The phenotypic diversity and fruit characterization of winter squash (Cucurbita maxima) populations from the Black Sea Region of Turkey

Winter squash are one of the most important Cucurbit crops in Turkey. Winter squash populations show great diversity in morphological characteristics, particularly fruit length, fruit diameter, fruit shape, fruit brightness, skin thickness , flesh thickness and colour in the Black Sea region of Turkey. In this research, 115 populations of winter squash, Cucurbita maxima Duch, were collected from different provinces of the Black Sea region in 2006 and 2007 and phenotypic diversity in their fruit characters was assessed. The collection showed appreciable phenotypicvariation in fruit shape, fruit colour, fruit brightness, fruit dimension and fruit weight. Cluster and principal component analysis (PCA) were performed to determine relationships among populations and to obtain information on the usefulness of those fruit characters for the definitionof groups. Cluster analysis based on 14 quantitative and 7 qualitative variables identified 10 different groups. The first five principal component axes accounted for 65.0% of the total multivariate variation among the populations. The greater part of variance was accounted for byfruit weight, fruit diameter, fruit length, length of seed cavity and flesh thickness. This evaluation of fruit trait variability can assist geneticists and breeders to identify populations with desirable characteristics for inclusion in variety breeding programs

Endoscopic Removal of an Unusual Foreign Body Causing Gastrointestinal Bleeding

Foreign body ingestion is a condition more common in the pediatric population than in adults. In adults, although foreign body ingestion can be well tolerated, approximately 10-20% of patients require endoscopic intervention. Delayed diagnosis and unremoved foreign bodies can cause serious and fatal complications including perforation, fistula and gastrointestinal bleeding. Here we report a patient with bleeding duodenal ulcer thought to be initiated by a large foreign body

AGREGALARIN FİZİKSEL ÖZELLİKLERİNDEN YOLA ÇIKILARAK BETON DAYANIMLARININ YAPAY SİNİR AĞLARI İLE KESTİRİLMESİ

Hızla gelişmekte olan dünyamızda en yaygın yapı malzemesi hammaddesi ve nihai ürün konumunda olan agreganın önemi gün geçtikçe artmaktadır. Kullanım alanı çok geniş olan ve betonun %65-75’ini oluşturan bu yapı malzemesinin mekanik ve fiziksel özelliklerinin bilinmesi mühendislik tasarımlarında çok önemlidir. Betonun en büyük bileşeni olan agreganın sahip olduğu fiziksel ve mekanik özelliklerin betonun dayanım özelliklerine etkisinin belirlenmesi ancak yapılan deneylerle mümkün olmaktadır. Bu çalışmalar uzun zaman almakta ve çoğu zamanda ekonomik olmamaktadır. Bundan dolayı dayanım özelliklerinin belirlenmesi için daha önce yapılmış olan deneysel çalışmalardan yararlanılarak oluşturulan değişik yöntemler de kullanılmaktadır. Bu çalışmada İstanbul Anadolu yakasında değişik 14 ayrı ocaktan  elde edilmiş agregaların fiziksel özellikleri, yapılan deneylerle belirlenmiştir. Fiziksel özellikleri belirlenen agregalarla beton örnekleri hazırlanmış ve bu beton örneklerin 7 ve 28 günlük basınç dayanımları ölçülmüştür. Betonu oluşturan agrega dışındaki bütün beton bileşenleri sabit tutularak değişen agregalarda betonun basınç dayanımı izlenmiştir. Deneysel olarak belirlenen değerlerin kestirimi için, Yapay Sinir Ağları Yöntemi kullanılarak modeller geliştirilmiş ve elde edilen sonuçlar karşılaştırılmıştır

Polymorphisms in the tumor necrosis factor-alpha gene in Turkish women with pre-eclampsia and eclampsia

The genetic background predisposing pregnant women to pre-eclampsia/eclampsia (PE/E) is still unknown. The aim of the current study was to investigate whether there is an association between the TNF-alpha-308 and 850 polymorphisms and PE or eclampsia. In this study, 40 cases of eclampsia, 113 cases of PE and 80 normotensive control cases were genotyped for the TNF-alpha-G-308A and C-850 polymorphisms. At position 308, the replacement of Guanine with Adenosine was denoted as TNF2. We found a significant difference between the TNF2 allele frequencies of the eclamptic, pre-eclamptic and normotensive controls. TNF2 (AA) polymorphism frequency was significantly higher among the eclamptics and pre-eclamptics (control : 5%, PE : 13.3%, E : 12.9%). A significantly different genotype distribution of C-850T polymorphism was observed between the PE/E and control groups, with the frequency of the variant TT genotype being significantly reduced in the preeclamptics (PE : 17% ; E : 17.5%) when compared with the control group (24.3%). We have demonstrated an association between TNF-alpha polymorphisms and pre-eclampsia susceptibility. However, it is not known whether C-850T polymorphism has a functional effect on the TNF-alpha gene. In addition, it was not possible to determine whether this polymorphism promotes the progression from PE to eclampsia because of no statistically significant difference between eclampsia and the controls

Next Generation of Regional Inequality: Digital Divide

With the rapid development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in recent years, a significant gap has emerged between regions and countries in terms of accessibility and the use of such technologies. In particular, the increasing use of smart devices enables us to connect to the internet anywhere at any time. Nevertheless not all sectors of society are capable of absorbing the benefits of ICT use