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Abstract Background The present study aimed to compare the outcomes of simultaneous bilateral total knee arthroplasty (simBTKA) and staged bilateral total knee arthroplasty (stgBTKA) across different age groups, with a specific focus on patients under and over 65 years old. Methods A retrospective cohort study design was employed to analyze the medical records of patients who underwent simBTKA or stgBTKA between August 2018 and May 2023. Patients were categorized into 4 groups based on age and surgical approach. Various outcome measures including knee extension strength, patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), length of stay (LOS), operating room time (ORT), and complication rates were evaluated. Results The study included a total of 162 patients, with 48 patients in the simBTKA group and 114 patients in the stgBTKA group. Across all age groups, simBTKA resulted in a significantly shorter LOS and ORT than stgBTKA (p

An experiment investigated the effects of early qualitative feed restriction and barrier perch provision on the morphometric and biomechanical measurements of the bones in broiler chickens. A total of 504 one-day-old Ross 308 male broiler chickens were randomly assigned to a completely randomized design with a 2×2 factorial arrangement (three replicate pens/group;42 chickens/pen) of qualitative feed restriction (presence- QFR+/absence-QFR-) and the provision of barrier perch (presence-BP+/absence-BP-). On days 21 and 42, morphometric and biomechanical parameters were measured. As a result of this study, barrier perch presence showed no significant impact on morphometric and biomechanical measurements. In the QFR- group, the weight and length of femur bones in 42-day-old broiler chickens were found to be higher (P

Introduction: This study analyzes the efficacy of trapezius muscle electromyography (EMG) in discerning mental states, namely stress and meditation. Methods: Fifteen healthy participants were monitored to assess their physiological responses to mental stressors and meditation. Sensors were affixed to both the right and left trapezius muscles to capture EMG signals, while simultaneous electroencephalography (EEG) was conducted to validate cognitive states. Results: Our analysis of various EMG features, considering frequency ranges and sensor positioning, revealed significant changes in trapezius muscle activity during stress and meditation. Notably, low-frequency EMG features facilitated enhanced stress detection. For accurate stress identification, sensor configurations can be limited to the right trapezius muscle. Furthermore, the introduction of a novel method for determining asymmetry in EMG features suggests that applying sensors on bilateral trapezius muscles can improve the detection of mental states. Conclusion: This research presents a promising avenue for efficient cognitive state monitoring through compact and convenient sensing.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of LED light color and stocking density on the growth performance, carcass, and breast meat quality characteristics of quails. The experiment comprised 720 1-day-old mixed-sex Japanese quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica) randomly divided into 6 experimental groups with 4 replicates in each group. Experimental treatments included three different LED light colors (white, monochromatic blue, and monochromatic green) and two different stocking densities (100 and 200 cm2/bird) in a 3x2 factorial design. The feed intake and body weight of quails were measured weekly. At 42 days of age, 20 quails per treatment group were randomly selected for carcass and breast meat quality characteristics analysis. Body weight gain was significantly higher in the blue and green LED light treatments (P

Objective In this study effects of three types of beddings on broiler leg health and bone biomechanics were evaluated. Methods A total of 504 male chicks (Ross 308) were randomly placed on three beddings (4 replicates/group; 42 birds/pen), zeolite-added litter (ZL), plastic-grid flooring (PF), and wood shavings (WS). On day 42, chickens were weighed, slaughtered, and samples (bone, muscle, and drumstick) were collected. Bones were subjected to leg health tests, morphometric measurements, biomechanical testing, and ash analysis. Results Broilers in PF and WS groups showed higher live weight than the ZL group (p

Titanium-Niobium (TiNb) alloys are commonly employed in a number of implantable devices, yet concerns exist regarding their use in implantology owing to the biomechanical mismatch between the implant and the host tissue. Therefore, to balance the mechanical performance of the load-bearing implant with bone, TiNb alloys with differing porosities were fabricated by powder metallurgy combined with spacer material. Microstructures and phase constituents were characterized with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The mechanical properties were tested by uniaxial compression, and the corrosion performance was determined via a potentiodynamic polarization experiment. To evaluate a highly matched potential implant with the host, biocompatibilities such as cell viability and proliferation rate, fibronectin adsorption, plasmid-DNA interaction, and an SEM micrograph showing the cell morphology were examined in detail. The results showed that the alloys displayed open and closed pores with a uniform pore size and distribution, which allowed for cell adherence and other cellular activities. The alloys with low porosity displayed compressive strength between 618 MPa and 1295 MPa, while the alloys with high porosity showed significantly lower strength, ranging from 48 MPa to 331 MPa. The biological evaluation of the alloys demonstrated good cell attachment and proliferation rates.

Abstract Bacground/Aims: The aim of study to evaluate the effects of synthetic collagen membrane placed on dura mater on the prevention of arachnoiditis and fibrosis development by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in patients undergoing lumbar discectomy. Methods: A total of 40 patients who underwent single level unilateral discectomy for lumbar disc hernia were retrospectively evaluated. Sixteen patients with collagen membranes placed on the dura and 24 patients without any material on the dura were included in the study. Postoperative MRI images of the patients with and without collagen membranes were examined and evaluated whether the material used was effective in preventing arachnoiditis and / or epidural fibrosis and granulation tissue formation. Results: Nine female patients (37.5%) and 15 male patients (62.5%) of 24 patients were in the collagen membrane-free group. Four of the patients in the collagen membrane group were female (25%) and 12 were male (75%). The mean age of the non-membrane group was 35.47 ± 9.06, and the mean age of the membrane group was 37.40 ± 8.92 years. According to MRI findings, granulation tissue and epidural fibrosis were not observed in 8 (50%) of 16 patients with collagen membranes, whereas granulation tissue was observed in 8 (50%) patients. Granulation tissue was not observed in 10 (41.7%) of 24 patients without collagen membrane, whereas epidural fibrosis and granulation tissue formation was observed in 14 (58.3%). Based on these results, there was no statistically significant relationship between type-I collagen membrane use and granulation tissue formation. (P = 0.604

Abstract In this study, the toxicity of vanadium (VCI3) in Allium cepa L. was studied. Germination-related parameters, mitotic index (MI), catalase (CAT) activity, chromosomal abnormalities (CAs), malondialdehyde (MDA) level, micronucleus (MN) frequency and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were investigated. The effects of VCI3 exposure on the DNA of meristem cells were investigated with the help of comet assay, and the relationships between physiological, cytogenetic and biochemical parameters were revealed by correlation and PCA analyses. A. cepa bulbs were germinated with different concentrations of VCI3 for 72 h. As a result, the maximum germination (100%), root elongation (10.4 cm) and weight gain (6.85 g) were determined in the control. VCI3 treatment caused significant decreases in all tested germination-related parameters compared to the control. The highest percentage of MI (8.62%) was also observed in the control. No CAs were found in the control, except for a few sticky chromosomes and unequal distribution of chromatin (p > 0.05). VCI3 treatment caused significant decreases in MI and increases in the frequencies of CAs and MN, depending on the dose. Similarly, the comet assay showed that DNA damage scores increased with increasing VCI3 doses. The lowest root MDA (6.50 µM/g) level and SOD (36.7 U/mg) and CAT (0.82 OD240nmmin/g) activities were also measured in the control. VCI3 treatment caused significant increases in root MDA levels and antioxidant enzyme activities. Besides, VCI3 treatment induced anatomical damages such as flattened cell nucleus, epidermis cell damage, binuclear cell, thickening in the cortex cell wall, giant cell nucleus, damages in cortex cell and unclear vascular tissue. All examined parameters showed significant negative or positive correlations with each other. PCA analysis confirmed the relations of investigated parameters and VCI3 exposure.

