Spatial Pattern of Digital Divide in Turkey

Digital divide, which highlights the access to, use of and skills for information and communication technologies in a regional discrepancy reasoning, is a new field of research, measuring spatial associations in urban and regional studies. In lierature, the emergence of, and formation behind the digital divide concept have been associated with absence of hardware, financial and infrastructural deficiencies, barriers ofbecoming online and use of technology. Especially with the leading international conventions related to telecommunication networks, technology and innovation associations, the literature stresses the necessity to investigate different domains of this issue, advocating the right of access to technology in favour ofdisadvantaged geographies and communities. In the late 1990s, owing to the proliferation of digital divide, the growing gap between different groups who are imparted from new information services and those who are not, became more significant and obvious than in former initial studies. This issue has increased in importance among different parties, such as policy makers, scholars and advocacy groups, in relation to their different roles, varying from supply of technology infrastructure and affordability of obtaining related services. The most significant aspects cited in empirical research are inequality in obtaining new services of information and inequality in patterns of getting access to information technology, akin to regional discrepancies in conventional studies. Especially in Turkey, many scholars studied the divide concept in terms of descriptive statements and few of them undertook exploratory investigations of conventional statistics, neglecting geographical tendencies and spatial autocorrelation effect. Spatial pattern, as associated with the digital divide concept in this paper, is primarily investigated with officially published parameters related to household profile and technology use. However, this fundemantal field of regional science needs comprehensive and focused understanding of changing barriers to, and attributes of affordability and access to technology by communities. This study aims to depict the spatial pattern of the digital divide phenomena in Turkey, in an index comprised of variables of access to, use of and skills of information and communication technologies. Since the spatial function of digital divide research is mainly missing in conventional studies in Turkey, this paper investigates the spatial associations with the digital divide in the officially published figures and statistics of information and communication technology. In the paper, spatial association is established through Getis and Ord G statistics, with the measure of provincial highway distances, instead of operational uses of Euclidian distances that commonly licenced geographic information systems may offer. Preliminary findings indicate that spatial autocorrelation and clustering methods show the significance of mono-centric development pattern of Turkey, whereby most populated and in-migrated provinces also dominate in all domains of access to, use and skills of technology. Although figures from officially published data depict spatial heterogeneity superficially, the results of this study indicate the importance and necessity of a prospective comprehensive social survey, with high level of representation capability and spatialsampling. This paper presents also primer investigations of further research, which will compare Istanbul province, as the dominant province with unprivileged provinces in terms of socio-economic development and technology use and supply

An Important Milk Enzyme: Lactoperoxidase

It has been acknowledged since ancient times that milk and dairy products have a vital role in nutrition and contribute considerably to human health. Because of its content, Because of its content, it has many important effects on the life that include immunoglobulins, enzymes, hormones, growth factors, antibacterial agents, fat acids, vitamins, and minerals. Approximately 70 indigenous enzymes have been reported in normal bovine milk, including lactoperoxidase. Lactoperoxidase LPO is a natural constituent of milk, saliva, and tears. It also exists in all mammary milk. LPO is an iron heme group basic glycoprotein, with a molecular weight of approximately 78 kDa. The LPO enzyme catalyzes the H2O2 +SCN- → OSCN- + H2O reaction. Hydrogen peroxide and hypothiocyanate are indispensable for antimicrobial activity. The biological significance of LPO is involved in the natural host defense system against pathogenic microorganisms

Assessment of the inhibitory effects and molecular docking of some sulfonamides on human serum paraoxonase 1

WOS: 000412328200009Paraoxonase-1 (PON1) is an organophosphate hydrolyzer and antiatherogenic enzyme. Due to the PON1's crucial functions, inhibitors and activators of PON1 must be known for pharmacological applications. In this study, we investigated the in vitro effects of some sulfonamides compounds on human serum PON1 (hPON1). For this aim, we purified the hPON1 from human serum with high specific activity by using simple chromatographic methods, and after the purification processes, we investigated in vitro interactions between the enzyme and some sulfonamides (2-amino-5-methyl-1,3-benzenedisulfonamide, 2-chloro-4-sulfamoilaniline, 4-amino-3-methylbenzenesulfanilamide, sulfisoxazole, sulfisomidine, and 5-amino-2-methylbenzenesulfonamide). IC50, K-i values, and inhibition types were calculated for each sulfonamide. 2-amino-5-methyl-1,3-benzenedisulfonamide and 2-chloro-4-sulfamoilaniline exhibited noncompetitive inhibition effect, whereas 4-amino-3-methylbenzenesulfanilamide, sulfisoxazole, and sulfisomidine exhibited mixed type inhibition. On the other hand, 5-amino-2-methylbenzenesulfonamide showed competitive inhibition and so molecular docking studies were performed for this compound in order to assess the probable binding mechanism into the active site of hPON1

Hematological and biochemical effect of subcutaneous administration of robenacoxib in different goat breeds

