miR-451a and IL18 can differentiate familial Mediterranean fever patients in attack and remission periods: a prospective cross-sectional study

Objectives: Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a multifaceted autoimmune disease and requires a diligent strategical approach considering disease periods and mutation subtypes. We aimed to investigate serum levels of autoimmunity-related cell-free miRNAs and inflammatory and apoptotic markers in FMF patients. Methods: Sixty FMF patients, of which 30 were in attack (FMF-A) and 30 were in remission (FMF-R) periods, and 25 age-, sex-, and BMI-matched healthy controls were included in our study. The expression levels of miR-26a-5p, miR-146a-5p, miR-155–2-5p, and miR-451a were analyzed with reverse-transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and protein levels of interleukin-18 (IL18) and soluble Fas cell surface death receptor (sFAS) were measured with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Serum CRP levels were analyzed by nephelometry, ferritin levels by chemiluminescence, and routine biochemical parameters by spectrophotometry. Correlation analyses were performed to seek potential associations of miRNAs with serum markers and biochemical parameters. Potential biomarkers were tested with receiver operating characteristic analysis. Results: We observed elevated serum IL18 levels but not sFAS, in FMF patients, particularly during attack period. IL18 demonstrated diagnostic value and was significantly correlated with acute-phase markers namely CRP, fibrinogen, and ferritin. Altered levels of IL18 and miR-451a could distinguish FMF patients in the attack period from the ones in remission. miR-26a-5p, miR-146a-5p, and miR-155–2-5p were downregulated in FMF patients carrying M694V mutations. Conclusions: These findings suggest that IL18 and specific miRNAs can serve as potential biomarkers for FMF pathogenesis. Discovering promising targets for FMF-related miRNAs using mechanistic strategies will enhance our understanding of FMF disease management and therapy. (Table presented.) © The Author(s) 2025

Policy and practice in L2 classroom assessment: policy implementation at a state high school in Türkiye

This study investigates how the explicit policies set for assessing English achievement in the instructional policy documents come to life at a particular program of a state high school. Junior-year students and their English-as-a-foreign-language teachers were the participants. Data were gathered through field notes, observations, interviews, and documents. Findings suggested a discrepancy between policy and practice in assessing English achievement. Instructional policy documents created at different layers of the policy conveyed a mixture of traditional and performance-based assessment types as the leading features of the intended assessment. However, the field data demonstrated that though principles of intended assessment were achieved to a degree, features of traditional assessment dominated classroom assessment practices. Several contextual factors ranging from teacher beliefs to top-down policy implementation were found influential in the realisation of the policy. The study presents implications for instructional policymaking, language classroom assessment, and in-service training for language teachers. © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

Synthesis, microstructure and radiation protection properties of B2O3–ZnO–K2CO3–PbO ceramic glass system: experimental and theoretical assessment

Ceramic glass is a versatile solid-state material engineered to blend the transparency of glass and the thermal stability of ceramics. This fusion has applications in various technological fields with major considerations like radiation protection, durability, heat resistance, and transparency. İn this study, three different B2O3 ceramic glasses comprising varying amounts of ZnO–K2CO3–PbO (BP ceramic glass) were produced, characterized and scanned with electron microscopy. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) was deployed to find the elemental composition of prepared samples. The radiation protection parameters such as Mass attenuation coefficient (MAC), Linear attenuation coefficient (LAC), Mean free path (MFP), Effective electron density (Neff), Tenth value layer (TVL), Half Value layer (HVL), Effective atomic number (Zeff), Exposure buildup factor (EBF), Equivalent atomic number (Zeq) and Energy absorption build-up factor (EABF) of B2O3–ZnO–K2CO3–PbO (BP) glass–ceramic systems were investigated by using Phy-X/PSD software. The result shows that the micropores increase with an increase in PbO. The density of BP1, BP2, and BP3 were 2.57, 2.36, and 2.19, respectively. The MAC of BP ceramic glass varies as BP1 > BP2 > BP3, implying that BP1 with higher density and greater PbO content is more efficient in radiation protection mostly at lower photon energy. The findings of this research present credible insights applicable to high-performance ceramic glass design for radiation protection in radiotherapy, nuclear power plants, radioactive waste confinement and other related applications. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2025

Experiences of women relocated due to the february 2023 earthquake in Turkey: a qualitative study