Finding the right journal for a manuscript to be submitted is difficult and often time-consuming because authors take into account some criteria while searching for the appropriate journal for their manuscript. One of the most important criteria is the content similarity of the journals and manuscript. For this purpose, the subject of the manuscript should be in accordance with the scope of the journal. Also, the manuscript content should be closed to the journals’ trend for higher chance of acceptance. Second criterion is to take into account the impact-factor, acceptance-rate, review-time and publishing houses of the journal, which are suitable for the author’s past publication profile. In this study, a novel method is proposed in which both the content of the article and the author / authors profile are considered together to find the appropriate journal. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first effort in this direction. Experimental results conducted on real data sets have shown that the proposed method is applicable and performs high accuracy values.

Objective: Aquaporin4 is the main water channel in the brain that is associated with neurological disorders. The role and the expressive changes of aquaporin4 in epilepsy are still limited and controversial. The study aims to evaluate the expression of c-fos and aquaporin4 during epileptogenesis after systemic kainic acid-induced status epilepticus in the temporal lobe epilepsy animal model and to investigate their alterations in both hippocampus and amygdala. Methods:Intraperitoneal injections of kainic acid (5-15 mg/kg) by repeated low kainic acid protocol were given to young adult 32 Wistar albino rats for status epilepticus. Aquaporin4 and c-fos were investigated in the hippocampus and amygdala on days 1 and 60 after status epilepticus by immunostaining methods in brain slices.Results:The intensity of c-fos immunostaining rose considerably in the hippocampus CA1 area of rats during the acute period (P < 0.05) and in the amygdala during the chronic period. The immunostaining intensity of aquaporin4in the hippocampus of rats with acute kainic acid increased significantly (P < .05). It was also raised in the hippocampal region of the rats in the acute sham and chronic kainic acid groups.Discussion:The results of this study support a link between aquaporin4 and epilepsy. It can be speculated that aquaporin4 change is primarily a defense mechanism immediately after status epilepticus, and then, it can evolve into a causal factor with exhaustion as a result of overuse.

Amaç: Bu çalışmanın amacı timokinonun (TQ) valproik asit (VPA) kaynaklı pankreas hasarını önleme veya tedavi etmedeki potansiyel etkisinin, sıçanların pankreas dokusundaki gen ekspresyonlarının ve histopatolojik değişikliklerin değerlendirilmesidir. Gereç ve Yöntem: 21 erkek Spraque-Dawley sıçanı 3 gruba ayrıldı (n = 7): Kontrol, VPA, VPA + TQ. Sıçanlar, 14 gün boyunca oral yoldan VPA (500 mg/kg/gün) ve TQ (50 mg/kg/gün) ile muamele edildi. Muamelenin 15. gününde, histon deasetilaz (HDAC1 ve HDAC2) genlerinin ekspresyon seviyelerinin analizi için pankreas dokusu çıkarıldı. Pankreas dokularındaki yapısal değişiklikler incelendi. Bulgular: VPA + TQ grubunun, VPA grubuna göre anlamlı derecede daha yüksek HDAC1 ve HDAC2 gen ekspresyonuna sahip olduğu görüldü. Ayrıca bulgularımız, TQ tedavisinin pankreas dokusunu VPA'nın HDAC1 ve HDAC2 gen ekspresyonu üzerindeki olumsuz etkilerine karşı koruyabildiğini göstermektedir. Ayrıca TQ NADPH oksidaz-4 (NOX-4) ve kaspaz-3 (CAS-3) düzeylerini de düşürdü. VPA+TQ grubunda VPA grubuna göre oksidatif stres azaldı, antioksidan aktivite arttı ve histopatolojik değişiklikler azaldı. VPA'nın neden olduğu pankreas hasarı, TQ'nun antioksidatif ve antiapoptotik etkileri nedeniyle hafifletildi. Sonuç: TQ, VPA'nın neden olduğu pankreas hasarının şiddetini azaltmada faydalı olabilir.

To evaluate diagnostic performance of Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), Platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and platelecrit in the first and third trimester in preeclampsia. This was a single center case control study conducted between January 2015 and January 2021. Patients diagnosed with preeclampsia were assigned as study population. The preeclamptic patients were assigned into two groups based on gestational weeks at diagnosis. Patients diagnosed before 34th gestational weeks were categorized as early preeclampsia and whereas patients diagnosed after 34th gestational weeks as late preeclampsia. Receiver operating characteristics curve was used to assess diagnostic value of first and third trimester NLR, PLR and platelecrit in preeclampsia. Detection rate of each variable was assessed for a 10% false positive rate. NLR in the first trimester have highest sensitivity of 30 % at a 90 % specificity to detect early preeclampsia. The area under curve (AUC) for NLR was 0.742 respectively. The best cut off for 1st trimester NLR was 4.98. PLR and platelecrit yielded low diagnostic performance. NLR in the first trimester has a moderate predictive performance for early preeclampsia. PLR was not different in preeclamptic cases and controls and platelecrit yielded a low diagnostic performance for preeclampsia. [Med-Science 2022; 11(1.000): 148-53]

Breast cancer is a generalized global problem. Biomarkers are the active substances that have been considered as the signature of the existence and evolution of cancer. Early screening of different biomarkers associated with breast cancer can help doctors to design a treatment plan. However, each screening technique for breast cancer has some limitations. In most cases, a single technique can detect a single biomarker at a specific time. In this study, we address different types of biomarkers associated with breast cancer. This review article presents a detailed picture of different techniques and each technique’s associated mechanism, sensitivity, limit of detection, and linear range for breast cancer detection at early stages. The limitations of existing approaches require researchers to modify and develop new methods to identify cancer biomarkers at early stages.

Structured Abstract—Objective: Abnormal elevation of intracranial pressure (ICP) can cause dangerous or even fatal outcomes. The early detection of high intracranial pressure events can be crucial in saving lives in an intensive care unit (ICU). Despite many applications of machine learning (ML) techniques related to clinical diagnosis, ML applications for continuous ICP detection or short-term predictions have been rarely reported. This study proposes an efficient method of applying an artificial recurrent neural network on the early prediction of ICP evaluation continuously for TBI patients. Methods: After ICP data preprocessing, the learning model is generated for thirteen patients to continuously predict the ICP signal occurrence and classify events for the upcoming 10 minutes by inputting the previous 20-minutes of the ICP signal. Results: As the overall model performance, the average accuracy is 94.62%, the average sensitivity is 74.91%, the average specificity is 94.83%, and the average root mean square error is approximately 2.18 mmHg. Conclusion: This research addresses a significant clinical problem with the management of traumatic brain injury patients. The machine learning model data enables early prediction of ICP continuously in a real-time fashion, which is crucial for appropriate clinical interventions. The results show that our machine learning-based model has high adaptive performance, accuracy, and efficiency.

