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Due to inspiring growth over the past 20 years, the dynamics of Chinese exports have been the focus of many researchers. In contrast to current literature, this study examines the quadratic relationship between China's real exports to 154 partner countries and the income of trading partners from 1996 to 2019. The findings obtained from the second generational econometric analysis confirm cross-section dependence and heterogeneous slope among panel members. Second, while the GDP per capita of partner countries has a positive impact on China's exports, the quadratic of GDP per capita has a negative impact. These findings indicate an inverted U-shaped relationship between China's exports and GDP per capita of its partner countries-thus, validating the trading Kuznets curve (TKC) hypothesis. The appreciation of the Renminbi (RMB) has statistically significant negative effects on China's exports. From a policy perspective, Chinese policymakers could consider the TKC hypothesis when determining market and export strategies. Additionally, the Chinese monetary authority could consider stabilizing the value of the RMB.

Although ammonia emissions are not as huge as carbon and methane emissions, they pose significant threats to ensuring environmental sustainability and productivity. However, the existing literature has paid less attention to the underlying characteristics of ammonia emissions. The chief target of this study is to investigate the stochastic convergence of ammonia emissions at the aggregate level, by sector, and by fuel source in 37 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries for more than two centuries of data. Using a newly proposed Fourier-augmented wavelet unit root test, the empirical findings reveal that the relative ammonia emissions series in most Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries follow the unit root process in the aggregate, sectoral, and fuel-specific analyses. Therefore, these findings refer to the existence of divergence, while stochastic convergence does not exist in most cases. Having a divergent pattern of ammonia emissions has several policy implications for policymakers in the context of environmental sustainability. (i) Relative ammonia emission cannot revert to its steady-state path without policy intervention, (ii) policymakers have a chance of affecting the dynamics of ammonia emissions in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries. (iii) As a policy response, the study recommends the pursuant of national environmental policies with consideration to the unique characteristics of the individual countries as the non-existence of convergence of environmental series could result in a diverse level of consciousness of environmental degradation among countries with divergent patterns on emissions levels.

Addressing the challenges posed by pollutants is necessary to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 13, which involves climate change mitigation and enhancement of environmental quality. The convergence analysis of a pollutant provides information that can be useful to how to handle that pollutant across countries or regions, and previous studies mainly focused on carbon emission. However, the second most significant greenhouse gas, methane emission, was mostly ignored. The primary objective of this research is to investigate whether stochastic convergence of methane emissions is valid in 37 OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries using a dataset of more than two centuries. The results obtained by using a set of traditional unit root tests and a newly proposed wavelet unit root test with a Fourier function provide overwhelming evidence for these countries' divergence of methane emissions. The policy implications resulting from the empirical findings for environmental management are discussed in the relevant sections of the paper.

Since China is a country with high environmental pollution, researchers have intensively studied China's environmental problems using various environmental indicators such as carbon emissions and ecological footprint. Unlike previous literature, this study analyzes the effects of economic growth, globalization, foreign direct investment, and fossil energy intensity on ecological efficiency in China. As an innovation to the literature, the study examines the Chinese ecosystem simultaneously with its economic and environmental aspects by focusing on ecological efficiency. To this end, the study applies dynamic autoregressive distributed lag (DARDL) simulations and kernel-based regularized least squares (KRLS) methods for the period from 1990 to 2018. The results of the DARDL simulations show that globalization, and economic growth enhance ecological efficiency in China. The findings also demonstrate that both foreign direct investment and fossil fuel intensity have a negative impact on environmental quality in China. Based on these results, the study suggests that the Chinese government should adopt policies to channel foreign direct investment into environmentally friendly production, reduce fossil fuel intensity, and improve ecological efficiency by making use of environmentally friendly technologies provided by globalization and economic development.

