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Measurement of the longitudinal relaxation time in the rotating frame of reference (T₁ₚ) is sensitive to the fidelity of the main imaging magnetic field (B₀) and that of the RF pulse (B₁). The purpose of this study was to introduce methods for producing continuous wave (CW) T₁ₚ contrast with improved robustness against field inhomogeneities and to compare the sensitivities of several existing and the novel T₁ₚ contrast generation methods with the B₀ and B₁ field inhomogeneities. Four hard-pulse and four adiabatic CW-T₁ₚ magnetization preparations were investigated. Bloch simulations and experimental measurements at different spin-lock amplitudes under ideal and non-ideal conditions, as well as theoretical analysis of the hard-pulse preparations, were conducted to assess the sensitivity of the methods to field inhomogeneities, at low (ω₁ << ΔB₀) and high (ω₁ >> ΔB₀) spin-locking field strengths. In simulations, previously reported single-refocus and new triple-refocus hard-pulse and double-refocus adiabatic preparation schemes were found to be the most robust. The mean normalized absolute deviation between the experimentally measured relaxation times under ideal and non-ideal conditions was found to be smallest for the refocused preparation schemes and broadly in agreement with the sensitivities observed in simulations. Experimentally, all refocused preparations performed better than those that were non-refocused. The findings promote the use of the previously reported hard-pulse single-refocus ΔB0 and B₁ insensitive T₁ₚ as a robust method with minimal RF energy deposition. The double-refocus adiabatic B₁ insensitive rotation-4 CW-T₁ₚ preparation offers further improved insensitivity to field variations, but because of the extra RF deposition, may be preferred for ex vivo applications.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) and its complications are the major causes of death in the world. Although statins have been used to lower lipid levels in CAD patients, this goal can not be attained in 1/3 of the patients. The objective of this study was to investigate whether common variations in HMG-CoA Reductase(HMGCR) and Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) genes involved in lipid and statin metabolism modify the effect of statins on serum lipid and lipoprotein concentrations in CAD patients. A hundred CAD patients were enrolled into the study. At the beginning of the study biochemical measurements were performed to determine the baseline levels performed. Patients were treated with 40 mg atorvastatin for 2 months and biochemical measurements were repeated. According to the post-treatment, LDL-c levels, patients were divided into 2 groups as non-responders and responders, respectively. The information regarding the risk factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption etc. were also obtained. DNA was isolated from peripheral blood. The presence of rs17244841 ve rs17238540 mutations in HMGCR and ?2, ?3 and ?4 variants of ApoE were determined by using RT-PCR. Results were evaluated statistically. HMGCR mutatations were mostly found in responders and ?4 variant of ApoE was mostly found in non-responders. It was also found that presence of HMGCR mutations causes a significant reduction in total cholesterol and LDL-c levels. Also presence of ?2 variant of ApoE causes a statistically significant increase in trigliseride levels. Our findings should be investigated with other researchers to clarify the mechanism. © 2017 by the C.M.B. Association. 201308004 This research was supported by Yeditepe University grant (201308004).

Purpose: Early childhood is of critical importance in terms of cognitive, affective and physical development. Undoubtedly, a substantially stimulating environment and opportunities offered to children, as well as appropriate educational materials, have an impact on their development. The object of this study is to investigate the mathematical content included in illustrated children’s books prepared for pre-school children. Research Methods: The research was planned as a descriptive study, and criterion sampling method was used in creating the study group. One hundred seventy-four illustrated children’s books offered for sale by bookstores in Adana and Ankara provinces and included by academicians in their private libraries were surveyed. As a result of the survey, 52 illustrated children's books that met the criteria constituted the research study group. A document analysis was conducted to collect research data. Thereunder, a “book review form” developed by the researchers was used to investigate the mathematical content of the books. Implications for Research and Practice: As a result of the study, it was discovered that the books investigated most frequently contained the numbers and operations category, followed by geometry, measurement, algebra, data analysis and probability, respectively. Furthermore, the books were found not to contain specific categories or use of different methods and tools in calculations, distinction, algebraic symbols and mathematical models, quantitative changes, symmetry and translation movements, repeated measures, data collection, data organization, data visualization, data recognition, and understanding and applying basic probability concepts. Such results suggest that the illustrated children's books published in our county fail to satisfy the mathematical standards recommended by nationally and internationally recognized programs as the standards to be taught during the pre-school period, and that efforts must be made to enhance the quality of books published for such purposes. For future studies, it is recommend that researchers examine in detail how mathematical categories provided in the books are dealt with, or if and how teachers include illustrated children's books in mathematics activities performed in class. © 2017 Ani Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.