Bu çalışmada, bilimsel tefsir hakkında bilgi verildikten sonra, Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı tarafından yayımlanan Kur'an Yolu tefsirindeki bazı bilimsel yorum örnekleri incelenecektir. Kur’an-ı Kerim nazil olduğu günden itibaren farklı yaklaşımlarla tefsir edilmiştir. Bu yaklaşımlardan biri de ayetlerin pozitif bilimlerin verileri çerçevesinde yorumlandığı bilimsel tefsir yöntemidir. Bu yorumlama yönteminin tarihi hicri beşinci yüzyıla ve hatta sahabe dönemine kadar götürülmekle birlikte, bu dönemlerdeki örnekler tikel ve primitif düzeydedir. Bununla birlikte yaklaşımın ekol haline gelmesi on dokuzuncu yüzyılda mümkün olmuştur. Bilimsel tefsirin ekol haline gelmesine ilişkin çeşitli sebepler ileri sürülmüştür. Bilimsel tefsire ilişkin eserler incelendiğinde, bu ekolün gelişmesindeki en önemli etmenin, Müslümanların sanayi devriminden sonra teknoloji ve bilimde ilerleme kaydeden Batı karşısındaki gerilemesini durdurmak amacıyla Kur’an'a dayalı bilimsel bir yöntem oluşturmak ve İslam'ın bilime engel olduğu şeklindeki görüşü çürütmek olduğu anlaşılmaktadır. Bu tarihten itibaren birçok tefsirde bilimsel yorumlara yer verildiği ve bilimsel tefsire ilişkin müstakil eserler kaleme alındığı görülmektedir. Ancak ilerleyen süreçte bu yöntemin kazandığı ivmede mezkûr nedenlerden çok bu yönteme olan ilginin artmasının etkili olduğu görülmektedir. Ayetlerin pozitif bilimlerin verileri çerçevesinde yorumlandığı bu eserlerden biri de Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı tarafından yayımlanan ve geniş bir okur kitlesine sahip olan Kur'an Yolu tefsiridir. Eserin girişinde ayetlerin yorumunda bilimsel tefsir yönteminin kullanılacağına ilişkin doğrudan bir ifade bulunmamakla birlikte, Kur'an'ın şekil ve içerik açısından örnek bir kitap olduğu; yaratılış, varlık, insan ve evrenin yapısı hakkındaki bilgilerin onun önemli özellikleri arasında sayılması ve yapılan yorumlarda bilimin gerekleri ile çağın gereklerinin birlikte dikkate alınması gerektiği yönündeki uyarı, eserde bilimsel yorumlara yer verileceğini ihsas etmektedir. Eserin girişinde, tefsirde yer verilen bilgi ve yorumlarda seçmeci bir yaklaşım sergileneceğinin ve yeni yorumların yapılacağının ifade edilmesi eserde bilimsel yorumlarda da diğer yorumlarda olduğu gibi seçmeci bir yaklaşım sergileneceğini ve modern dönemde yapılan yorumlara yer verileceğini göstermektedir. Kur'an Yolu tefsirinde, ayetlerin bilimsel yorumunda, pozitif bilimlere ilişkin Türkçe ve yabancı dildeki çeşitli eserlerle modern dönemdeki tefsirlerden yararlanılmıştır. Eserdeki birçok yorumun kaynağını Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslam Ansiklopedisi'nin pozitif bilime ilişkin maddeleri oluşturmaktadır. Her iki eserin Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı ile ilgili olmasının bu tercihte etkili olduğu anlaşılmaktadır. Kur'an Yolu tefsirinde ayetlerin daha önce yapılan bilimsel yorumlarına yer verildiği, bu doğrultuda müstakil yorumların yapıldığı ve nadiren de bazı bilimsel yorumların eleştirildiği görülmektedir. Kur'an'ın bir bilim veya astronomi kitabı olmadığı belirtilen eserde, pozitif bilimlere ilişkin veriler çoğu zaman Kur'an'ın temel amacı olan "hidayet" çerçevesinde ele alınmaktadır. Bu durum, eserde bilimsel tefsirin amaç olarak değil, Kur'an'ın asıl amacına ulaşmada bir araç olarak görüldüğünü göstermektedir. Eserin modern dönemde kaleme alınmış olması, bilimsel yorum açısından bütüncül bir bakış açısı yakalamamızı ve yeni görüşlere ulaşmamızı sağlamaktadır. Eserde bilimsel tefsire ilişkin önceki yorumların değerlendirilmesi de okuyucuya eleştirel bir bakış açısı sağlamaktadır. Ayetleri bilimsel buluşlar veya teorilerle yorumlamanın her zaman ve her ayet için isabetli bir yöntem olmadığı belirtilen eserde, evrenin yaratılışına ilişkin teorilerin ve doğa bilimlerindeki gelişmelerin ayetlerin daha iyi anlaşılmasına yardımcı olduğu belirtilmektedir. Tüm ayetlerin modern bilimin verileriyle yorumlanmadığı eserde, bazı bilimsel yorumların eleştirildiği ve çoğunlukla ayetlerde açıkça ifade edilen ve bilim tarafından kesinliği kanıtlanan konularda yorum yapılmaya özen gösterildiği görülmektedir. Kur’an’ın takip ettiği metoda bağlı olarak kozmolojiye ilişkin yorumlara ağırlık verilen eserde ayetlerin jeoloji, biyoloji, meteoroloji ve tıbbın verileriyle de yorumlandığı görülmektedir. Kur'an Yolu tefsirinde bilimsel verilerin Kur'an'ın iʻcâzıyla ilişkilendirildiği yorumlara da rastlanılmaktadır.

ABSTRACT Introduction: Minimally invasive methods have become more preferred in cardiac surgery today. In this study, the comparative results of patients who underwent an aortic root, arch or hemiarch replacement by ministernotomy and full sternotomy in our clinic are presented. Methods: Between January 2017 and October 2019, a series of operations including aortic root, ascending aorta, and aortic arch replacements were performed on 278 patients. The ministernotomy technique was used in 25 of them. Twenty patients who underwent full sternotomy were selected and matched to this group for comparison. Results: The ministernotomy group had a longer cross-clamping time (128.3±30.8 vs. 104.7±23.4 min, P=0.007) but the total operating time was similar in the two groups (249.76±28.56 vs. 248.25±37.53 min, P=0.879). The number of red blood cell (RBC) transfusions per patient was higher in the full sternotomy group (4.65±3.74 vs. 2.44±1.85 unit, P=0.020). The ministernotomy group had shorter ventilation times (7.60±4.88 vs. 32.30±32.25 h, P

This study investigated the microstructures, mechanical performances, corrosion resistances, and in vitro studies of porous Ti-xNb-10Zr (x: 10 and 20; at. %) alloys. The alloys were fabricated by powder metallurgy with two categories of porosities, i.e., 21–25% and 50–56%, respectively. The space holder technique was employed to generate the high porosities. Microstructural analysis was performed by using various methods including scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, electron backscatter diffraction, and x-ray diffraction. Corrosion resistance was assessed via electrochemical polarisation tests, while mechanical behavior was determined by uniaxial compressive tests. In vitro studies, such as cell viability and proliferation, adhesion potential, and genotoxicity, were examined by performing an MTT assay, fibronectin adsorption, and plasmid-DNA interaction assay. Experimental results showed that the alloys had a dual-phase microstructure composed of finely dispersed acicular hcp α-Ti needles in the bcc β-Ti matrix. The ultimate compressive strength ranged from 1019 MPa to 767 MPa for alloys with 21–25% porosities and from 173 MPa to 78 MPa for alloys with 50–56% porosities. Noted that adding a space holder agent played a more critical role in the mechanical behaviors of the alloys compared to adding niobium. The pores were largely open and exhibited irregular shapes, with uniform size distribution, allowing for cell ingrowth. Histological analysis showed that the alloys studied met the biocompatibility criteria required for orthopaedic biomaterial use.

