associations With Self-Reported Medical Data, Joyce Y. Tung, Chuong B. Do, David A. Hinds, Amy K. Kiefer, J. Michael Macpherson, Arnab B. Chowdry, Uta Francke, Brian Naughton, Joanna Mountain, Anne Wojcicki, Nicholas Eriksson

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

While the cost and speed of generating genomic data have come down dramatically in recent years, the slow pace of collecting medical data for large cohorts continues to hamper genetic research. Here we evaluate a novel online framework for obtaining large amounts of medical information from a recontactable cohort by assessing our ability to replicate genetic associations using these data. Using web-based questionnaires, we gathered self-reported data on 50 medical phenotypes from a generally unselected cohort of over 20,000 genotyped individuals. Of a list of genetic associations curated by NHGRI, we successfully replicated about 75% of the associations that we …

Post-Transcriptional Control Of Type I Interferon Genes By Ksrp In The Innate Immune Response Against Viral Infection, Wei-Jye Lin

All ETDs from UAB

Several strategies are used in eukaryotic cells in order to determine the gene expression level, including the transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms. One of the post-transcriptional mechanisms is the regulation of mRNA stability, which varies considerably from one mRNA species to another. Previous studies have shown that inherently unstable mRNAs encoding cytokines and proto-oncogenes contain the AU-rich elements (AREs) in the 3' untranslated regions (UTRs). Their decay requires decay-promoting RNA-binding proteins that recognize the AREs and recruit mRNA decay machineries to facilitate the rapid decay of targeting mRNA. KH-type splicing regulatory protein (KSRP) was previously identified as an ARE decay promoting …

Mechanisms And Consequences Of Thy-1 Shedding, John Edwin Bradley

All ETDs from UAB

Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is characterized by chronic fibrosis in the lung interstitium of unknown etiology, and causes death within 2 to 4 years after diagnosis. There are no clinical interventions save for lung transplantation that give any survival benefit. Aberrant collagen deposition and aggregates of proliferating fibroblasts and myofibroblasts called fibroblastic foci (FF) are the classic features of IPF. Therefore, the cell type most often implicated as pathogenic in IPF is the fibroblast, especially its differentiated phenotype, the myofibroblast. Fibroblasts are a remarkably heterogeneous cell type. Expression of the cell surface glycoprotein Thy-1 (Thymocyte differentiation antigen 1) delineates a …

Sox2/Parylated Parp1 Complexes Regulate Pluripotency, Yi-Shin Lai

All ETDs from UAB

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) were first derived from the inner cell mass (ICM) of blastocyst-stage embryos. ESCs are distinguished from other cell types by their pluripotency and unlimited self-replication. ESCs are able to differentiate into multiple cell types that represent all three primary germ layers (ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm) and can form an entire adult organism. Under defined conditions, ESCs are self-renewable and have an extended life-span without compromising pluripotency. The plasticity of ESCs provides opportunities for regenerative medicine. The recent production of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) offers an ideal "personalized" substitute for ESCs. Overexpression of four transcription factors, …

Acquired Cytogenetic Changes In Adult Twins Discordant For A History Of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Jenni Brumelle

Theses and Dissertations

The primary study aim was to evaluate the latent biological effect of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) on adults by quantifying acquired cytogenetic changes and cortisol levels in identical twins who were discordant (N=22) or concordant (N=2) for a history of CSA. Although the difference scores for cortisol values between discordant identical co-twins were not significantly different from zero, a trend was observed for the twins exposed to intercourse, the most severe form of CSA, to have a blunted cortisol awakening response. Acquired cytogenetic changes were assessed by scoring telomere lengths and somatic cell abnormality frequencies via a cytokinesis-block micronucleus (MN) …

Transdermal And Oral Dl-Methylphenidate-Ethanol Interactions In C57bl/6j Mice, Guinevere Hannah Bell