The Sub-Saharan African region experienced a fluctuated development process, and it is one of the regions facing severe underdevelopment in the modern era. Many studies have been conducted to unveil the factors, which cause the underdevelopment, and there is an ongoing discussion on this topic. The main objective of this study to inquire about how institutional and economic factors affect economic development in Sub-Saharan African countries from 1990 to 2016 by utilizing second-generation panel data methods. Empirical findings are as follows: (i) Democracy, peace, market size, and population growth have a positive and statistically significant effect on economic development, whereas foreign direct investment has a negative one. (ii) Total debt service, investments, and corruption have a negative but statistically insignificant effect on economic development. (iii) Moreover, the effect of urban population on economic development varies based on the estimation methodology. The implications and policy inferences of the empirical findings are discussed in the related sections of the study.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the changes in psoas major (PM), erector spinae (ES), multifidus (MF), and rectus abdominis (RA) morphometry in Lenke type V adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) and control. Forty-two Lenke V AIS patients and 30 control were enrolled. The cross-sectional area (CSA) and CSA index (CI) of the PM, ES, MF, and RA at the T9-L5 levels were measured and compared between Lenke type V patients and control. The CI of the RA was significantly higher in the control group than the Lenke V group in multiple levels. On the other hand, there was no significant difference between patients with Lenke V AIS and control regarding the CI of the RA, ES, and PM. There was no significant difference between concave and convex sides of the Lenke V group regarding the CI of the RA, PM, MF, and ES. RA muscle mass is significantly affected in Lenke type 5 AIS regardless of convex or concave sides. This difference may be related to postural differences and back pain development in Lenke type 5 patients. Level of evidence: Level III.

Despite being directly related to anthropogenic consumption and production, researchers have paid less attention to understanding the dynamics of non-methane volatile organic compounds. The primary objective of this research is to investigate the persistence of potential shocks to non-methane volatile organic compounds in 20 developed from 1820 to 2019 performing traditional unit root approaches and a newly developed Fourier quantile unit root test. Great portion of the empirical results obtained by traditional unit root tests reveal that the sectoral non-methane volatile organic compounds follow a non-stationary process, while the Fourier quantile unit root test indicate quite different results. The Fourier quantile test shows that non-methane volatile organic compounds are stationary in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, France and Austria. In the other 15 countries, government interventions to reduce non-methane volatile organic compounds can have lasting effects and success. The inferences and policy outcomes of the empirical results are discussed in the main body of the paper.

Convergence of the environmental indicators has been one of the significant research areas for researchers since the study of Strazicich and List (2003) was published. Earlier papers have concentrated on investigating the existence of the convergence of indicators of the environment by using carbon emissions as a pollution indicator. However, some researchers have criticized the use of carbon emission as a one-dimensional indicator and proposed using ecological footprint as a more comprehensive indicator. The primary aim of this paper is to examine whether stochastic convergence of ecological footprint exists in 49 African countries from 1973 to 2018 by employing a battery of traditional stationarity methods and a newly proposed stationary method with smooth shifts and a combination of p-values. The empirical results show that panel findings of the conventional stationarity test with no structural shifts reveal that ecological footprint follows a stationary process. In contrast, panel findings of the traditional stationarity method with sharp and smooth changes and the newly developed stationary method with smooth shifts and a combination of p-values reveal that ecological footprint follows a non-stationary process. Moreover, the majority of individual results show that the ecological footprint follows a convergent pattern in 38 African countries, whereas it follows a divergent pattern in the remainder. Therefore, the main finding indicates the stochastic convergence of ecological footprint in African countries is validated. The policy outcomes of the empirical results are given in the body of the paper.

Background This study aimed to investigate the possible consequences of soft tissue interposition of Endobutton on clinical outcomes and reoperation rates after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Methods We measured the distance between the centre of the Endobutton and the lateral femoral cortex on the postoperative first day anteroposterior X-rays of the 156 knees that underwent anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Those with a distance less than 1 mm were regarded as Group 1 (118 patients), the ones between 1 mm and 2 mm were regarded as Group 2 (30 patients) and the ones more than 2 mm were regarded as Group 3 (8 patients). The movement of the Endobutton of more than 1 mm along the femoral tunnel axis on anteroposterior X-rays or its rotation by more than 5° on lateral X-rays during follow-up were considered migration. Clinical assessment scores (Lysholm, Tegner Activity Scale), clinical examination tests, and rates of Endobutton migration in the groups were analysed. Results Eleven Endobuttons (9.3%) in Group 1, 26 Endobuttons (86.7%) in Group 2 and all of the 8 Endobuttons (100%) in Group 3 were observed to have migrated. Clinical results and examination tests showed no significant difference between Groups 1 and 2, whereas a significant difference was detected in Group 3 compared to Groups 1 and 2 (p Conclusion Soft tissue interposition is a major cause of Endobutton migration, and an interposition over 2 mm between the Endobutton and the lateral femoral cortex can negatively affect the outcomes after an anterior cruciate ligament surgery.