Abstract Nowadays, a large population around the world, especially the elderly, suffers from neurological inflammatory and degenerative disorders/diseases. Current drug delivery strategies are facing different challenges because of the presence of the BBB, which limits the transport of various substances and cells to brain parenchyma. Additionally, the low rate of successful cell transplantation to the brain injury sites leads to efforts to find alternative therapies. Stem cell byproducts such as exosomes are touted as natural nano-drug carriers with 50–100 nm in diameter. These nano-sized particles could harbor and transfer a plethora of therapeutic agents and biological cargos to the brain. These nanoparticles would offer a solution to maintain paracrine cell-to-cell communications under healthy and inflammatory conditions. The main question is that the existence of the intact BBB could limit exosomal trafficking. Does BBB possess some molecular mechanisms that facilitate the exosomal delivery compared to the circulating cell? Although preliminary studies have shown that exosomes could cross the BBB, the exact molecular mechanism(s) beyond this phenomenon remains unclear. In this review, we tried to compile some facts about exosome delivery through the BBB and propose some mechanisms that regulate exosomal cross in pathological and physiological conditions.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death. CVD symptoms may develop within a short-term after diagnostic catheterizations and lead to life-threatening situations. This study is the first to apply machine learning (ML) methods to predict subsequent adverse cardiovascular events/treatments for patients within 90 days after their first diagnostic catheterizations. Patients (6539) without previously diagnosed CVD were selected from the DukeCath dataset. Ten ML methods were used. Three medical outcomes, varied cardiovascular-related scenarios, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) treatments, and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) treatments, were targeted individually. With patient medical history, vital measurements, laboratory results, and the number of diseased vessels, the random forest classifier (RFC) performed best in predicting combined cardiovascular scenarios, including CABG, PCI, valve surgery (VS), stroke, and myocardial infarction (MI), achieving accuracy: 88.17%, sensitivity: 89.72%, specificity: 86.98%, area under receiver operating characteristic (AUROC): 91.68%. The gradient boosting classifier (GBC) performed best in predicting the PCI and CABG treatments (PCI treatments: accuracy: 89.21%, sensitivity: 90.20%, specificity: 88.74%, AUROC: 94.16%; CABG treatments: accuracy: 93.86%, sensitivity: 77.57%, specificity: 96.23%, AUROC: 96.47%). Our results show that the ML applications effectively identify high-risk patients, can provide diagnostic assistance in cardiovascular treatment planning, and improve outcomes in cardiovascular medicine.

Introduction/Aim: Regular exercise may have beneficial effects on high blood-pressure, as shown in different types of experimental hypertension models in rats. The present study aims to investigate the effects of 6-week swimming training on blood pressure, oxidative stress variables of selected tissues, serum adrenomedullin (ADM) levels, and in situ muscle contraction in rats with hypertension induced by Nω-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride (L-NAME), an inhibitor of endothelial nitric oxide synthases (eNOs). Materials and Methods: Twenty-six male Sprague Dawley, 8 weeks of age, rats were randomly divided into four groups: (I) normotensive (C), (II) normotensive + exercise (E), (III) hypertensive (L), and (IV) hypertensive + exercise (LE). Hypertension was induced by the oral administration of L-NAME (60 mg/kg) for 6 weeks. Exercise was performed 5 times (1-h each) per week for 6 weeks. At the end of the experiment, blood and tissue samples (the gastrocnemius muscle, heart, kidney, and thoracic aorta) were collected following contractile properties of the gastrocnemius muscle in situ weredetermined. In the collected tissues, oxidative stress (e.g., lipid oxidation and antioxidant enzyme activity) and serum ADM levels were measured. 6-week L-NAME administration per se (Group L) led to a significant increase in systolic and diastolic blood pressure compared to other groups. Results: Importantly, 6-week exercise caused a protective effect of high blood pressure in the rats received L-NAME (Group LE). The level of ADM was lower in the rats received L-NAME than that of the control group. L-NAME increased lipid peroxidation in the thoracic aorta and decreased superoxide dismutase in the heart, kidney and muscle, and decreased catalase and glutathione in the heart. However, the exercise intervention did not have protective effect on the L-NAME-mediated oxidative damage in the collected tissues. Conclusion: In conclusion, 6-week exercise intervention rescued rats from high blood pressure, but did not have ameliorative effect on the decreased ADM levels.

Objective: Stress is a significant risk factor for various diseases such as hypertension, heart attack, stroke, and even sudden death. Stress can also lead to psychological and behavioral disorders. Heart rate variability (HRV) can reflect changes in stress levels while other physiological factors, like blood pressure, are within acceptable ranges. Electroencephalogram (EEG) is a vital technique for studying brain activities and provides useful data regarding changes in mental status. This study incorporates EEG and a detailed HRV analysis to have a better understanding and analysis of stress. Investigating the correlation between EEG and HRV under stress conditions is valuable since they provide complementary information regarding stress. Methods: Simultaneous electrocardiogram (ECG) and EEG recordings were obtained from fifteen subjects. HRV /EEG features were analyzed and compared in rest, stress, and meditation conditions. A one-way ANOVA and correlation coefficient were used for statistical analysis to explore the correlation between HRV features and features extracted from EEG. Results: The HRV features LF (low frequency), HF (high frequency), LF/HF, and rMSSD (root mean square of the successive differences) correlated with EEG features, including alpha power band in the left hemisphere and alpha band power asymmetry. Conclusion: This study demonstrated five significant relationships between EEG and HRV features associated with stress. The ability to use stress-related EEG features in combination with correlated HRV features could help improve detecting stress and monitoring the progress of stress treatments/therapies. The outcomes of this study could enhance the efficiency of stress management technologies such as meditation studies and bio-feedback training.

Nowadays, social media and online sharing sites are frequently used to share thoughts about daily events. Thanks to the posts made by internet users on these platforms, first, quite big data is generated to interpret the agenda. More than 10,000 comments of more than 5000 users made about COVID-19 from online websites between 15 March and 15 May were collected in this study. Then, emotional analysis on these comments was carried out with BERT, GRU, LSTM and TF-IDF methods. The changes in the amount of user comments and the emotions reflected by the comments have been associated with the actual events of these dates. It has been determined which types of events affect users more. In addition, the emotional response changes of the users to the official COVID-19 statistics were measured and the peak points of the emotional changes were determined. Finally, the emotion classification methods applied were evaluated by user questionnaires and their successes were determined according to F-Measure.

