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The division and evaluation of data series used in monitoring drought into different time intervals is a practical approach to detecting the spatial and temporal extent of drought spread. This study aimed to determine meteorological drought's spatial and temporal distribution using overlapping and consecutive periods and cycles of the standardized precipitation index (SPI) time series in the Mediterranean region, Turkey. In the scope of the research, SPI values for the SPI12, SPI6 (1), and SPI6 (2) seasons were calculated for consecutive and overlapping hydrological years (1978-1998/21 years, 1978-2008/31 years, and 1978-2018/41 years) at 28 meteorological stations. Autocorrelation, Mann-Kendall, and Sen slope trend tests were applied at a 5% significance level for each season (SPI12, SPI6 (1), and SPI6 (2)) and different time scales (21, 31, and 41 years). For each season and period, maps of the SPI drought class, average formation of drought class, Mann-Kendall (MK) trend, and Sen's slope (SS) trend test statistics for the Mediterranean region were obtained, and the spatial distribution rate of trends was determined by drawing hypsometric curves. Changes in drought occurrence at different time scales were thoroughly evaluated with the changing length of data recording. Consequently, it was determined that the mild wet (MIW) and mild drought (MID) classes dominate the study area in the Mediterranean region. Significant and nonstationary changes detected in extreme wet and drought occurrences (extreme wet, EW; severe wet, SW; extreme drought, ED; severe drought, SD) were found to pose a risk in the study area. It was observed that there were spatially and temporally insignificant decreasing drought trends in the Mediterranean basin, considering that the time scales of these trends slowed down. Despite a nonsignificant trend from the MID drought class to the MIW drought class, it is predicted that the MIW and MID classes will maintain their dominance in the Mediterranean region. The central part of the study area (central Mediterranean basin) is the region with the highest drought risk., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

The application of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs) can be an excellent and eco-friendly alternative to the use of chemical fertilizers. While PGPRs are often used in traditional agriculture to facilitate yield increases, their use in soilless agriculture has been limited. Soilless agriculture is growing in popularity among commercial farmers because it eliminates soil-borne problems, and the essential strategy is to keep the system as clean as possible. However, a new trend is the inclusion of PGPRs to enhance plant development. Despite the plethora of research that has been performed to date, there remains a huge knowledge gap that needs to be addressed to facilitate the commercialization of PGPRs for sustainable soilless agriculture. Hence, the development of proper strategies and additional research and trials are required. The present review provides an update on recent developments in the use of PGPRs in soilless agriculture, examining these bacteria from different perspectives in an attempt to generate critical discussion and aid in the understanding of the interaction between soilless agriculture and PGPRs., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestsNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors., (© King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology 2021.)

Background: To the best of our knowledge, no data has been published about the spontaneous subarachnoid haemorrhage (sSAH) incidence in Turkey. We aimed to report the estimation of sSAH incidence in Edirne Province, in Turkey for the first time, using the data acquired from a single medical centre which has the biggest and the most comprehensive emergency department in Edirne and to where a great majority of patients are referred., Methods: We investigated all the accessible sSAH patients' data obtained from computer-based automation systems and all the written documents in the neurosurgery and the emergency departments. Patients included in the study were diagnosed with sSAH between the dates of January 2007 and December 2011 and were resident in Edirne. We used this data to calculate the crude and age-adjusted incidence rates of sSAH for every decade., Results: One hundred fifty-four patients have been diagnosed with sSAH during a 5-year period. Among them, 72 were men (47.8%) and 82 (53.2%) were women. The mean age of the patients was 60.8 years and age range was 23-85 years. The overall annual adjusted incidence rate for sSAH was 10.3 per 100,000 person-years (95% confidence interval = 10.2-10.3). Annual adjusted incidence rate was 10 per 100,000 person-years (95% confidence interval = 10-10.1) for men. For women, it was 10.4 per 100,000 person-years (95% confidence interval = 10.4-10.5). For both sexes, after the 6th decade, the annual incidence rate of sSAH was higher than 10 per 100,000, reaching over 20 per 100,000 person-years after the 7th decade. The overall crude incidence rate for sSAH was 10.3 per 100,000 person-years. For men, the crude incidence rate was 9.4 per 100,000 person-years and for women, it was 11.2 per 100,000 person-years., Conclusions: This study showing the first sSAH incidence estimation in Edirne might also be accepted as an estimation of overall epidemiological sSAH aspect in Turkey. Future investigations should be realised in different parts of Turkey to enlighten the epidemiological state of affairs and the course of sSAH in Turkey.

Background: Although surgical decompression of large hemispheric infarction is often a life-saving procedure, many patients remain functionally dependent. The aims of this study were to identify specific factors that can be used to predict functional outcome, thus establish predictive criteria to reduce poor surgical results., Method: In this non-randomized prospective study, we performed decompressive craniectomy in 32 patients (age range, 27 to 77 years) with large hemispheric infarctions. Based on their modified Rankin Score (RS), which was calculated 6 months postoperatively, patients were divided into two functional groups: good (RS 0-3, n = 7) and poor (RS 4-6, n = 25). The characteristics of the two groups were compared using statistical analysis., Findings: One-month mortality was 31%. However, most of the surviving patients were severely disabled (RS 4 or 5), and 6-month total mortality reached 50%. Increased age (> or = 60 years) (P = 0.010), preoperative midline shift greater than 10 mm (P = 0.008), low preoperative Glasgow Coma Score (GCS < or = 7) (P = 0.002), presence of preoperative anisocoria (P = 0.032), early (within the first three days of the stroke) clinical deterioration (P = 0.032), and an internal carotid artery infarct (P = 0.069) were the positive predictors of a poor outcome., Interpretation: We view decompressive craniectomy for space-occupying large hemispheric infarction as a life-sparing procedure that sometimes yields good functional outcomes. A dominant hemispheric infarction should not be an exclusion criterion when deciding to perform this operation. Early operation and careful patient selection based on the above-mentioned factors may improve the functional outcome of surgical management for large hemispheric infarction.