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

The persistence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHO) into adulthood has been increasingly recognized over the past few decades and the stimulant drug dl-methylphenidate (MPH) has remained a first-line pharmacotherapeutic agent in the treatment of ADHD. Many adult ADHD patients who are prescribed MPH report concomitant use with ethanol. In humans, coadministration of dl-MPH and ethanol results in pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic drug - drug interactions. Ethanol elevates biological concentrations of the pharmacologically active d-MPH isomer and yields the metabolic transesterification product ethylphenidate (EPH). EPH appears to be formed through the actions of carboxylesterase 1 (CES1) which exhibits I-MPH substrate enantioselectivity in both …

Microbial Community Analysis Of Lake Chillisquaque, A Small Water System In Central Pennsylvania, Allison Mayhew

Honors Theses

Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic organisms that require the absorption of light for the completion of photosynthesis. Cyanobacteria can use a variety of wavelengths of light within thevisible light spectrum in order to harvest energy for this process. Many species of cyanobacteria have light-harvesting proteins that specialize in the absorption of a small range of wavelengths oflight along the visual light spectrum; others can undergo complementary chromatic adaptation and alter these light-harvesting proteins in order to absorb the wavelengths of light that are mostavailable in a given environment. This variation in light-harvesting phenotype across cyanobacteria leads to the utilization of environmental niches …

The Dynamics Of Integrate-And-Fire: Mean Vs. Variance Modulations And Dependence On Baseline Parameters, Joanna R. Wares, Todd W. Troyer

Department of Math & Statistics Faculty Publications

The leaky integrate-and-fire (LIF) is the simplest neuron model that captures the essential properties of neuronal signaling. Yet common intuitions are inadequate to explain basic properties of LIF responses to sinusoidal modulations of the input. Here we examine responses to low - and moderate-frequency modulations of both the mean and variance of the input current and quantify how these responses depend on baseline parameters. Across parameters, responses to modulations in the mean current are low pass, approaching zero in the limit of high frequencies. For very low baseline firing rates, the response cutoff frequency matches that expected from membrane integration. …

The Cardiac Atlas Project--An Imaging Database For Computational Modeling And Statistical Atlases Of The Heart, Carissa G. Fonseca, Michael Backhaus, David A. Bluemke, Randall D. Britten, Jae Do Chung, Brett R. Cowan, Alan H. Kadish

Office of the President Publications and Research

MOTIVATION: Integrative mathematical and statistical models of cardiac anatomy and physiology can play a vital role in understanding cardiac disease phenotype and planning therapeutic strategies. However, the accuracy and predictive power of such models is dependent upon the breadth and depth of noninvasive imaging datasets. The Cardiac Atlas Project (CAP) has established a large-scale database of cardiac imaging examinations and associated clinical data in order to develop a shareable, web-accessible, structural and functional atlas of the normal and pathological heart for clinical, research and educational purposes. A goal of CAP is to facilitate collaborative statistical analysis of regional heart shape …

Serum Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein-1 In Pancreatic Cancer., Jennifer Sullivan, Qiaoke Gong, Terry Hyslop, Harish Lavu, Galina Chipitsyna, Charles Yeo, Hwyda A Arafat

Department of Surgery Faculty Papers

Background/Aims. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) has etiological association with chronic inflammation. Elevated circulating levels of inflammatory mediators, such as monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), are found in obese individuals. We hypothesized that serum MCP-1 levels are elevated in obese PDA patients. Methods. ELISA was used to analyze MCP-1 serum levels in PDA (n = 62) and intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMN) (n = 27). Recursive partitioning statistical analysis investigated the relationship between log MCP-1 and clinicopathological parameters. Results. Log MCP-1 values were significantly (P < 0.05) elevated in patients with BMI ≥ 37.5. In patients with BMI < 37.5, average log MCP-1 values were significantly elevated in PDA patients when compared to IPMN patients. Within the IPMN group, higher log MCP-1 levels correlated with increased age. Recursive partitioning analysis of IPMN versus PDA revealed a strategy of predicting characteristics of patients who are more likely to have cancer. This strategy utilizes log MCP-1 as the primary factor and also utilizes smoking status, gender, and age. Conclusion. MCP-1 is a promising biomarker in pancreatic cancer. The potential of using MCP-1 to distinguish PDA from IPMN patients must be studied in larger populations to validate and demonstrate its eventual clinical utility.