Abstract To increase the success in Covid 19 treatment, many drug suggestions are presented, and some clinical studies are shared in the literature. There have been some attempts to use some of these drugs in combination. However, using more than one drug together may cause serious side effects on patients. Therefore, detecting drug-drug interactions of the drugs used will be of great importance in the treatment of Covid 19. In this study, the interactions of 8 drugs used for Covid 19 treatment with 645 different drugs and possible side effects estimates have been produced using Graph Convolutional Networks. As a result of the experiments, it has been found that the hematopoietic system and the cardiovascular system are exposed to more side effects than other organs. Among the focused drugs, Heparin and Atazanavir appear to cause more adverse reactions than other drugs. In addition, as it is known that some of these 8 drugs are used together in Covid-19 treatment, the side effects caused by using these drugs together are shared. With the experimental results obtained, it is aimed to facilitate the selection of the drugs and increase the success of Covid 19 treatment according to the targeted patient.

Mechanical properties of geopolymer mortar made with class F fly ash and class C fly ash are evaluated and compared in this paper. Fly ashes were activated with a combined NaOH and Na2SiO3 alkali solution, and their strength development was observed during one year. It was observed that compressive strength values were between 10.22 and 15.83 MPa for geopolymer mortar mixtures made with class C fly ash. The values of up to 56.44 MPa were obtained for geopolymer made with class F fly ash.

Chlamydophila abortus, tüm dünyada koyun ve keçilerde ciddi ekonomik kayıplara yol açan, koyunların enzootik abortusunun (OEA) etkenidir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, Türkiye’nin Burdur ilinde keçi sürülerinde C. abortus enfeksiyonunun seroprevalansını ortaya koymaktı. 384 kan serum örneği, rastgele seçilen 22 keçi sürüsünde, 2 ve daha büyük yaşlardaki keçilerden toplandı. C. abortus enfeksiyonunun bireysel, sürü içi ve sürüler arası seroprevalansı, ticari bir enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kiti ile belirlendi. C. abortus’un görünen ve gerçek bireysel, sürü içi ve sürüler arası seroprevalansı sırasıyla 19.27%, 22.77%, 86.36% ve 19.44%, 23.16%, 90.81% olarak hesaplandı. Sürü büyüklüğüne göre C. abortus enfeksiyonunun seropozitifliği bazı sürüler arasında istatistiki olarak önemli (p˂0.05) bulundu. Keçi ırkları ile C. abortus enfeksiyonu arasındaki ilişki önemli bulunmadı (p˃0.05). Sonuç olarak, C. abortus enfeksiyonunun Burdur ilinde bulunan keçi sürülerinde yüksek oranda bulunduğu, C. abortus enfeksiyonunun yayılımını önlemek için kontrol ve eradikasyon çalışmalarına hemen başlanması gerektiği kanaatine varıldı.

Heart rate variability (HRV) measurements are performed using a tilt-table (TT) to diagnose dysfunctionality in the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and the cardiovascular system. To maintain homeostasis, the ANS adapts to body position changes through alterations in sympathetic and parasympathetic responses that can be quantified by extracting time-domain and frequency-domain parameters from the heart rate signal. When body position is changed from supine to erect, a healthy subject's response also shows changes in ANS activity. However, TT can be unsafe or uncomfortable for elderly or overweight subjects. Furthermore, it may induce anxiety which alters the HRV measurements. This study proposes an alternative strategy to replace the TT with a zero-gravity chair (ZGC). The statistical analysis between HRV parameters from the TT and the ZGC shows that ZGC can be a feasible alternative to TT. Therefore, ZGC can be used as a more convenient, secure, stable and safer option to the traditional HRV analysis with TT.

Bu çalışmada Erciyes Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Öğretim Üyelerinden merhum Prof. Dr. M. Zeki Duman’ın hayatı ve eserleri ele alınacaktır. Duman, yaşadığı dönemde ülkemizdeki tefsir akademisyenlerinin duayenlerinden olmasının yanı sıra bir tefsir eseri kaleme alan ender ilim adamlarından biridir. Duman, mezun olduğu ve o dönemdeki ismi Kayseri Yüksek İslâm Enstitüsü olan Erciyes Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi’nde otuz yıldan fazla görev yapmış bu süre zarfında bugün bir kısmı çeşitli İlahiyat Fakültelerinde akademisyen olan çok sayıda öğrenci yetiştirmiştir. 2009-2012 yılları arasında dekanlık görevini de icra eden Duman, fakültenin fiziki ve akademik altyapısının güçlenmesine de önemli katkı sağlamıştır. Yazdığı eserlerde tefsir alanına ilişkin problemli konuları ve sosyal sorunları aydınlatmaya odaklanan Duman, kendisini Fakülte sınırlarına hapseden bir akademisyen olmamıştır. O, Beyânu’l-Hak tefsiri başta olmak üzere çeşitli eserleriyle toplumun sorunlarına ışık tutmaya çalışmış bir ilim adamıdır. Kendi adındaki internet sitesiyle isteyenlerin bu bilgilere kolay ve ücretsiz ulaşmalarını da sağlamıştır. Uzun yıllar boyunca haftanın dört günü çeşitli meslek gruplarıyla yaptığı derslerle ve yurt içi ve yurt dışında verdiği konferanslarla sahip olduğu birikimi halkla da paylaşmıştır. Naif bir kişiliğe sahip olmakla birlikte profesyonel olarak sporla da ilgilenen Duman yardımsever kişiliğiyle ve bu noktadaki girişimleriyle de tanınmaktadır. Duman 10 Temmuz 2013 tarihinde geçirdiği trafik kazası sonucunda hayatını kaybetmiştir. Duman’ın eserlerinin çoğu hayattayken yayımlanmakla birlikte bir kısmı vefatının ardından evlatlarının girişimiyle yayımlanmıştır. Duman’ın tamamlayamadığı eserleri de mevcuttur. Biz bu çalışmada tefsir alanına uzun yıllar boyunca hizmet eden ve çok sayıda eser kaleme alan Duman’ın hayatı ve eserleri hakkında bilgi vererek onun ve eserlerinin tanınmasına katkı sağlamayı hedeflemekteyiz.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the thickness of heel fat pad (THP) and to detect the relationship between the plantar fasciitis (PF) and age, occupation, BMI, longitudinal arch, the thickness of heel fat-pad in the patients with PF. Methods: A total of 50 patients (29 women and 21 men; mean age: 46.5 years (range: 22–70)) that were diagnosed with PF were included to this study. Patients' affected side were compared with the healthy opposite side with the angle of medial arch (AMA) and first metatarsophalangeal angle (FMTPA) on the foot radiograms, and THP and thickness of first metatarsal fat pad (TFMFP) using ultrasonography (USG) of both feet. Results: The mean AMAs of feet with pain and without pain were 122.56° and 120.60°, respectively. The mean FMTPAs of feet with pain and without pain were 14.72° and 14.40°, respectively. The mean THPs of feet with pain at the point of the medial calcaneal tubercle and the mean TFMFPs of the feet with pain at the point of the first metatarsal head were 19.45 mm and 6.75 mm, respectively. The mean THPs of feet without pain at the point of the medial calcaneal tubercle and the mean TFMFPs of the feet without pain at the point of the first metatarsal head were 19.94 mm and 6.75 mm, respectively. It was observed that the mean AMA in the heels with pain was significantly higher than that of the heel without pain (p

Sex plays an important role in the normal cardiovascular system function including resting heart rate and arterial blood pressure. In addition, it has been reported that men and women are at different levels of risk for cardiovascular diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the temporal and morphological features of both finger and toe photoplethysmography (PPG), and anthropometric and biological parameters with respect to sex. A customized PPG and electrocardiography (ECG) combo device was developed to measure the signals of interest. ECG/PPG features in addition to subjects' information were compared regarding finger and toe PPGs. Eighty-eight subjects participated in the study. Linear regression and Student's t-test were used for statistical analysis. Our results revealed that pulse arrival time (PAT), pulse transit time (PTT), systolic pulse transit time (SPTT), and the ratio of areas under the PPG waveform from the onset to the inflection point and the inflection point to the end of the waveform (S2/S1), are dependent on sex. The highest dependence was shown for the finger PTT while the toe PTT did not indicate any significant dependence on sex. This is the first study that evaluates the effect of sex on cardiovascular system function using finger and toe PPG based features which can help to understand sex-based risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and to improve related disease management and treatments.