Subacute post-traumatic ascending myelopathy (SPAM) is a rare complication after spinal cord injury (SCI). SPAM onsets within few days or weeks after initial SCI. Here, we present an adolescent male athlete who developed SPAM after SCI and brief review of literature. Previous reports almost all were about adult patients. Here, we present second adolescent case in the literature.A 15 years old adolescent athlete presented to AE with a T10-T11 fracture dislocation of the spine and a SCI. He underwent T9-L1 posterior instrumentation and decompression. On the 11th post injury, he complained numbness of the T4 dermatome and by the 14th day, he had become tetraplegia with paralysis of the arms and required ventilation. MRI revealed C3-T10 cord changes on T2 weighed images. He received high dose methylprednisolone for 3 weeks. At one-year follow up he had fully recovered arm motor power and improved light touch and pin prick sensation.SPAM may occur in adolescents with a good prognosis. Our case is well example against for proposal of arterial hypothesis.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the radiologic outcomes and complication analysis of posterior vertebral column resection (PVCR) performed on previously operated patients with severe kyphoscoliosis (SK).Twelve patients (6 men and 6 women) with SK underwent PVCR. The mean age of the patients preoperatively was 16 years (range, 10-26 years). The mean follow-up period was 5.3 years (range, 2-7 years). Previous surgeries included posterior growth arrest in 3 patients, hemivertebrectomy in 4 patients, and posterior fusion in 5 patients. The sagittal plane parameters and coronal parameters were measured in the preoperative, in the early postoperative, and during the last follow-up stages. Complications were also noted.The mean thoracic scoliosis Cobb angle was 76.8° (range, 35°-142°) preoperatively, 37.8° (range, 5°-80°) early postoperatively, and 41.5° (range, 11°-80°) during the last follow-up (P0.0001). The mean thoracic kyphosis angle was 84.7° (range, 23°-132°) preoperatively, 50.3° (range, 25°-78°) early postoperatively, and 48.5° (range, 25°-80°) during the last follow-up (P = 0.0032). Complications occurred in 5 patients (41.7%); a hemothorax in 1 patient, rod fracture in 3 patients, and permanent neurologic deficit in 1 patient. Temporary loss of neuromonitoring motor evoked potentials developed in 2 patients during deformity correction.PVCR provides effective correction in patients with SK. However, expected surgical correction of a deformity may not always be achieved because of intraoperative neuromonitoring changes. Furthermore, PVCR can lead to a large number of major complications in patients with SK who have undergone previous spinal surgery.

Environment-economic growth nexus is one of the main concerns of the researchers in the modern era. Although there are several studies in this field, discussions are far from being reached a consensus. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the role of economic growth, renewable and non-renewable energy consumption, oil prices, and trade openness on CO2 emissions in 25 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries over the period 1990-2014. We provide a comparative panel data evidence using both the first- and second-generation estimation methods. The Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) and Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) estimations indicate that the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis is valid in OECD countries. However, the Augmented Mean Group (AMG) estimator revealed that the EKC hypothesis is invalid. The AMG estimator is a second-generation estimator and provides robust results under cross-sectional dependence compared to the first-generation methods; therefore, the EKC hypothesis is invalid. Our additional findings show that rising renewable energy consumption and oil prices mitigate CO2 emissions while non-renewable energy consumption increases it according to all estimators. No significant relationship is found between trade openness and CO2 emissions.

Objective To evaluate the neuroprotective effects of lacosamide after experimental peripheral nerve injury in rats. Methods A total of 28 male wistar albino rats weighing 300-350 g were divided into four groups. In group I, the sciatic nerve exposed and the surgical wound was closed without injury; in group II, peripheral nerve injuries (PNI) was performed after dissection of the nerve; in group III, PNI was performed after dissection and lacosamide was administered, and in group IV, PNI was performed after dissection and physiological saline solution was administered. At 7 days after the injury all animals were sacrificed after walking track analysis. A 5 mL blood sample was drawn for biochemical analysis, and sciatic nerve tissues were removed for histopathological examination. Results There is low tissue damage in lacosamide treated group and antioxidant anzymes and malondialdehyde levels were higher than non-treated and placebo treated group. However there was no improvement on clinical assessment. Conclusion The biochemical and histological analyses revealed that lacosamide has neuroprotective effect in PNI in rats. This neuroprotective capacity depends on its scavenger role for free oxygen radicals by increasing antioxidant enzyme activity.