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the effect of robenacoxib on hematological and biochemical parameters in healthy Alpine and Saanen goats 24 hours after subcutaneous administration. Materials and Methods: 12 healthy Alpine (n=6) and Saanen (n=6) breed goats were used. Robenacoxib was administered to Alpine and Saanen goats at a dose of 4 mg/kg once subcutaneously. Blood samples were collected before drug administration (0 hour) and then 24-hours. Hematological and biochemical parameters were analyzed using a hematology analyzer and biochemistry auto analyzer, respectively. Results: No change was observed in the clinical examination findings of both goat breeds. Statistical differences in hematological and biochemical parameters were determined within physiological limits in both goat breeds. The white blood cell, red blood cell and lymphocyte values were found to be low, and the monocyte% value was found to be high in Alpine goats. Decreases in red blood cell, hemoglobin and hematocrit levels and increases in the mean corpuscular volume and mean corpuscular hemoglobin values were observed at 24-hours in Saanen goats. Robenacoxib increases blood urea nitrogen value in both goat breeds, it decreases creatinine value in Saanen goats. Conclusion: There were no significant changes in hematological and biochemical parameters after robenacoxib administrations to Alpine and Saanen goats. Consequently, further studies are needed to investigate the effects of robenacoxib in high-dose and repeated administrations, liver and kidney dysfunctions, different age, breed, and physiological conditions. It was evaluated that robenacoxib could be used as an alternative NSAID to prevent pain and inflammation in goats, since no adverse effect was observed in the blood profile

bGH/AluI and CSN3/HinfI Gene Polymorphisms in Holstein Cattle

The aim of the study was to determine the gene and genotype frequencies of the bGH/AluI and CSN3/HinfI gene in the animal material obtained from organic farm by PCR-RFLP method. A total of 248 cattle of Holstein breed were genotyped for the bGH/AluI and CSN3 HinfI polymorphism. In bGH gene region, the LL, LV and VV genotype frequencies were 0.50, 0.48 and 0.02 respectively and In CSN3 gene region, the AA, AB and BB genotype frequencies were 0.71, 0.23 and 0.06 respectively. Both bGH/AluI and CSN3/HinfI genotypes were not found to be in equilibrium within the breed. Also, both heterozygosity were found at a high rate as 0.478 and 0.234 and the calculated FIS values were -0.24 and 0.20 respectively

Gene regulatory and gene editing tools and their applications for retinal diseases and neuroprotection: From proof-of-concept to clinical trial.

Gene editing and gene regulatory fields are continuously developing new and safer tools that move beyond the initial CRISPR/Cas9 technology. As more advanced applications are emerging, it becomes crucial to understand and establish more complex gene regulatory and editing tools for efficient gene therapy applications. Ophthalmology is one of the leading fields in gene therapy applications with more than 90 clinical trials and numerous proof-of-concept studies. The majority of clinical trials are gene replacement therapies that are ideal for monogenic diseases. Despite Luxturna's clinical success, there are still several limitations to gene replacement therapies including the size of the target gene, the choice of the promoter as well as the pathogenic alleles. Therefore, further attempts to employ novel gene regulatory and gene editing applications are crucial to targeting retinal diseases that have not been possible with the existing approaches. CRISPR-Cas9 technology opened up the door for corrective gene therapies with its gene editing properties. Advancements in CRISPR-Cas9-associated tools including base modifiers and prime editing already improved the efficiency and safety profile of base editing approaches. While base editing is a highly promising effort, gene regulatory approaches that do not interfere with genomic changes are also becoming available as safer alternatives. Antisense oligonucleotides are one of the most commonly used approaches for correcting splicing defects or eliminating mutant mRNA. More complex gene regulatory methodologies like artificial transcription factors are also another developing field that allows targeting haploinsufficiency conditions, functionally equivalent genes, and multiplex gene regulation. In this review, we summarized the novel gene editing and gene regulatory technologies and highlighted recent translational progress, potential applications, and limitations with a focus on retinal diseases

The External Exposome and Allergies: From the Perspective of the Epithelial Barrier Hypothesis

IntroductionIn the last decades, we have seen a rapid increase in the prevalence of allergic diseases such as asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, and food allergies. The environmental changes caused by industrialization, urbanization and modernization, including dramatic increases in air pollutants such as particulate matter (PM), diesel exhaust, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), alarming effects of global warming, change and loss of biodiversity, affect both human health and the entire ecosystem.ObjectiveIn this review, we aimed to discuss the effects of the external exposome on epithelial barriers and its relationship with the development of allergic diseases by considering the changes in all stakeholders of the outer exposome together, in the light of the recently proposed epithelial barrier hypothesis.MethodTo reach current, prominent, and comprehensive studies on the subject, PubMed databases were searched. We included the more resounding articles with reliable and strong results.ResultsExposure to altered environmental factors such as increased pollution, microplastics, nanoparticles, tobacco smoke, food emulsifiers, detergents, and household cleaners, and climate change, loss and change in microbial biodiversity, modifications in the consumption of dietary fatty acids, the use of emulsifiers, preservatives and the decrease in the antioxidant content of the widely consumed western diet may disrupt the epithelial barriers of the skin, respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts, making us more vulnerable to exogeneous allergens and microbes. Epithelial cell activation, microbial dysbiosis and bacterial translocation disrupt the immune balance and a chronic Th2 inflammation ensues.ConclusionDramatic increases in air pollution, worrisome effects of global warming, dysbiosis, changing dietary habits and the complex interactions of all these factors affect the epithelial barriers and local and systemic inflammation. We want to draw attention to the emerging health effects of environmental changes and to motivate the public to influence government policies for the well-being of humans and the nature of the earth and the well-being of future generations