Aim: We investigated the relationship between the severity of reciprocal ST depression and the extent of coronary artery disease in patients with inferior myocardial infarction. Method: Ninety-five consecutive patients (52 women 43 men, with a mean age of 54±5 years) who had acute inferior myocardial infarction were included in the study. Reciprocal changes in the ST segment were defined as ST depression of >1 mm in at least two out of four of the precordial leads V1-V4. All the patients had undergone coronary angiography within seven days of admission. The extension of coronary artery disease which was measured by Gensini and Reardon scores, was compared with the reciprocal changes on ECG recorded at the time of admission. Result: There was a significant correlation between reciprocal ST depression and disease extension (r=0.68 for Gensini score, r= 0.88 for Reardon score, p, Karapinar, H.; Van High Specialty Education and Research Hospital, Department of Cardiology, Van, Turkey

We retrospectively investigated the impact of bicuspid aortic valve on the prognosis of patients who had definite infective endocarditis of the native aortic valve. Of 51 patients, a bicuspid aortic valve was present in 22 (43%); the other 29 had tricuspid aortic valves. On average, the patients who had bicuspid valves were younger than those who had tricuspid valves. Patients with a tricuspid valve had larger left atrial diameters and were more likely to have severe mitral regurgitation. Periannular complications, which we detected in 19 patients (37%), were much more common in the patients who had a bicuspid valve (64% vs 17%, P=0.001). The presence of a bicuspid valve was the only significant independent predictor of periannular complications. The in-hospital mortality rate in the bicuspid group was lower than that in the tricuspid group; however, this figure did not reach statistical significance (9% vs 24%, P=0.15). In multivariate analysis, left atrial diameter was the only independent predictor associated with an increased risk of death (hazard ratio, 2.19; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-4.5; P=0.031). In our study, patients with infective endocarditis in a bicuspid aortic valve were younger and had a higher incidence of periannular complications. Although a worse prognosis has been reported previously, we found that infective endocarditis in a native bicuspid aortic valve is not likely to increase the risk of death in comparison with infective endocarditis in native tricuspid aortic valves. © 2009 by the Texas Heart® Institute.

Item does not contain fulltext We report on a negroid male suffering from porokeratosis of the scrotum. Porokeratosis in the genital area is rare, as is its occurrence in negroid people. In our patient, we found an asymptomatic non-HIV associated immunosuppression. In this case, the disease might be called porokeratosis of Mibelli. The diagnosis should be suspected in patients not belonging to one of the classical at-risk ethnical groups if the skin lesions seem typical.

Plant traits - the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants and their organs - determine how primary producers respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, influence ecosystem processes and services and provide a link from species richness to ecosystem functional diversity. Trait data thus represent the raw material for a wide range of research from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology to biogeography. Here we present the global database initiative named TRY, which has united a wide range of the plant trait research community worldwide and gained an unprecedented buy-in of trait data: so far 93 trait databases have been contributed. The data repository currently contains almost three million trait entries for 69000 out of the world's 300000 plant species, with a focus on 52 groups of traits characterizing the vegetative and regeneration stages of the plant life cycle, including growth, dispersal, establishment and persistence. A first data analysis shows that most plant traits are approximately log-normally distributed, with widely differing ranges of variation across traits. Most trait variation is between species (interspecific), but significant intraspecific variation is also documented, up to 40% of the overall variation. Plant functional types (PFTs), as commonly used in vegetation models, capture a substantial fraction of the observed variation - but for several traits most variation occurs within PFTs, up to 75% of the overall variation. In the context of vegetation models these traits would better be represented by state variables rather than fixed parameter values. The improved availability of plant trait data in the unified global database is expected to support a paradigm shift from species to trait-based ecology, offer new opportunities for synthetic plant trait research and enable a more realistic and empirically grounded representation of terrestrial vegetation in Earth system models. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.