The bear in Eurasian plant names: Motivations and models

Ethnolinguistic studies are important for understanding an ethnic group's ideas on the world, expressed in its language. Comparing corresponding aspects of such knowledge might help clarify problems of origin for certain concepts and words, e.g. whether they form common heritage, have an independent origin, are borrowings, or calques. The current study was conducted on the material in Slavonic, Baltic, Germanic, Romance, Finno-Ugrian, Turkic and Albanian languages. The bear was chosen as being a large, dangerous animal, important in traditional culture, whose name is widely reflected in folk plant names. The phytonyms for comparison were mostly obtained from dictionaries and other publications, and supplemented with data from databases, the co-authors' field data, and archival sources (dialect and folklore materials). More than 1200 phytonym use records (combinations of a local name and a meaning) for 364 plant and fungal taxa were recorded to help find out the reasoning behind bear-nomination in various languages, as well as differences and similarities between the patterns among them. Among the most common taxa with bear-related phytonyms were Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (L.) Spreng., Heracleum sphondylium L., Acanthus mollis L., and Allium ursinum L., with Latin loan translation contributing a high proportion of the phytonyms. Some plants have many and various bear-related phytonyms, while others have only one or two bear names. Features like form and/or surface generated the richest pool of names, while such features as colour seemed to provoke rather few associations with bears. The unevenness of bear phytonyms in the chosen languages was not related to the size of the language nor the present occurence of the Brown Bear in the region. However, this may, at least to certain extent, be related to the amount of the historical ethnolinguistic research done on the selected languages

Effect of chitosan on a periodontal pathogen porhyromonas gingivalis

Local delivery systems of antimicrobial agents for treatment of the periodontal diseases received considerable attention during the past decade due to the disadvantages of the systemic administration. An ideal formulation should exhibit ease of delivery, a good retention at the application site, and a controlled release of the drug. The application of bioadhesive gels provides a long stay in the oral cavity, adequate drug penetration, high efficacy and acceptability. In dentistry and oral medicine, various applications of chitosan, which is a bioadhesive polymer have been proposed due to its favorable properties such as biocompatibility and biodegradability. The aim of this study was to determine the antimicrobial activity of chitosan formulations either in gel or film form against a periodontal pathogen, Porphyromonas gingivalis. The viscosity, bioadhesive properties and antimicrobial activity of chitosans at different molecular weight and deacetylation degree were evaluated in the absence or presence of chlorhexidine gluconate (Chx), incorporated into the formulations at 0.1 and 0.2% concentrations. The flow property of the gels were found to be suitable for topical application on the oral mucosa and to syringe into the periodontal pocket. Bioadhesion of the gels and films examined ex-vivo using fresh porcine buccal mucosa showed that both the film and gel formulations exert bioadhesive properties and was not affected by incorporation of Chx. Chitosan is shown to have an antimicrobial activity against P. gingivalis and this was higher with high molecular weight chitosan. The combination of chitosan with Chx showed a higher activity when compared to that of Chx alone, which would provide Chx application at lower concentrations thus avoiding its unwanted side effects. Chitosan films and gels seem to be promising delivery systems for local therapy of periodontal diseases with its bioadhesive property and antimicrobial activity

Wpływ różnych zabiegów cięcia na wzrost, jakość i plon owoców moreli ‘Hacihaliloglu’

This study was conducted in Malatya, between 1999 and 2003, and the region's most important dried apricot variety, Hacihaliloglu was used as material. In the study, the effect of 5 different combined or alone pruning treatments on the growth, fruit quality and yield characteristics were determined in comparison with non-pruned trees. Pruning treatments in different periods did not statistically affect phenological features and fruit dimensions but strongly affected total soluble solid and fruit firmness of Hacihaliloglu apricot cultivar. The highest average yield considering trunk cross-sectional area was obtained as 0.34 kg·cm-2 from pre-harvest summer pruning treatment and the highest share of flower bud was observed as 68.29% in pre-harvest summer+winter pruning treatment. Pruning applications significantly affected both shoot diameter and length. The highest shoot diameter and length were obtained from pre-harvest summer+winter pruning application as 8.52 mm and 77.84 cm, respectively. The highest leaf area was determined as 39.43 cm2 in post harvest pruning treatment.Badanie przeprowadzono w miejscowości Malatya w latach 1999–2003 na najważniejszej w regionie odmianie moreli do suszenia, Hacihaliloglu. W badaniu określono wpływ 5 różnych zabiegów cięcia na wzrost, jakość owoców oraz plonowanie w porównaniu z drzewami nieprzycinanymi. Zabiegi cięcia w różnych okresach nie wpłynęły w sposób istotny na cechy fenologiczne ani rozmiary owoców, natomiast wywarły silny wpływ na zawartość ekstraktu w soku oraz jędrność owoców moreli odmiany Hacihaliloglu. Najwyższy średni plon, 0,34 kg·cm-2 przy uwzględnieniu powierzchni przekroju poprzecznego pnia osiągnięto przy letnim przycinaniu po zbiorze owoców, a największy udział pąków – 68,29%, – zaobserwowano przy przedzbiorczym zabiegu cięcia lato+zima. Zastosowanie cięcia istotnie wpłynęło zarówno na średnicę pędów jak i ich długość. Największą średnicę i długość pędów, odpowiednio 8,52 mm i 77,84 cm, otrzymano stosując przedzbiorcze cięcie lato+zima. Największą powierzchnię liścia, 39,43 cm2 uzyskano przy pozbiorczym zabiegu cięcia