Soccer-related ocular injuries, especially retinal injuries, have attracted increasing attention. The mechanics of a flying soccer ball have induced abnormally higher retinal stresses and strains, and their correlation with retinal injuries has been characterized using the finite element (FE) method. However, FE simulations demand solid mechanical expertise and extensive computational time, both of which are difficult to adopt in clinical settings. This study proposes a framework that combines FE analysis with a machine learning (ML) approach for the fast prediction of retina mechanics. Different impact scenarios were simulated using the FE method to obtain the von Mises stress map and the maximum principal strain map in the posterior retina. These stress and strain patterns, along with their input parameters, were used to train and test a partial least squares regression (PLSR) model to predict the soccer-induced retina stress and strain in terms of distributions and peak magnitudes. The peak von Mises stress and maximum principal strain prediction errors were 3.03% and 9.94% for the frontal impact and were 9.08% and 16.40% for the diagonal impact, respectively. The average prediction error of von Mises stress and the maximum principal strain were 15.62% and 21.15% for frontal impacts and were 10.77% and 21.78% for diagonal impacts, respectively. This work provides a surrogate model of FE analysis for the fast prediction of the dynamic mechanics of the retina in response to the soccer impact, which could be further utilized for developing a diagnostic tool for soccer-related ocular trauma.

Amaç: Bu çalışmanın amacı, risperidon’un (RIS) çeşitli nörotransmitter reseptörlerin ekspresyonu yoluyla kilo alımı/kaybı üzerindeki etkisine karşı resveratrol’ün (RSV) koruyuculuğunu araştırmaktır.Gereç ve Yöntem: Otuz beş dişi Spraque-Dawley sıçan: kontrol, RIS, RIS+RSV-1, RIS+RSV-2, RIS+RSV-3 olmak üzere 5 gruba ayrıldı. Sıçanlara, 14 gün boyunca RIS (2 mg/kg/gün) ve RSV (20, 40 ve 80 mg/kg/gün) oral yoldan uygulandı. Uygulamanın 15. gününde kan ve beyin dokuları analiz için alındı.Bulgular: RSV gruplarındaki azalmış nöropeptid Y1 ekspresyon seviyelerinin, RSV ile uyarılan kilo kaybıyla ilişkili olduğu görüldü. Dopamin D1 reseptörü ve seratonin 5-HT2c ekspresyon seviyeleri, RSV uygulanması ile anlamlı olarak azaldı. Ayrıca RSV’nin, glikoz, triiyodotironin, tetraiyodotironin ve total antioksidan kapasitesini arttırdığı ve kolesterol, trigliserit, yüksek yoğunluklu lipoprotein, düşük yoğunluklu lipoprotein, tiroid uyarıcı hormon, oksidatif stres indeksi ve total oksidan kapasitesi düzeylerini anlamlı derecede azalttığı görüldü.Sonuç: Çalışmamızda; günlük RSV alımının antioksidan kapasitesini arttırdığı, apoptotik hücre hasarına ve ölüm olasılığına karşı koruduğu görüldü. RSV, terapötik etkinliği arttırmak için etkili bir tedavi olabilir.

Streptococcal species are known to be responsible for bovine mastitis. The aim of the present study was to determine antimicrobial drug resistance patterns of hemolytic streptococci distributed according to Lancefield serogrouping. Streptococcus sp. strains were isolated from 124 bovine milk samples from 31 cows with subclinical or clinical mastitis submitted to Mehmet Akif Ersoy University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Microbiology Laboratory in Burdur province, Turkey from January 2015 to January 2017. A total of 63 Streptococcus sp. were isolated and the most frequently obtained isolates were classified as Lancefield’s serogroup B (84.13%), the remaining isolates as serogroup F (15.87%). Out of 63 isolates, 53 (84.13%) showed beta‑hemolytic activity whereas 10 (15.87%) alpha‑hemolytic activity. Antimicrobial resistance was assessed by disk diffusion test against the most common antibiotics used in the field. Among the 63 Streptococcus sp. tested, the highest antimicrobial resistance patterns were observed for neomycin (95.24%), trimethoprim sulphamethoxazole (87.30%) and gentamicin (69.84%). None of the isolates showed resistance to amoxicillin‑clavulanic acid, except for one serogroup F isolate. The resistance rates for the other antimicrobials ranged from 1.59% to 38.04%. A total of 50 isolates exibited multi‑drug resistance to ≥ 3 antimicrobial agents tested. Overall, our results suggested that there is an urgent need to enhance awareness among the dairy farmers in choosing the appropriate drug for treating mastitis.

Babies are born into different families, cultures, environments; their first interaction environment is the family. This study investigates the opinions of the mothers who have children with special needs based on the experiences to cope with the children’s problem behaviors in the Coronavirus pandemic process. This study was designed in the qualitative research method. Eleven mothers whose children continue to special education rehabilitation centers in a provincial center in the Southeastern Anatolia Region constitute the participant group of the study.The data obtained using the semi-structured interviews were analyzed with the content analysis method; the findings were described under eight main themes. While observing that the mothers were responsible for in-house communication during the staying home process, their feelings were loneliness, not usually receiving support from partners and relatives. Mothers stated that their children showed self-harm, aggressiveness, and nonrestraint; suggested that the special education institutions’ managers and teachers’ professional competiencies should be strengthened regarding distance education process; family-based effective intervention programs should be developed.

In this research, an exemplary study has been conducted in order to draw attention to the importance of evaluating the existing potential on the roofs of buildings. This research offers an evaluation of the existing solar energy and rainwater potential on the total roof area of the buildings in the Izmit district, which is a central district of Kocaeli province, one of the busiest centers of industry in Turkey. The calculations in this study were carried out by using the data obtained from various institutions. As a result of these calculations, the ratio of electrical energy that can be provided with photovoltaic systems on roofs to meet the annual electricity consumption of the district was found to be 203.581%, and the annual solar energy utilization rate for a family of 4 to bring 240 liters of daily use water temperature to 60°C with an 8 m2 collector area was calculated as 66%. In addition, the ratio of rainwater that can be collected from the total roof area of the existing buildings in the district to meet the domestic water consumed by the district was found to be 33.27%.

