Effects of boron and gibberellic acid on in vitro pollen germination of pistachio (Pistacia vera L.)

This study was conducted on male pistachio cultivars which consisted of Uygur, Atli, Kaska, Sengel and Kavak to study the influence of boron and gibberellin on pollen germination in vitro. Pollen was sown in germination media that included 20% sucrose, 10, 25, 50, 75 and 100 ppm boric acid (H3BO3) and gibberellic acid (GA3), separately. It was found that pollen germination for all cultivars were greatly reduced with increased GA3 concentration in the germination medium and reached the lowest value at the 100 ppm GA3 whereas germination was decreased up to 25 ppm in H3BO3 and gradually increased again to 100 ppm. With the mediums of boric acid and gibberellic acid ranging from 0 - 100 ppm, the amount and pattern of response in pollen germinability varied among cultivars considerably. Pollen germination was severely inhibited by GA3 and slightly promoted by boron. The results suggest that gibberellic acid had adverse effects on pollen germination of pistachio.Key words: Pistachio, Pistacia vera, in vitro, pollen germination, boron, gibberellic acid

Some quality traits and neurotoxin β-N-oxalyl-L-α,β- diaminopropionic acid (β-ODAP) contents of Lathyrus sp. cultivated in Turkey

In this study, 52 landraces accessions belonging to the species of Lathyrus sativus and Lathyrus clymenum collected from different regions of Turkey and one released variety of Lathyrus sativus were evaluated for some quality traits like seed coat color, 1000 seed weight, crude protein and neurotoxin β- N-oxalyl-L-α,β-diaminopropionic acid (β-ODAP) content. Among the investigated landraces, high variation was determined for all the investigated traits, which was attributed to both genetic as well as environmental factors. Protein content was as between 24.07 to 30.90% and β-ODAP content was as 1.35 to 3.86 mg g-1 for seed. Many landraces with low β-ODAP content (< 2.00 mg g-1) and high protein content seem to be promising material for Lathyrus breeding. Furthermore, many investigated landraces showed lower β-ODAP and higher protein contents compared with the released variety. Also, the local consumption of L. sativus landraces as a food or feed was determined during the collection process.Key words: Lathyrus, landrace, protein, β-ODAP, Turkey

Seed yield and agronomic parameters of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) genotypes grown in the Black Sea region of Turkey

Nine cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) genotypes (two released cultivars and seven lines) were evaluated for grain yield and agronomic parameters at two locations within the Middle Black Sea region of Turkey for two years (2005 to 2006). Genotypes were evaluated for plant height, first pod height from ground, branches number per plant, main branch diameter, pod length, seed number per pod, thousand seed weight and seed yield. Results indicate that the effect of genotype, year and location were significant (P<0.05) for many of the traits studied. Line G1 had the highest plant height (122.4 cm). Seed number per pod was higher in line G1 (9.9) than in other genotypes. Thousand seed weight ranged between 138.7 and 233.2 g. Seed yield ranged from 1,010 to 1,420 kg ha-1. The highest seed yield (1,420 kg ha-1) was obtained in cultivar Karagoz. Among locations, average values for most variables studied were higher in Samsun than in Kavak.Key words: Vigna unguiculata, seed yield, thousand seed weight, Black Se

A forward-backward splitting algorithm for the minimization of non-smooth convex functionals in Banach space

We consider the task of computing an approximate minimizer of the sum of a smooth and non-smooth convex functional, respectively, in Banach space. Motivated by the classical forward-backward splitting method for the subgradients in Hilbert space, we propose a generalization which involves the iterative solution of simpler subproblems. Descent and convergence properties of this new algorithm are studied. Furthermore, the results are applied to the minimization of Tikhonov-functionals associated with linear inverse problems and semi-norm penalization in Banach spaces. With the help of Bregman-Taylor-distance estimates, rates of convergence for the forward-backward splitting procedure are obtained. Examples which demonstrate the applicability are given, in particular, a generalization of the iterative soft-thresholding method by Daubechies, Defrise and De Mol to Banach spaces as well as total-variation based image restoration in higher dimensions are presented

Revisiting the EAU paediatric urology guideline risk grouping on vesicoureteral reflux: Shall we challenge ourselves?