The effect of 900-MHz radiofrequency electromagnetic fields during the adolescence on the histological structure of rat testis and its androgen and estrogen receptors localization

Background: Mobile phones as an electronic device which are emitting radiofrequency-electromagnetic field (RF-EMF). In this study was intend to determine the contingent effects of cell phone induced RF-EMF on testicular tissue in adolescence. Materials and Methods: Rats in the RF-EMF group were exposed to 900 MHz RF-EMF, while sham and control rats were not. After the completion of the test steps, the testicular tissues which were rapidly removed from the body of sacrificed rats were examined by using histopathological and biochemical methods. Testicular tissues cut to 5 mu m thickness undergo routine histological procedures. Thus, histopathological evaluation will be completed. Malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels in testicular tissues were measured by biochemical methods to determine whether oxidative stress occurred or not. Results: Histopathologic findings were not observed in any of the studied groups. There was also no difference between the groups in terms of localization of androgen and estrogen receptors. The incidence of apoptotic index and TUNEL-positive cells was similar in all three groups. In the RF-EMF group, although the levels of MDA and CAT were significantly higher, GSH levels were lower than the other groups. There was no essential difference between the groups in terms of SOD level. Conclusions: The obtained results of this study showed that exposed to 900 MHz RF-EMF in adolescents caused oxidative stress in the testes, but testicular damage which is caused to oxidative stress is remained too low to be detected by histopathological methods in this study

A 2800-year multi-proxy sedimentary record of climate change from Lake Cubuk (Goynuk, Bolu, NW Anatolia)

The sediment of Lake Çubuk in NW Anatolia, which is situated very close to the climate boundary between the dry Central Anatolia and the wet Marmara region, is regarded as a suitable climate archive to test inward and outward movements of this boundary in accordance with past climate variations. Herein, we study the stratigraphic record of the last 2800 years of this landslide-dammed lake at 1030 m elevation, using multi-proxy tools (sedimentology, major and trace element geochemistry, stable isotopes, pollen, diatoms and ostracods) and compare the results with other contemporaneous Anatolian climatic records. Our findings indicate that Lake Çubuk recorded seven distinct climatic periods in the last 2800 years that have been previously revealed elsewhere in Anatolia. The most arid period occurred at the end of the Near-East Aridification Phase at approximately 200 BC when the δ18O shifted to very negative values, and the planktonic diatom ratio considerably decreased. The Dark Ages and the late Byzantine periods between AD 670 and 1070 are characterized by more positive δ18O values, increasingly higher lake levels and the most extensive arboreal cover of the entire record. The ‘Little Ice Age’ appeared suddenly, within 40 years, at AD 1350 and is reflected in all of the proxies, including a positive shift in δ18O, a sharp decrease in pollen of shrub and herb to the benefit of pine trees and a rapid increase in benthic diatom abundance indicating a lake level shallowing. In many parts of the record, a close match between the stable isotopes and the pollen assemblage zones in the last 2800 years demonstrates that climate rather than human activity was the primary driver of vegetation cover in this mid-altitude mountain of NW Anatolia.This study was financially supported by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) with the project (no. 109Y353) entitled ‘Paleoclimatic Investigation of Çubuk Lake (Bolu, NW Anatolia) by Sedimentological, Geochemical and Paleo-ecological Tools’. The Commission for Scientific Research Projects of Eskişehir Osmangazi University also financially contributed to this study with the project numbered 200915009