ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF BEET WEBWORM MOTHS ON SUNFLOWER FIELDS USING MULTITEMPORAL SENTINEL-2 SATELLITE IMAGERY AND VEGETATION INDICES

Remote sensing technology plays a crucial role in detecting and monitoring environmental issues, offering the ability to monitor large areas, diagnose problems early, and facilitate accurate interventions. By integrating in-situ data with qualitative measurements obtained from satellite images, comprehensive insights can be obtained, and statistical inferences can be established. This study focuses on analyzing the damages caused by beet webworm moths (Loxostege sticticalis) in sunflower fields located in the Ortaca neighborhood of Tekirdağ province in Thrace region, utilizing Sentinel-2 satellite images and in-situ data collected from the sunflower fields in Ortaca. The relationship between different spectral indices, such as the Enhanced Vegetation Index, Chlorophyll Index Green, and spectral transformation techniques like Tasseled Cap Greenness, derived from Sentinel-2 satellite images, and the observed damage rates in various sunflower fields' in-situ data was investigated. The results revealed a negative correlation between the variables, highlighting EVI as the most effective indicator of damage among the plant indices. Leveraging these findings, a damage map was generated using EVI, enabling visual interpretation of the damage status in other sunflower fields within the study area. These findings offer valuable insights into the impact of pests on sunflower crops, despite the accuracy evaluation results falling below the desired level, with an overall accuracy of 75% and a Kappa accuracy of 65%, attributed to the limited availability of in-situ data

Early detection of mononeuritis multiplex & diagnosis of systemic diseases thru electrophysiological work out with polyneuropathy as preceeding symptom

22nd World Congress of Neurology (WCN) -- OCT 31-NOV 05, 2015 -- Santiago, CHILEWOS: 000384634802062Background: Mononeuritis multiplex (MNM) is a nervous system disorder that involves damage to at least two separate peripheral nerves. It is a syndrome not a disease, caused by certain systemic diseases like diabetes, vasculitis, rheumatic, infectious or paraneoplastic diseases. Objective: To evaluate the role of electrophysiological work out on patients presenting with polyneuropathy as preceding symptom that leads to early diagnosis of MNM and an underlying systemic disease. Patients: We retrospectively analyzed 12 MNM patients (4 females and 8 males from 19 to 62 years of age) presenting with patchily distributed weakness in all and pain at onset in nine, at our neuromuscular diseases clinic between 1993-2013. We have obtained Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, as necessary. Methods: Neurophysiological evaluation, routine blood chemistry, vasculitis markers, serum and protein electrophoresis, HIV, Hepatitis markers were examined in all patients. Nerve and muscle biopsies were performed in 5 patients. Results: Neurophysiological evaluation revealed an asymmetrically distributed motor and sensory nerve involvement accompanied by neurogenic findings in all. Nerve and muscle biopsies were performed in five. The differential diagnostic work up of this patient group resulted in diagnosis of 2 Churg- Strauss syndrome, 2 rheumatoid arthritis, 2 non-necrotizing vasculitis, 2 PAN and 1 multiple myeloma, 1 CNS vasculitis related to p-ANCA, 1 Hepatitis C and 1 HIV. Conclusion: Detailed investigation of patients with polyneuropathy as preceding symptom thru electrophysiological work out can be a valuable tool that leads to early detection and treatment of MNM and the underlying systemic disease

Micro-textural controlled variations of the geomechanical properties of andesites

Micro-textural variations are essential for understanding variation in strength and failure behavior of rock material. Therefore the effects of petrography and mineralogy on geomechanical properties have been widely investigated. In this study andesitic rock samples with different micro-textural characteristics from three different locations in Turkey were selected. Unconfined compressive strength tests revealed substantial variations in Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) and the micro-crack initiation (sigma(CI)) threshold. Detailed petrophysical, petrographic and mineralogical analysis (XRD) were used to understand these strength variations. The synthesis of strength, petrographic, micro-structural and mineralogical data suggest, that both, the peak strength and crack initiation threshold are strongly influenced by the distribution of plagioclase, amphibole and biotite phenocrystals, and the mineral composition of the fine-grained matrix

The effect of interleukin (IL)-21 and CD4(+)CD25(++) T cells on cytokine production of CD4(+) responder T cells in patients with myasthenia gravis

Impairment of the suppressive function of regulatory T (T-reg) cells has been reported in myasthenia gravis (MG). In this study, cytokine-related mechanisms that may lead to the defect of T-reg were investigated in patients with anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody-positive MG (AChR+MG). Proliferation and cytokine production of responder T (T-resp) cells in response to polyclonal activation were measured in a suppression assay. The effect of interleukin (IL)-21 on suppression was evaluated in vitro in co-culture. IL-21 increased the proliferation of T-resp cells in T-resp/T-reg co-cultures. T-resp cells from patients with MG secreted significantly lower levels of IL-2. In patients with MG, IL-2 levels did not change with the addition of T-reg to cultures, whereas it decreased significantly in controls. In T-resp/T-reg co-cultures, IL-4, IL-6 and IL-10 production increased in the presence of T-reg in patients. Interferon (IFN)-gamma was decreased, whereas IL-17A was increased in both patient and control groups. IL-21 inhibited the secretion of IL-4 in MG and healthy controls (HC), and IL-17A in HC only. The results demonstrated that IL-21 enhances the proliferation of T-resp cells in the presence of T-reg. An effect of IL-21 mainly on T-resp cells through IL-2 is implicated

A database for screening and registering late onset Pompe disease in Turkey

PubMedID: 29395671The aim of this study was to search for the frequency of late onset Pompe disease (LOPD) among patients who had a myopathy with unknown diagnosis registered in the pre-diagnostic part of a novel registry for LOPD within a collaborative study of neurologists working throughout Turkey. Included in the study were 350 patients older than 18 years who have a myopathic syndrome without a proven diagnosis by serum creatine kinase (CK) levels, electrodiagnostic studies, and/or muscle pathology, and/or genetic tests for myopathies other than LOPD. Acid alpha glucosidase (GAA) in dried blood spot was measured in each patient at two different university laboratories. LOPD was confirmed by mutation analysis in patients with decreased GAA levels from either both or one of the laboratories. Pre-diagnostic data, recorded by 45 investigators from 32 centers on 350 patients revealed low GAA levels in a total of 21 patients; from both laboratories in 6 and from either one of the laboratories in 15. Among them, genetic testing proved LOPD in 3 of 6 patients and 1 of 15 patients with decreased GAA levels from both or one of the laboratories respectively. Registry was transferred to Turkish Neurological Association after completion of the study for possible future use and development. Our collaborative study enabled collection of a considerable amount of data on the registry in a short time. GAA levels by dried blood spot even from two different laboratories in the same patient may not prove LOPD. LOPD seemed to be rarer in Turkey than in Europe. © 2017 Elsevier B.V