Cell segmentation is a critical step for image-based experimental analysis. Existing cell segmentation methods are neither entirely automated nor perform well under basic laboratory microscopy. This study proposes an efficient and automated cell segmentation method involving morphological operations to automatically achieve cell segmentation for phase-contrast microscopes. Manual/visual counting of cell segmentation serves as the control group (156 images as ground truth) to evaluate the proposed method’s performance. The proposed technology’s adaptive performance is assessed at varying conditions, including artificial blurriness, illumination, and image size. Compared to the Trainable Weka Segmentation method, the Empirical Gradient Threshold method, and the ilastik segmentation software, the proposed method achieved better segmentation accuracy (dice coefficient: 90.07, IoU: 82.16%, and 6.51% as the average relative error on measuring cell area). The proposed method also has good reliability, even under unfavored imaging conditions at which manual labeling or human intervention is inefficient. Additionally, similar degrees of segmentation accuracy were confirmed when the ground truth data and the generated data from the proposed method were applied individually to train modified U-Net models (16848 images). These results demonstrated good accuracy and high practicality of the proposed cell segmentation method with phase-contrast microscopy image data.

In this study it was investigated the behavior of class F fly ash based geopolymer mortars subjected to elevated temperatures. Geopolimer composites were prepared with CEN-sand, water, fly ash as the binder, nSiO2Na2O and NaOH mixture combination as alkali activator. After mixing fresh geopolymer mixture, prismatic specimens were prepared using 40 mm × 40 mm × 160 mm prism molds. After molding, fresh geopolymer mortar samples with their mold were subjected to heat curing at 50 °C, 60 °C, 70 °C, 80 °C, 90 °C and 100 °C temperature for 48 hours in an oven. After 48 hours initial heat curing, the hardened samples were taken out of their mold. Then, they were further cured by leaving them in laboratory environment at about 22 ± 2 °C temperature, until 28 days together with heat curing duration. At the end of 28 days, geopolymer mortar samples developed flexural strength values between 2,9 MPa and 8,51 MPa. Geopolymer mortar samples developed compressive strength values between 7,63 MPa and 50,64 MPa. High temperature experiments were conducted to observe behaviour of geopolymer mortars at elevated temperatures. The control cement mortar mixtures were also prepared and subjected to high temperature exposure in comparison to geopolymer mortar mixtures. Control cement mortars were cured at laboratory environment for 28 days without initial temperature curing. Control cement mortar mixtures and geopolymer mortar mixtures were exposed to elevated temperatures of 200 °C, 400 °C, 600 °C and 800 °C temperature. The unit weight, ultrasonic pulse velocity, flexural and compressive strength of all mixtures were measured before and after high temperature exposure. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of the mixtures were taken and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer analyses were carried out. It was observed that there was an increase in the flexural and compressive strengths of some geopolymer mortars after high temperature exposure. In general, geopolymer mortars exhibited better performance at elevated temperatures in comparison to control cement mortar mixture. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ms.24.4.18829

Enerjinin %35’inin binalarda tüketildiği ve binalarda tüketilen enerjinin de %80’i ısıtma amaçlı kullanıldığı göz önüne alınırsa, binalara kurulacak daha verimli ısıtma sistemlerinin yanı sıra binalara uygulanacak uygun ısı yalıtımları ile büyük enerji tasarrufu sağlanacağı çok önem arz etmektedir. Isı yalıtımında istenilen performansın sağlanması, yalıtım uygulama tekniklerine eksiksiz olarak uyulmasının yanında yalıtım malzemesinin özellikleri ile de doğrudan ilişkili bir durumdur. Genleştirilmiş perlit mevcut kullanılan diğer ısı yalıtım malzemelerinin yalıtım değerlerine yakın ısı yalıtım özelliklerinin yanında perlitin puzolanik özelliğinden dolayı zamanla dayanım kazanarak sonsuz ömre doğru gitmesi, yalıtım işlemi tabaka halinde bütün olarak yapıldığından ısı köprülerinin oluşumunu engellemesi, çok yüksek yangın dayanımı, ses yalıtımı, havayı teneffüs ederek duvar yüzeyi ile sıva yüzeyi arasında buhar oluşumunu engelleyerek küf ve bakteri oluşumunu engellemesi ve doğal olduğundan ortama zararlı kimyasal yayınımı olmaması gibi faydalı özellikleri nedeni ile günümüzde alternatif ısı yalıtım malzemesi olarak görülmektedir. Bu çalışmada Erzincan ilinde bir deney odası yapılmış ve günümüzde ısı yalıtım malzemesi olarak en çok kullanılan EPS ile genleştirilmiş perlitin ısı yalıtım performansının karşılaştırılması yapılmıştır. Alınan ölçüm verilerinin değerlendirilmesi sonucunda 8 cm’lik genleştirilmiş perlit ile 6 cm’lik EPS ısı yalıtım malzemelerinin ısı yalıtım kapasitelerinin denk olduğu belirlenmiştir.

In this research, the mechanical properties of lightweight mortars containing different percentages of additional powder materials has been investigated using response surface methodology (RSM). Box–Behnken design, one of the RSM techniques, was used to study the effects of silica fume content (5, 10, and 15%), vermiculite/cement (V/C) ratio (4, 6, and 8), and temperature (300, 600, and 900 °C) on the ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), bending strength, and compressive strength of lightweight mortars. Design expert statistical software was accustomed to determining and evaluating the mix-design of materials in mortar mixtures and temperature effect on mortars. After preliminary experimental research of the relationships between independent and response variables, regression models were built. During the selection of the model parameters, F value, p-value, and R2 values of the statistical models were taken into account by using the backward elimination technique. The results showed a high correlation between the variables and responses. Multi-objective optimization results showed that the critical temperatures for different levels of silica fume (5–10–15%) were obtained as 371.6 °C, 306.3 °C, and 436 °C, respectively, when the V/C ratio kept constant as 4. According to the results obtained at high desirability levels, it is found that the UPS values varied in the range of 2480–2737 m/s, flexural strength of 3.13–3.81 MPa, and compressive strength of 9.9–11.5 MPa at these critical temperatures. As a result of this research, RSM is highly recommended to evaluate mechanical properties where concrete includes some additional powder materials and was exposed to high temperature.

In this work, we integrated finite element (FE) method and machine learning (ML) method to predict the stent expansion in a calcified coronary artery. The stenting procedure was captured in a patient-specific artery model, reconstructed based on optical coherence tomography images. Following FE simulation, eight geometrical features in each of 120 cross sections in the pre-stenting artery model, as well as the corresponding post-stenting lumen area, were extracted for training and testing the ML models. A linear regression model and a support vector regression (SVR) model with three different kernels (linear, polynomial, and radial basis function kernels) were adopted in this work. Two subgroups of the eight features, i.e., stretch features and calcification features, were further assessed for the prediction capacity. The influence of the neighboring cross sections on the prediction accuracy was also investigated by averaging each feature over eight neighboring cross sections. Results showed that the SVR models provided better predictions than the linear regression model in terms of bias. In addition, the inclusion of stretch features based on mechanistic understanding could provide a better prediction, compared with the calcification features only. However, there were no statistically significant differences between neighboring cross sections and individual ones in terms of the prediction bias and range of error. The simulation-driven machine learning framework in this work could enhance the mechanistic understanding of stenting in calcified coronary artery lesions, and also pave the way toward precise prediction of stent expansion.

