(C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3174391]“
“Hepatoportal sclerosis (HPS) is a syndrome of obscure etiology, and Tideglusib is one of the causes of noncirrhotic portal hypertension (PH). We aimed to investigate this heterogeneous group of patients whose presentation showed cholestatic features, histopathologically.

Between 1999 and 2009, 12 children diagnosed with HPS were retrospectively evaluated. HPS was diagnosed with evidence of PH, noncirrhotic liver biopsy with typical histopathologic findings, and exclusion of other possible causes of PH. The data was obtained from pathology reports and microscopic slides. In histopathological re-evaluation fibrosis state, aberrant portal vessels, portal tract dilation and inflammation, ductular reaction, regenerative nodular hyperplasia, acinar transformation, presence of bile pigment, and cholangitis were noted. Serum alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyl, alkaline phosphatase, bilirubin, and albumin levels, presentation patterns, and radiologic findings were assessed. Familial relationship degrees were also investigated. Twelve patients (9 boys, 3 girls; 3-180 months) were re-evaluated. Two pairs of the patients were siblings. Parents of 7 patients were consanguine. The ATM/ATR phosphorylation most common presenting symptom was abdominal distension. Histopathologically, all

patients had hepatoportal sclerosis/intimal fibrous thickening of portal vein and periportal fibrosis, acinar transformation, and regenerative nodules not surrounded by fibrous septae. Eight patients had vascular aberrations, 7 had ductular reaction, 1 showed mild cholangitis, and 1 had canalicular

bile pigment. We conclude that genetic predisposition might be a possible factor for HPS development in Turkish patients and it should be kept in mind that cholestatic features noticed in 4-Hydroxytamoxifen histopathological evaluation may represent a variant group in the spectrum of HPS.”
“Self-cleaning wool has been realized by treatment with a colloidal sol of anatase nanocrystals. However, the mechanical properties of wool have been significantly deteriorated following the self-cleaning functionalization treatment. To minimize the undesirable side-effects induced by the nanocoating, a silicone surface modification post-treatment has been introduced. The change in mechanical properties of TiO(2)-coated wool after modification with silicone was examined, and the effect of this process on the photocatalytic activity and its stability was assessed by a degradation test of food stains. Moreover, the wettability of wool has been modified using different nonionic Wetting agents, in an attempt to shorten the wetting time during clip-coating and the absorption rate was compared. The effect of wetting agents on the functionalization process and the photocatalytic activity was examined.