Introduction:It has been reported that serial casting is an effective treatment method in early-onset idiopathic scoliosis, but its role in congenital scoliosis has not been clarified. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of serial castings in young children with congenital scoliosis and to discuss whether serial casting can be used effectively to delay surgical procedures.Methods:Patients between the ages 2 and 5 years with congenital scoliosis who had a Cobb angle above 25 degrees and had not undergone any surgical treatment between 2016 and 2019 were included in this study. Cast changes were performed at 3-month intervals. Radiographic evaluations were performed on posteroanterior and lateral orthoroentgenograms in the cast on the first day after the cast application and at the last follow-up visit.Results:A total of 10 patients (6 female, 4 male) with long congenital curves with mixed type formation or segmentation anomalies were included in the study. The mean number of cast applications was 4 for each patient (range: 3 to 6). The initial casting age was 3.2 (range: 2-4 years). The mean follow-up period was 15.1 months (range: 12-23 months). The mean precasting Cobb angle was 61.9±13.7 degrees (range: 38-76 degrees), which was reduced to 43.4±12.8 degrees (range: 24-58 degrees) after the initial casting, and it was 48.4±12.6 degrees (range: 28-63 degrees) at the latest follow-up. The mean precasting T1-T12 length was 223±27.3 mm (range: 176-271 mm). After the initial cast application, T1-T12 length was 241.8±27.5 mm (range: 189-285 mm). At the last follow-up, the average T1-T12 length was 254±27.6 mm (198, 290 mm).Conclusion:In early-onset scoliosis, even when growth-friendly methods were occupied, spontaneous fusion may develop. Serial casting under anesthesia allows for lengthening by controlling the progression of the deformity. This method can provide more time for the patient to delay surgical interventions.

Objective It can be assumed that the progression of scoliosis in the juvenile period will increase the asymmetry in the rib cage, and thus will contribute to an increase in the breast asymmetry (BA) in the future. We are looking for answers to the questions; "How will the breasts look with respect to each other and what is the possibility of developing BA in the early follow-up period following the early surgical treatment and final fusion surgery of juvenile idiopathic scoliosis (JIS)?" For this reason, in this study, we aimed to evaluate the breast asymmetries of patients in the period after the final fusion. Methods Following growing rod treatment, final fusion was achieved in 12 females with JIS. We used the anthropomorphic measurement of the modified BREAST-V formula to assess whether there was an asymmetry between the breasts after an average of 4.8 years (2-11) following final fusion. Results In comparison, the mean volume of the left breast (222.4 mL [range, 104.1-330.2]) was larger than the mean volume of the right breast volume (214.5 mL [range, 95.2-326.7]) (p=0.034). The left breast was larger in 75% of the patients. BA was observed in 50% of the patients. No correlation was detected between the Cobb angle of the patient after final fusion and BA (p=0.688). Conclusion In the late follow-up period, BA was detected in 50% of the patients with JIS who achieved final fusion after treatment with growing rod. In majority of the patients, left breast was larger. The patients with JIS and their families can be informed prior to the operation about the probability of BA seen in the follow-up period after fusion.

When Bitcoin (BTC), the first pioneering cryptocurrency was released in 2009, it was considered as an apolitical currency. Besides, the possible effect of BTC and other cryptocurrencies on either financial markets or transactions has been widely discussed. However, the environmental effects of cryptocurrency demand have been ignored. Here, this study examines the nexus between cryptocurrencies and environmental degradation by employing standard and asymmetric causality methods. The Toda-Yamamoto and bootstrap-augmented Toda-Yamamoto test results reveal Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) excluding Ripple (XRP) have causal effects on environmental degradation. The Fourier-augmented Toda-Yamamoto test results show causal effects running from Bitcoin and Ripple to environmental degradation, whereas no causal effect runs from Ethereum to environmental degradation. The asymmetric causality shows causal effects from the positive shock of Bitcoin demand, negative shocks of Ripple and Ethereum demands to positive shocks of environmental degradation. Further discussions and policy implications are provided in the relevant sections of this study.

The environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis which was developed by Grossman and Krueger implies that clean environment demand increases over a certain level of income. Convergence of carbon emission can be considered an extension of EKC hypothesis, which emphasizes that the carbon emissions of countries will converge to a certain level. Convergence is important for the identification of the trend of carbon emission and to design emission abatement policies. This study investigates the stochastic convergence of per capita carbon emission in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries for 1960-2014 under cross-sectional dependence by using recently developed panel data methods. Empirical results are as follows: (i) per capita carbon emission is generally non-stationary according to the CADF test and the CIPS test. (ii) Panel KPSS test indicates that carbon emission per capita is overwhelmingly stationary in both country-specific and panel levels; (iii) Fourier panel KPSS test indicates that per capita carbon emission is overwhelmingly stationary at the country-specific level and non-stationary at the panel level. These findings are strongly in favor of convergence of per capita carbon emission among OECD countries. Consequently, it can be said that emission abatement policies aren't essential among these countries.

