Neuroimaging characteristics and clinical outcomes of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome in preeclamptic and eclamptic patients

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is a neurological complication linked to preeclampsia and eclampsia. This study compared the clinical and radiological features of PRES in patients with these conditions. This retrospective single-center cohort study from 2010 to 2024 included patients diagnosed with preeclampsia and eclampsia who underwent MRI due to neurological symptoms. Two radiologists, blinded to the clinical data, re-evaluated the MRIs twice. PRES cases were assessed based on the sites and patterns of involvement. Maternal and perinatal outcomes, along with laboratory characteristics, were reviewed through medical records. The study included 157 patients with preeclampsia and eclampsia who underwent MRI for neurological symptoms. PRES was diagnosed in 55 patients (35.0%), with a higher incidence of eclampsia (64.71%) compared to preeclampsia (20.75%). Patients with PRES were younger, had lower gravidity and parity, and were at an earlier gestational age than those with normal MRI findings. The parietal and occipital regions were the most affected in both preeclampsia and eclampsia patients with PRES. Parietal lobe and bilateral involvement were more common in the eclampsia group. Atypical involvement, including brainstem and cerebellar lesions, was observed in both groups. These findings suggest that eclampsia may represent a neurological manifestation of PRES

Evaluation of olive producing enterprises in the Eastern Mediterranean Region using the AHP-TOPSIS method: a case study of Hatay Province Avaliação das empresas produtoras de azeitona na região do Mediterrâneo Oriental utilizando o método AHP-TOPSIS: um estudo de caso da província de Hatay

Hatay province is the most significant region in Turkey’s Mediterranean area for olive production. This study selected the best districts for olive cultivation using the AHP-TOPSIS methods. Data collected from 100 enterprises in five districts of Hatay; where production is intensive and olives are of particular importance, were divided into two groups for analysis. In the first group, the analysis identified the most advantageous districts using data from all olive-producing enterprises. In the second group, the analysis focused on 63 enterprises that met the criteria of having individuals who will continue production, which was deemed crucial for the continuity of the enterprise. The rankings of the districts differed between the two groups. Based on the presence of individuals who will continue agricultural production (n = 63), Altınözü and Antakya were identified as the best districts for olive cultivation, while Samandağ and Yayladağı were the most disadvantaged. The findings suggested that the declining engagement of younger generations in agriculture is becoming a significant issue for agricultural production, potentially leading to changes in the future sustainability of these enterprises. Factors ensuring continuity in olive-producing agricultural enterprises in Hatay were evaluated according to three main criteria and 12 sub-criteria. Market relations, identified as the main criterion, accounted for 59.5%, production for 33.5%, and the influence of farm identity for 6.9%. The study highlighed the need for targeted efforts and support in the Samandağ and Yayladağı districts that lag behind in olive cultivation but are historically, socially, and economically significant production areas

Production of two Kımı pickles using the whey and vinegar as fermentation media and determination of bacterial and fungal microbiota, antibacterial and antibiofilm activities of Kımı pickles

Plants can be used for different purposes, such as food, tea, and spices or for healing against various diseases. In this study, two different Kımı pickles, such as fermented with vinegar (SKT) and fermented with whey (PASKT), were produced. The antibacterial properties of both Kımı pickles were determined by MIC, MBC, and MTC and antibiofilm activity was determined by the crystal violet method. The bacterial microbiota of the Kımı pickle samples were determined by 16S metagenom analysis and the fungal microbiota by ITS metagenom analysis. As a result, the plant known as Kımı was systematically determined as Bunium cylindricum (Boiss. & Hohem.) Drude. PASKT exhibited the highest antibacterial activity against Bacillus licheniformis ATCC 14580, Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 33495, and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538, while Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538 was the most sensitive to SKT. PASKT inhibited biofilm formation at a higher rate against Escherichia coli ATCC 8739 and Bacillus licheniformis ATCC 14580, while SKT exhibited higher antibiofilm activity against Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 33495 and Bacillus licheniformis ATCC 14580. The dominant bacterial genus in the PASKT was Bacteroides, whereas in the SKT it was Latilactobacillus. Dipodascus was the dominant genus in the PASKT fungal microbiota, while Penicillium was the dominant genus in the SKT fungal microbiota. In this study, whey was used as the fermentation medium for PASKT production. This has the potential to create an alternative for the utilization of whey, which is rich in nutrient content but is considered waste and can cause environmental pollution

Non-contact acoustic screening for sleep apnea: a subject-aware deep learning approach

Purpose: To explore the feasibility of using camera-derived, non-contact audio synchronized with PSG for clinically relevant sleep-apnea classification, and to benchmark compact deep models under a subject-aware design using a previously unstudied, real-world dataset. Methods: Thirty-two adults underwent simultaneous polysomnography (PSG) and camera-based non-contact audio recording. The synchronized audio segments were used to train and compare three compact deep-learning architectures (convolutional, attention-augmented, and transformer-based) under a subject-aware evaluation design that prevented identity leakage. Model performance and calibration were assessed at both segment and subject levels using standard statistical tests. Results: Subject-level evaluation was based on a very small, imbalanced test set of six subjects (one positive). Within this limited yet previously unstudied local dataset, the CNN_trans model achieved an apparent perfect ranking performance (AUC = 1.00; 95% CI 0.00–1.00), though this likely reflects the small, imbalanced test cohort, with recall = 1.00 and precision = 0.55. The wide confidence interval reflects substantial statistical uncertainty, and DeLong comparisons showed no significant AUC difference between CNN_trans and CNN_att (ΔAUC = − 0.042; p = 0.43). Conclusion: PSG-synchronized, non-contact audio supports accurate and well-calibrated sleep-apnea classification with compact deep models. This subject-aware evaluation suggests that contactless acoustic monitoring may have potential clinical relevance, motivating larger, multi-site validation

Nonlinear impacts of environmental transport taxes and biofuel consumption on greenhouse emissions in the four largest European Union countries

Incompatible with the pioneering role of the transportation sector in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, this research mainly deals with GHG emissions from the transport sector. In this context, the study looks at the four leading European Union (EU) countries (i.e., Germany, France, Italy, and Spain), investigates emissions from their sub-types of the transport sector (i.e., aviation, rail, and road), uses environmental transport taxes (ETAX) as the main explanatory variable in the bivariate modeling, and considers biofuel consumption (BIO) as a control factor in the multivariate modeling. The study uses monthly data between 2004 and 2022, bivariate and multivariate quantile-on-quantile regression as well, and Granger causality-in-quantiles as the main approaches. The results demonstrate that (i) ETAX is completely inefficient on aviation and road transport GHG emissions; (ii) ETAX curbs rail transport GHG emissions in France at only middle quantiles; (iii) with the moderating impact of BIO, ETAX becomes effective in declining aviation, rail, and road transport GHG emissions (iv) BIO has a certainly reversing impact on the nexus between ETAX and transport sector GHG emissions. Overall, the study highlights that ETAX has a stand-alone ineffective impact in curbing transport sector GHG emissions, but BIO has a certain moderating contribution in this manner. Thus, the study strongly recommends taking further actions, such as more use of BIO as in the case of this study, to support ETAX practices in combating GHG emissions for the EU countries