Background: Women are disproportionately affected by disasters due to their vulnerability and limited access to resources. The purpose of this study is to investigate the health concerns and experiences of women who relocated to a different city following the February 2023 earthquake in Turkey. Methods: Data was collected using a constructivist qualitative research design. Between May 1 and July 1 2023, interviews were conducted with female participants who relocated to a different city after the February 2023 earthquake in Turkey. The collected data underwent qualitative content analysis, adhering to the Standards for Qualitative Research Reporting (SRQR). The study utilized Graneheim and Lundman’s content analysis method to analyze the interview data. Interviews were transcribed. The transcripts were analyzed in the qualitative research software package ATLAS.ti 9. Results: In the study, 32 women aged 19–43 years were interviewed. The results revealed four distinct categories and 10 sub-categories derived from the interviewees’ narratives. These four categories were physiological needs, safety concerns, need for love and belonging, and self-realization. Conclusions: It was concluded that individuals who experience disasters face multiple hardships, especially related to these categories. Therefore, it is crucial to focus on the issues and requirements of survivors, particularly women belonging to vulnerable groups. One should not overlook the fundamental needs of women in service delivery. © The Author(s) 2025

Finite elements investigations of the effect of different parameters on the retrofitted RC beams with anchored FRP plate

Fiber-composites constructed of reinforced polymer have recently acquired popularity as an alternative to other traditional materials used in construction reinforcement. These composites are remarkable because of their low weight, high tensile strength compared to its weight ratio, corrosion resistance, and ease of installation in strengthening and retrofitting structural parts. In this work, using the ABAQUS analytical program’s finite element algorithm to analyze 279 models, the effects of multiple parameters on the behavior of RC beams externally bonded and retrofitted with one of three types of polymeric fibers were investigated. This was achieved by modeling a quarter of the complete beams using the beams’ symmetry, where the cohesive bond model of the FRP-concrete interface and the isotropic elastic characteristics of FRP were applied. Good agreement was found between experimental data and numerical results when the material models were adopted with experimental work. Investigations indicate that a typical collapse happens when the cohesive bond breaks, and that while increasing the shear or concrete strength improves the allowable loading capacity, but it does not completely prevent the debonding failure of the beam. U-wrap anchor applications at the end of external bonding are a partial solution to the problem of early collapse in the more rigid fibers, like carbon fiber polymers. The effect of using U-wrap anchors to reduce early collapse varies depending on the stiffness of the fiber; it is effective in the least rigid fibers, like glass fiber-reinforced polymers, but less effective by increasing the stiffness of the fibers, like aramid fiber-reinforced polymers. Furthermore, increasing the U-wrap anchor width is more effective in eliminating the debonding than increasing its height

Machine learning with industrial robots: exploring the impact of joint angles on Cartesian coordinates using explainable AI

This study uses Explainable Artificial Intelligence techniques to reveal the complex relationship between joint angles and Cartesian coordinates in the context of industrial robotic arms. By using machine learning and Explainable Artificial Intelligence algorithms, it is aimed to distinguish the dominant effect of individual joint angles on the x, y and z coordinates of the robotic end effector. Various machine learning algorithms have been applied on the data set and performance outputs have been obtained. According to these performance results, it has been observed that the RandomForest algorithm is more suitable for our study than other models with its low mean square error and high r-square score. Along with the selected machine learning algorithm, the data set was tried to be explained by passing it through SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP), Descriptive Machine Learning EXplanations (DALEX) and Explain Like I’m 5 (ELI5) models, which are Explainable Artificial Intelligence models. It has been observed that the SHAP model explains the effects of joint angles on Cartesian coordinates more consistently than other models, with an average sensitivity of 0.0125 value range.Our findings shed light on the explainability aspect of AI models and provide valuable information about the fundamental mechanisms governing the complex movements of industrial robot arms. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2024

Prediction of mass attenuation coefficients in mixed alkali and borosilicate glasses using machine learning approaches