The main purpose of this study is to examine the democracy–environmental degradation nexus in 26 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries from 1990 through 2015 by using panel data estimation methods, performing well under cross-sectional dependence. Empirical results are as follows: (i) Tests show that cross-section dependence exists among panel members, and slope coefficients are heterogeneous, respectively, and (ii) long-term coefficient estimation results with Augmented Mean Group estimator show that democracy, non-renewable energy consumption, and real income per capita have statistically significant negative effects on environmental quality, whereas renewable energy consumption has a positive effect. There is also no statistically significant relationship between urbanization and environmental quality. These findings show the poor functioning of democracy in addressing environmental issues among OECD countries; therefore, raising environmental quality conflicts with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of creating strong institutions and economic growth targets. Moreover, promoting renewable energy consumption may be an effective alternative in reducing environmental degradation; therefore, it can be said that promoting clean energy use and raising the SDG environmental quality targets are in harmony. © 2020, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

Corruption, a benchmark for institutional quality plays a critical role in achieving sustainable development, especially in developing countries. The nexus between corruption and economics is widely discussed in economic literature, however, the nexus between corruption and environmental degradation has received less attention. Here, we investigate the relationship between corruption and environmental degradation by accounting for income, urbanization, and disaggregate energy consumption in Newly Industrialized Countries from 1984 to 2016. Utilizing panel data methods, the empirical results reveal the existence of a long-run relationship between environmental degradation and regressors. Corruption, economic growth, and fossil fuel utilization have positive and statistically significant effect on environmental degradation, whereas renewable energy consumption has negative and statistically significant effect on environmental degradation. Besides, urbanization has positive but statistically insignificant effect on environmental degradation. The results reveal corruption poses a risk to the achievement of environmental aims of Sustainable Development Goals in Newly Industrialized Countries. © 2021 The Author(s)

Most of the existing studies on stochastic convergence of emission have not adequately considered smooth structural changes. The primary purpose of this paper is to examine the validity of stochastic convergence at different income levels by recently proposed Fourier-based wavelet augmented Dickey-Fuller test with smooth shifts. Empirical results can be summed up as follows: (i) carbon emission per capita follows the stationarity process in 35 high-income countries, while carbon emission per capita follows the stationarity process in 27 upper-middle-income countries; (ii) besides, carbon emission per capita follows stationarity process in 30 lower-middle-income countries, while carbon emission per capita follows stationarity process in 13 low-income countries; (iii) in light of these findings, it can be said that stochastic convergence among different income groups is valid. The implications of the empirical findings for environmental planning and management are discussed in the body of the paper.

The airline and railway industry contribute immensely to economic development, however, its role in environmental pollution requires attention. Here, this study builds on the theoretical pedigree of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis to explore the contribution of the air and railway transportation sector and urbanization to the emission-growth argument. We utilized annual time-frequency data from 1995 to 2014 for a panel of top 10 air passenger carrier countries using robust panel estimators that control for cross-section dependence. The empirical analysis shows a positive significant relationship between emissions and economic growth, thus, economic growth is emission-embedded with limited green growth. The existence of the EKC phenomenon is affirmed for the investigated blocs — where economic growth is prioritized over environmental quality. Additional, while air transportation drives pollution, railway transportation and urbanization decline emission over the sampled period. The results underscore the need for clean and environmentally friendly energy sources for air sector operations. Unit Licence Agreement

The investigation of the stationarity property of energy consumption has recently been a challenge for researchers in energy economics and important for consistent policy proposals. This study uses a set of conventional unit root tests and a recently developed Fourier panel KPSS test to investigate the persistence of shocks in disaggregated energy consumption data in Turkey from 1970 to 2016. The empirical results are as follows. First, the results of the unit root tests with no structural breaks reveal that energy consumption is overwhelmingly nonstationary in regard to sectoral energy consumption, except for the government’s consumption; additionally, panel statistics also indicate that energy consumption is nonstationary. Second, the results of the stationarity test that allows multiple structural breaks reveal that sectoral energy use is stationary, but the panel results are controversial. Third, the Fourier panel KPSS test shows that energy use is nonstationary at both the sectoral and the panel level. Overall, the empirical findings indicate that disaggregated energy use is nonstationary, and that the effects of possible shocks on energy consumption in Turkey are permanent. Therefore, stabilization policies on energy consumption are required to avoid a possible spillover effect of energy shocks on other macroeconomic variables.