Tüketicinin korunması son yıllarda önem kazanmış ve bugün de en çok tartışılan konulardan biri olmuştur. Tüketicinin korunması ile ilgili hukuk sistemi 20. yüzyılın ikinci yarısından itibaren ortaya çıkmıştır. Türkiye'de ise Cumhuriyet döneminde dolaylıda olsa tüketicileri koruyan bazı yasalar yürürlüğe girmiştir. Devletin tüketicileri korumasının bir anayasal görev olduğu 1982 Anayasasında belirtilmiştir. Böylece başlayan süreç, 1995 yılında yürürlüğe giren 4077 sayılı "Tüketicinin Korunması Hakkında Kanun"la önemli bir mesafe kazanmıştır. Bu süreci, Osmanlı devletinde sosyal ve ekonomik yaşamda, hem üreticileri hem de tüketicileri korumak amacıyla başarıyla uygulanan Ahilik teşkilatı ile ilişkilendirmek mümkündür. Bu çalışmada, Ahilik teşkilatının günümüzde tüketicilerin korunmasına yönelik olası yansımaları üzerinde durmaya çalıştık.

The genus Sideritis is an indigenous plant to temperate and subtropical regions of Turkey, especially for Mediterranean and Aegean region, and is extensively used as herbal tea and spice. The seeds of Sideritis species have a difficulty in germination, which limits their cultivation. This study was conducted to evaluate the germination performance of 4 endemic Sideritis species (Sideritis condensata, S. libanotica ssp. linearis, S. leptoclada and S. tmolea) harvested freshly or stored for 1 and 2 years in terms of germination percentage and mean germination time and to determine the suitability of seed treatments (Hydration and gibberellic acid (GA3) application, and their combination with pre-chilling) for overcoming germination difficulty in the species. Germination percentages of these species ranged from 28.5% to 77.0%. The lowest germination rate and the highest mean germination time (11.9 day) were determined in S. libanotica ssp. linearis in fresh seeds. Improved germination and shortened mean germination time were achieved using 200 mg L-1 GA3 application. Seed storage did not influence the germination of the Sideritis species. It was found that pre-chilling did not prerequisite for germination of the species. It was concluded that GA3 treatment should effectively be used as a method for improving germination of endemic Sideritis species regardless of seed age.

Aim: In association with increasing life expectancy, the number of elderly individuals undergoing coronary bypass grafting (CABG) and additional cardiac surgical procedures are increasing. In this study, we evaluated the effects of additional cardiac procedures and preoperative risk factors for postoperative mortality and morbidity in patients 80 years of age and older. Methods: The records of 29 patients aged 80 years and older (82.86±2.91) who had undergone coronary bypass surgery in the department of cardiac surgery between September 2009 and June 2012, were retrospectively reviewed. The subjects were divided into two groups: group 1 included the patients who had undergone CABG, group 2 consisted of those who had undergone CABG and additional cardiac procedures. Results: The mean age of the patients [14 male (48.3%) 15 female (51.7%)] was 82.86±2.91 years. The left internal thoracic artery was harvested for all patients. The mean number of graft per patient was 3.07±0.95. Carotid endarterectomy was performed in 3 patients before CABG. CABG and aortic valve replacement were performed in 1 patient. CABG, mitral valve replacement ant tricuspid plasty were performed in another patient. Furthermore, in one patient, abdominal aortic graft replacement due to ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm and CABG was performed at the same session. The mean EuroSCORE was 5.06±5.16. Postoperative 30 days mortality was 6.8%, and the mean length of stay in hospital was 10.45±8.18 days. Conclusion: Coronary bypass surgery is an acceptable treatment method in patients 80 years of age and older. Although additional cardiac procedures may increase sugical risks, they can be successfully performed. (The Me­di­cal Bul­le­tin of Ha­se­ki 2014; 52: 14-8)

Abstract We report a 55-year-old male patient with a massive flail chest that required chest stabilization by minimally invasive repair of pectus excavatum (MIRPE) employing a Nuss bar. Surgical stabilization of severe flail chest and fractured sternum with Nuss bar by MIRPE is a safe and useful treatment modality in properly selected patients.

This study was conducted to determine effects of lighting program and early feed restriction on performance, stress and meat quality characteristics in broilers. Broilers (320) were randomly assigned to 4 groups based on lighting program (23 h lighting, 1 h dark or 16 h light, 8 h dark/day) and feeding program (ad lib. or feed restriction) with 4 replicates. Broilers in feed restricted group received feed as 50% of daily ad lib. consumption recommendations from 8 to 14 days of age. Final body weight, heterophil-lymphocyte ratio (H/L), tonic immobility (TI) duration and the percentages of total SFA of breast meat were lower, whereas the percentages of PUFA and PUFA/SFA were higher for broilers in feed restricted group than those fed ad lib. H-L ratio and TI duration of broilers exposed to 16L:8D were lower than those exposed to continuous lighting. In conclusion, early feed restriction negatively affected growth performance of broilers. However, broilers subjected to early feed restriction had less fat deposition and healthier fatty acid profile in breast meat and also they had less stress level, compared to ad lib. fed broilers. Lighting program of 16L:8D decreased the stress situation of broilers without any negative effect on production performance and meat quality characteristics.

Congenital unilateral agenesis of the internal carotid artery (ICA) is a rare anomaly. Due to proper sufficient collateral circulation via the circle of Willis most cases are asymptomatic, but patients can also present with ischemic or hemorrhagic cerebrovascular insults. The absence of the bony carotid canal is essential to differentiate this anomaly from chronic ICA occlusion. Awareness of this situation by clinicians and radiologists is essential because these patients have an increased incidence of various intracranial pathologies. We report two cases of this rare developmental congenital abnormality occurring in two young patients and describe the presentation, diagnosis, determined developmental causes, imaging findings, and complications.

The selective entry of nanoparticles into target tissues is the key factor which determines their tissue distribution. Entry is primarily controlled by microvascular endothelial cells, which have tissue-specific properties. This study investigated the cellular properties involved in selective transport of gold nanoparticles (

Bu çalışma 1996-1999 yıllarında Bursa’da yapılmıştır. Coroebus rubi L.’nin ergin populasyon değişimi gözle kontrol yöntemiyle bir dekarlık alanda haftada 1-2 kez ve 1 saat süreyle yapılan sayımlarla incelenmiş ve ergin sayısı haftalık olarak değerlendirilmiştir. Sonuç olarak, C. rubi’nin ilk erginleri 1996, 1997 ve 1999 yıllarında ahududu bahçelerinin bulunduğu yere göre mayıs sonu haziran başında ve ahududu bitkisinde çiçekler dökülüp üst salkımlarda meyve teşekkül ettiği zaman saptanmıştır. Ergin populasyonu yıllara göre haziran ayının ikinci yarısı ile temmuz ayının ilk yarısı arasında ve ahududu hasat evresinde iken tepe noktası oluşturmuştur. Erginlerin tepe noktası oluşturduğu tarihlerde ergin sayıları bahçenin bulunduğu yere ve yıla göre haftada 3-82 ergin/dekar arasında değişmiştir. Ergin uçuşu, yine ahududu bahçesinin bulunduğu yere ve yıla göre temmuz sonu veya ağustos başında sona ermiş ve ergin uçuş süresi 35-70 gün arasında değişmiştir. Bu uçuş periyodu boyunca ahududu bahçelerinde sayılan toplam ergin sayısı en az 10 ergin/dekar, en yüksek ise 227 ergin/dekar olmuştur. C.rubi’nin araştırma yapılan yer ve yıllarda 1’er uçuşu izlenmiş ve dolayısıyla zararlı yılda 1 döl vermiştir