Objective: To challenge retrospectively the treatment outcomes of vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) management according to new EAU Paediatric Urology Guideline Risk Grouping on VUR. Methods: The records of the patients who received medical and/or surgical treatment between 2009-2012 due to VUR were reviewed. History, demographic variables, diagnostic features (presence of renal scar, grade of reflux, laterality), clinical course, causes of failure, secondary intervention type and follow-up variables were analyzed. The patients were classified as low, moderate and high-risk groups according to EAU paediatric urology guideline. Treatment failure is defined as new urinary tract infection and presence of new renal scar during follow-up. Results: A total of 157 patients with 232 renal units (RU) were treated due to VUR. 33(71.7%) of 46RU's were treated with sub-ureteric injection and 18(39.1%) unsuccessful RU's were treated with re-injection in low risk group. Only 2(11.1%) re-injected RU's had postoperative UTI and/or new renal scar at follow-up. In moderate risk group, 54 and 7 of 61 unsuccessful RU's were treated with re-injection and ureteral re-implantation, respectively. 4(7.4%) of 54 had postoperative UTI and/or new renal scar at follow-up. In high-risk group, 13 and 12 of 25 unsuccessful RU's treated with re-injection and ureteral reimplantation, respectively. Conclusion: We detected over treatment in low risk group. Success of the surgical correction was evident in moderate and high-risk group. The surgeon should be more pursuer in low risk and more invasive in moderate and high-risk group. © Copyright 2016 by Gazi University Medical Faculty

The effects of sheep manure application time and rates on yield and botanical composition of secondary succession rangeland

This experimental study was conducted in Samsun/Turkey on a secondary succession rangeland during 2006 - 2008. Botanical composition of the experimental area consists of 28% legumes, 64% grasses, and 8% of other species. Target rates of sheep manure were 0, 25.0, 50.0, 75.0, and 100 kg total N ha–1, based on the manure analyses results (according to N rates in sheep manure). The sheep manure was applied at two different times. Means of 3 years of experimental period and total dry matteryield was obtained from the manure treatment of 75.0 kg N ha-1 and 50 + 50 kg N ha-1 (4153 kg ha-1, and 3813 kg ha-1, respectively). With respect to the three-year average, ratios of legumes, grasses, and otherplants ranged from 20.8 to 40.7%, 41.6 to 66.9%, and 10.7 to 20.7%, respectively. Although ratios of legumes, and other plants increased in the all of the treatments, grass ratios decreased. The crude protein content of obtained rangeland hay ranged between 107.0 and 143.0 g kg-1 in 2006, 93.0 and 123.4 g kg-1 in 2007, 116.3 and 166.4 g kg-1 in 2008. The maximum benefit was provided from the application of 75.0 kg N ha-1 with a sum of 971.2 ha-1

A potential therapeutic role in multiple sclerosis for stigmast-5,22-dien-3 beta-ol myristate isolated from Capparis ovata

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease of the human central nervous system. It is one of the most common neurological disorders around the world and there is still no complete cure for MS. Purification of a terpenoid from Capparis ovata was carried out and its structure was elucidated as stigmast-5,22-dien-3 beta-ol, myristate (3 beta, 22E-stigmasteryl myristate; SDM) by NMR and mass spectral analyses. No information regarding its any health effect is available in the literature. In the present study, we have described its effects on inflammatory factors such as the expression levels of cytokines, chemokines and adhesion molecules as well as apoptosis/infiltration and myelination in SH-SY5Y cells. The expression levels of proinflammatory or inflammatory cytokines and chemokines such as NF-.B1, CCL5, CXCL9, CXCL10 and HIF1A along with T-cell activating cytokines such as IL-6 and TGFB1 were significantly downregulated with SDM treatment. Moreover, the expression levels of the main myelin proteins such as MBP, MAG and PLP that are essential for healthy myelin architecture were significantly up-regulated. The results presented in this study strongly suggest that the SDM offers a unique possibility to be used with autoimmune diseases, including MS due to its activity on the manipulation of cytokines and the promotion of myelin formation

Coeliac trunk and common hepatic artery variations in children: an analysis with computed tomography angiography

Background: Understanding the coeliac trunk (CeT) and hepatic artery anatomy is important not only in preventing iatrogenic injuries but also in planning surgical procedures in children. Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyse the prevalence of CeT and common hepatic artery (CHA) variations in the paediatric population.   Materials and methods: One hundred and seventy-four children who underwent abdominal multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) angiography, either because of trauma or liver transplantation, were analysed retrospectively. The patterns of CeT, CHA and their variant branches were revealed and compared with previous studies involving adults.   Results: A total of 157 (90.2%) of the 174 patients had normal CeT anatomy, whereas 17 (9.8%) had variations. Five types of CeT variations were identified according to Song’s classification in which ‘hepatosplenic trunk + left gastric artery + superior mesenteric artery’ was the most prevalent. One hundred-twelve (64.4%) of the 174 patients had normal CHA anatomy; however, 62 (35.6%) had variations. Six types of CHA variations were identified according to Michel’s and Hiatt’s classification. The most common was ‘replaced left hepatic artery originating from left gastric artery’.   Conclusions: The prevalences of CeT and hepatic artery variations are high in children, as they are in older patients. Awareness of these variations is important in terms of avoiding iatrogenic injury and in promoting surgical procedure planning for liver transplantation or abdominal tumour surgery