Buçalışmada, Türkiye ekonomisinde kurumsal kalite, reel gelir ve doğrudan yabancıyatırımlar arasındaki uzun dönemli ilişkiler, 1990-2015 dönemi için gecikmesidağıtılmış otoregresif (ARDL) yöntemi ile araştırılmıştır. Sonuçlar şöyleözetlenebilir: i) Durağanlık analizi sonuçları, ARDL eşbütünleşme testi için önkoşulu sağlamaktayken, ARDL sınır testi sonuçları ise değişkenler arasında uzundönemli ilişki olduğunu göstermektedir. ii) Reel gelirde ve kurumsal kalitede artışlar,reel doğrudan yabancı yatırım girişlerini olumlu etkilemektedir. iii) Her birdönemde, değişkenler arası uzun dönem dengeden herhangi bir sapmanın %84’üdüzelmektedir. Bu çalışmanın sonuçları, doğrudan yabancı yatırımlargirişlerinde kurumsal faktörlerin de önemli olduğunu vurgulamaktadır. Bunedenle kurumsal kalitenin artırılması yönünde çabalar, doğrudan yabancısermaye girişlerini özendirecektir., In this study, long-run relationships between institutional quality,real income and foreign direct investment examined in terms of Turkey for theperiod of 1990-2015 by using autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) method. Resultsare as follows: i) While stationarity analysis results provide thepreconditions for the ARDL cointegration test, ARDL bounds test results confirmthat there is a long-run relationship between variables. ii) Increasing in realincome and institutional quality positively affect foreign direct investmentinflows. iii) Any deviation from the long-run equilibrium between variables iscorrected about 84% for each period. The findings of this study emphasize thatinstitutional quality is matter for foreign direct investment inflows as well.So, enhancing efforts of institutional quality encourage the foreign directinvestment inflows.

Background: Cerebral Palsy (CP) is the most common motor disability reason of childhood that occurs secondarily to non-progressive damage in the brain whose development is still ongoing. Methods: 6-year-old dystonic-spastic male CP patient received allogenic mesenchymal stem cells treatment four times as 1x10(6)/kg in intrathecal and intravenous administration of Umbilical Cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) ways. Before and after the treatment, the patient was followed-up with FIM (Functional Independent Measurement), GMFCS (Gross Motor Function Classification System 88), Tardieu Scale, TCMS (Trunk Control Measurement Scale), MACS (Manual Ability Classification Scale), CFSS (Communication Function Classification System) for 18 months and received intensive rehabilitation. Results: Improvements were observed especially in functional scales except for the Tardieu Scale, and no adverse effects were detected aside from a slight pain in the back. Conclusion: Wider future case studies on UC-MSCs will enable us to assess the efficacy of UC-MSCs which have positive impacts especially on functional scales. WOS:000433396400015 29699386 Q4

Bu çalışma, yenilenebilir enerji üretiminde dünya sıralamasında ilk beş içinde yer alan ülkeler için çevre kirliliği, yenilenebilir enerji üretimi ve gelir arasındaki uzun dönemli ilişkileri, dinamik panel veri yöntemleri kullanılarak 1992-2013 dönemi için incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Yatay kesit bağımlılık testi sonuçları, tüm değişkenler ve model için yatay kesit bağımlılığın olduğunu göstermektedir. Analiz sonuçları şu şekilde özetlenebilir: i) Durağan olmayan değişkenler arasında uzun dönemli bir ilişki mevcuttur. ii) Yenilenebilir enerji üretimi, çevre kirliliği üzerinde negatif bir etkiye sahiptir. iii) Kişi başı gelir, çevre kirliliği üzerinde pozitif etkiye sahiptir. İncelenen ülkelerde, yenilenebilir enerji üretiminin artışı, çevre kirliliğinin azaltılmasına ve iktisadi büyüme-çevre çatışmasının çözümüne katkıda bulunacaktır.