The increasing demand for effective radiation shielding materials in different sectors, including medical, nuclear, and industrial applications, has promoted exploring new approaches for optimizing material properties. Mixed alkali glasses, such as those containing B2O3, SiO2, CaO and ZnO, offer a combination of protective and transparent properties, making them promising candidates for radiation shielding. Recent advances in machine learning (ML) have accelerated the development and evaluation of these materials. This study utilizes ML techniques to predict the mass attenuation coefficients (MAC) of mixed alkali glasses across a photon energy range of 0.015 MeV-15 MeV. A comprehensive dataset generated using XCOM served as the basis for training and validating several ML models, including Linear Regression, Ridge Regression, Lasso Regression, Support Vector Regression, Random Forest Regression, K-Nearest Neighbors, Multi-Layer Perceptron, and a customized Neural Network (NN). Among these models, Random Forest Regression ended as the most accurate, achieving an R-squared value of 0.99958 and demonstrating minimal error (MAE: 0.01481, MSE: 0.00561, RMSE: 0.07493), indicating its superior ability to capture the complex relationships between glass composition, energy levels, and radiation attenuation properties. While other models like MLP and NN performed decently, they lagged behind the Random Forest model. The results highlight machine learning's potential to advance radiation shielding by providing reliable models for material design and parameter calculations like MAC, offering faster, more efficient alternatives to conventional tools like Monte Carlo simulations

The Relationship Between Religious Health Fatalism and Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors of Earthquake Victims: The Example of Türkiye

Earthquakes are natural disasters that cause physical, psychological, social, and environmental damage. Due to the intense psychological impact, victims of earthquakes may associate a fatalistic approach with religion as a mechanism for seeking protection. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between religious health fatalism and healthy lifestyle behaviors among earthquake victims. A comparative analysis was conducted based on sociodemographic factors to compare average scores. A total of 175 individuals who were affected by the earthquakes that occurred in Türkiye in 2023 participated in this descriptive, cross-sectional, and correlational study. The total Religious Health Fatalism Questionnaire score of the earthquake victims was 54.89 ± 14.68 and Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Scale-II score was 130.14 ± 19.68. Significant correlations were found between religious health fatalism and healthy lifestyling behaviors of the participating individuals (p < 0.05). It was determined that the independent variables explained 35.7% of the RHFQ score (R2 = 0.357) and 16% of the HLBS-II scale score (R2 = 0.160). Earthquake victims were found to have higher than average levels of religious health fatalism

Exploring anticancer properties of new triazole-linked benzenesulfonamide derivatives against colorectal carcinoma: Synthesis, cytotoxicity, and in silico insights

This study reports the design, synthesis, and characterization of a novel series of benzene sulfonamide-triazole hybrid derivatives, to evaluate their anticancer potential against colorectal cancer. The synthesized compounds were characterized using NMR and HRMS spectroscopic techniques. In vitro cytotoxicity assessments revealed that compounds 5g and 5j exhibited significant anticancer effects. 5g showed the highest potency in the DLD-1 cell line (IC50 = 11.84 µM), while 5j demonstrated robust activity in the HT-29 cell line (IC50 = 9.35 µM). Apoptotic analysis indicated that compound 5g effectively induced early and total apoptosis, surpassing the chemotherapeutic agent 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), highlighting its therapeutic potential. Molecular docking studies showed strong binding interactions with key proteins involved in colorectal cancer progression, such as TGFβ2 and VEGFR1. 5j displayed a high binding affinity for TGFβ2 (MM-GBSA ΔG = −92.52 kcal/mol) and 5g showed promising interactions with VEGFR1 (ΔG = −70.63 kcal/mol). Molecular dynamics simulations confirmed the stability of the ligand–protein complexes, indicating potential as targeted therapeutic agents. Compounds 5g and 5j demonstrate significant promise for further development in colorectal cancer treatment. © 2025 Elsevier Lt

OPTIMIZATION OF WELDING PARAMETERS OF ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE SPOT WELDED 6082-7075 ALUMINIUM JOINTS USING THE TAGUCHI METHOD; [OPTIMIZACIJA PARAMETROV ELEKTRO-UPOROVNEGA TOČKOVNEGA VARJENJA ZLITIN NA OSNOVI ALUMINIJA TIPOV 6082 IN 7075 S POMOČJO TAGUCHIJEVE METODE]

In this study, aluminium alloys of AA6082 and AA7075 series were welded with resistance spot welding. Effects of welding current intensity, welding time, and electrode pressure on the tensile strength and microstructure were examined, and their optimized values were determined using the Taguchi method. While performing optimization, the L24 orthogonal array was used with the Taguchi method. With this array, the signal/noise (S/N) ratio became the determining factor in controlling the optimization results. Comparing the experimental procedures and analysis results, the results obtained from the real application and Taguchi analysis were found out to be similar. © 2024 The Author(s). Except when otherwise noted, articles in this journal are published under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)