Objective : Comparing the effects of magnetically controlled growing rod (MCGR) and traditional growing rod (TGR) techniques on the sagittal plane in the treatment of early-onset scoliosis (EOS). Methods : Twelve patients were operated using dual MCGR technique in one center, while 15 patients were operated using dual TGR technique for EOS in another center. Patients' demographic characteristics, complications and radiological measurements such as cobb angle, thoracic kyphosis, lumbar lordosis, T1-S1 range (mm), proximal junctional angle, distal junctional angle, sagittal balance, coronal balance, pelvic incidence, sacral slope and pelvic tilt were assessed and compared in preoperative, postoperative and last follow-up period. Results : Age and sex distributions were similar in both groups. The mean number of lengthening in the MCGR group was 12 (8-15) and 4.8 (3-7) in the TGR group. Two techniques were shown to be effective in controlling the curvature and in the increase of T1-S1 distance. In TGR group, four patients had rod fractures, six patients had screw pull-out and four patients had an infection, whereas three patients had screw pull-out and one patient had infection complications in the MCGR group. Conclusion : There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of cobb angle, coronal and sagittal balance and sagittal pelvic parameters. MCGR can cause hypokyphosis and proximal junctional kyphosis in a minimum 2-year follow-up period. The implant-related complications were less in the MCGR group. However, larger case groups and longer follow-up periods are required for the better understanding of the superiority of one method on other in terms of complications. WOS:000484045900010 31484232 Q3

Background: Facet joint blockage is a type of regional anesthesia which is performed selectively on the medial branch of the ramus dorsalis of the spinal nerve and is a current approach for the treatment of pain originating from facet arthropathy. This current approach to chronic low back pain caused by facet joint pathology is usually performed with ultrasound guidance. Objectives: The accuracy of anatomical placement of the facet joint with ultrasonography guidance is determined by C-arm fluoroscopy image taken as reference. Patients and Methods: A total of 22 patients who were diagnosed with facet joint syndrome were involved in the study. After detecting the superolateral corner of the facet joint, which is the target point with ultrasound, the control was provided with C-arm fluoroscopy by giving radiopaque fluid. In order to verify the localization, a mixture of 40 mg triamcinolone and 1 cc 2% lidocaine was injected. Results: Nerve blockage was applied to 67 facet joints at L3 - L4, L4 - L5 and L5 - Si level in a total of 22 patients (15 female and seven male) diagnosed with facet joint syndrome. The patients' mean age was 63 (range, 48 - 80), the mean body mass index was 28.4 (range,18.9 -38.1) and the mean time to determine facet localization with ultrasonography (USG) was 240 seconds (range,140 -320). Patients' mean visual analog scale (VAS) decreased from 7 (range, 6 - 9) to 2.5 (range, 1- 6). In the C-arm fluoroscopy control after the injection of radio-opaque material, the needle was found to be located in the lamina in four segments and it was relocated. In addition to this, two facet joints were not localized in ultrasound. This study concluded that the location of the facet joint with USG guidance is possible with 91% sensitivity and 100% positive predictive value when C-arm fluoroscopy was regarded as a gold standard in determining facet joint localization. No complications were observed. Conclusion: The results showed that ultrasonography guided facet joint block can be considered as a minimally invasive procedure that could be easily applied without radiation exposure. WOS:000478759500003 Q4

Purpose: The aim of our study is to determine the alterations on coronal balance after overcorrection of Lenke type 1 curve, retrospectively. Methods: Datas of 34 patients (29 female, 5 male patients; mean age, 16.3±3.3 years; range, 13-24 years) surgically treated for scoliosis between 2004 and 2010 were reviewed, retrospectively. The adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients with Lenke type 1 curve treated with only posterior pedicle screw and postoperative thoracic curves less than 10° by Cobb method on frontal plane were enrolled in this study. Mean follow-up period was 52.5±29.7 months. Results: The mean amount of the preoperative thoracic curves was measured as 41.2°±6.1° (range, 30°-56°). The mean amount of the early postoperative thoracic curves was measured as 6.5°±1.8° (range, 3°-9°). The mean amount of the thoracic curves was measured as 8.5°±4.6° (range, 3°-22°) during the last follow-up (p=0.01). The mean preoperative coronal balance was measured as 8.5 mm (range, 1-30 mm). The mean early postoperative coronal balance was measured as 3.5 mm (range, 0-36 mm). The mean coronal balance was measured as 5.5 mm (range, 0-38 mm) during the last follow-up (p>0.05). Conclusion: We suggest that Lenke type 1B and 1C should be carefully evaluated and the fusion levels should be accurately selected in order to maintain the correction of coronal balance. We suggest that selective fusion with overcorrection in Lenke type 1A are applied to curves that can be corrected lumbar curve at the preoperative bending radiograph and curves that not have coronal decompensation and >10° distal junctional kyphosis, preoperatively.

The provision of affordable and sustainable transport systems is a crucial issue for both the establishment of sustainable cities and the development of society. It is a significant part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this paper, we aimed to unveil interactions between infrastructure investments in transport systems and environmental degradation in 21 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. The empirical findings can be summed up as follows: (a) there is a long-run relationship between variables; (b) gross domestic product (GDP) per capita has a positive and statistically significant coefficient, while GDP per capita square has a negative statistically significant coefficient, and therefore, the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis is valid (c) additionally, rail infrastructure investment has a negative and statistically significant parameter sign, whereas road and air infrastructure investments have a positive and statistically significant parameter sign; and (d) trade openness has a positive and statistically significant coefficient. Hence, rail investment helps achieve the establishment of sustainable transport systems and low-environmental pollution targets of SDGs, whereas road and air investments hamper their establishment.

Mortality and remaining bedridden following the hip fracture surgery are not rare. We tried to measure the levels of inflammatory markers tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) following the hip fracture surgery and compare their levels with controls. We aimed to show a relationship between the levels of these markers and post-operative mortality and walking capability. Osteoporosis is a condition, causing the hip fractures in the elderly. Hip fractures have a high rate of overall mortality up to 30% following the incident. Cytokines such as IL-6 and TNF-α are suggested to play a role in bone resorption and, thus, in the etiology of osteoporosis. Plasma levels of IL-6 and TNF-α were measured pre-operatively and on the first and second days after the surgery in 40 Turkish hip fracture patients. The levels of these cytokines were compared with 40 Turkish age-matched healthy controls. The levels of these cytokines were compared between the deceased and surviving patients, as well as the existence of walking capability following the surgery. Significantly higher IL-6 levels were shown on the first and second days after the surgery (p = 0.005; p = 0.01, respectively). The overall death rate of our study group within the 2-year follow-up time was found to be 35%. No statistical significance was found in the means of 2-year follow-up mortality between the patients. Presence of walking capability did not differ between the patients, as well. We demonstrated an association between IL-6 levels and hip fracture in our study group following the surgery. We also suggest that TNF-α and IL-6 levels are not related to the occurrence of death and walking capability after the surgery. However, these findings need further functional and clinical confirmation.

Aim: Transforaminal interbody fusion (TLIF) technique is used to provide fusion in spine surgery. The technique itself has technical details and can lead to serious complications if not paid attention to them. Determining the size of the TLIF cage used in this process is also an important technical detail. Method: In this retrospective study we wanted to evaluate the predictability of the cage size used in TLIF surgery. For this purpose, we examined the disc heights and cage sizes of 22 patients who underwent TLIF surgery. Results: Nine of the patients were male, 13 were female with an overall mean age of 52.3 yeras (30-72). There was no statistically significant correlation between the sizes of the cages used, and disc heights. Conclusion: We think that taking care of technical details is appropriate for determination of the cage size used in TLIF procedure. © 2018, Logos Medical Publishing. All rights reserved.

This study aims to explore both the long-run and causal relationships between electricity consumption per capita, real GDP per capita, trade openness and foreign direct investment inflows per capita in Turkey during the time period 1974–2013. The study employs the ARDL model and the Augmented Granger causality model. The bounds F–test for cointegration test yields evidence of a long-run relationship between variables. The overall results from the three error-correction based Granger causality models show that there is an evidence of unidirectional short-run, long-run and strong causalities running from the electricity consumption per capita to real GDP per capita. However, there is no causal evidence from the real GDP per capita to electricity consumption per capita. This result also support that, “Growth hypothesis” is confirmed in Turkey. As a policy implication, the energy growth policies regarding electricity consumption should be adopted in such a way that the development of this sector stimulates economic growth.

Metatarsal stress fractures are common overuse injuries in athletes, military recruits, and ballet dancers, usually occurring in the second, third, and fourth metatarsals, respectively. Such fractures may also occur in a variety of other individuals, regardless of demographic characteristics, sex, or profession, and they are highly associated with excessive activity. Moreover, these types of fractures are usually diagnosed late and have poor outcomes. To our knowledge, there has been only one case report of an individual with stress fractures of all three central metatarsals in the same foot. We describe herein a racehorse training jockey who presented with multiple simultaneous metatarsal stress fractures in the same foot. We also discuss the possible mechanisms by which this entity occurred, as well as its management and outcome.