Seed micromorphology and anatomy of 36 Muscari (Asparagaceae) taxa from Turkey with notes on their systematic importance

This study presents the first in-depth evaluation of the morphological and anatomical characters, as well as their taxonomic importance, of the seeds of 36 taxa in subgenera Muscari, Leopoldia, Pseudomuscari and Botryanthus of the genus Muscari in Turkey, where 24 of the taxa are endemic. The results indicate that the taxa generally differ from each other in terms of seed shape and dimension. Seed dimensions vary between 1.66 mm and 3.21 mm in length, and between 1.12 mm and 2.63 mm in width. The seed surface ornamentation is grouped into nine forms: ruminate, reticulate, reticulate-areolate, reticulate-foveate, alveolate, scalariform, rugose, verrucate and areolate. The most common type is ruminate, while areolate, reticulate-foveate and scalariform ornamentation forms were found to be taxon-specific. Testa structures of the taxa examined consist in general of two different layers: the epidermis and the subepidermis in scleranchymatous or parenchymatous structures. The subepidermis may be absent in some of taxa. The structure and thickness of the epidermis and the subepidermis are very important characteristics that disclose interspecific relations among the examined taxa. We also provide a key for the identification of the studied taxa based on seed features

Social norms regarding alcohol use and associated factors among university students in Turkey

Background: Misperceptions on the higher rates of peer alcohol use are predictive of increased personal use among university students. Objectives: This study aims to assess the prevalence, perceived peers’ social norms and other predictors of alcohol use in a sample of Turkish university students. Methods: This study is established upon the baseline Turkish data on alcohol use of the project Social Norms Intervention for the prevention of Polydrug usE (SNIPE). The data was obtained by a self-reported, online questionnaire from 858 students of Marmara University who were registered to the study web page. Results: Alcohol use and drunkenness rates were 62.6%, and 40.9%, respectively. Twenty point two percent of students reported drinking alcohol at least once a week in the last two months. Majority of students (70.4%) reported that religion has an important or very important role in their lives. Perceived higher frequency of peer alcohol use (p<0.000) and drunkenness (p<0.000) were significantly associated with personal alcohol use frequency. Tobacco use rate was 60.2% and positively associated with alcohol use frequency (p<0.000). In all participants, male gender (OR: 1.56; 95% CI: 1.07-2.28), giving less importance to religion (OR: 20.91; 95% CI: 10.95-39.95), tobacco use everyday/almost everyday (OR: 17.88; 95% CI: 9.33-34.29), perceived positive peer attitude towards alcohol use (OR: 2.192; 95% CI: 1.25-3.82) and perceived higher frequency of peer alcohol use (OR: 3.487; 95% CI: 1.66-7.31) were found to be associated risk factors for alcohol use. Age (OR: 1.186, CI 95%: 1.03-1.36) and perceived positive peer attitude towards alcohol use (OR: 3.86, CI 95%: 1.84-8.09) were the additional risk factors among female student whereas perceived positive peer alcohol use frequency (OR: 8.08, CI 95%: 2.40-27.10) among male students. Discussion: As the first study conducted in Turkey applying social norms theory, our results indicate the noticeable misperceptions of students regarding their peers’ alcohol use. Based on our results, targeting both tobacco and alcohol use, and a gender-sensitive approach employing social norms interventions may enhance the preventive strategies for risky alcohol use among university students

Zgodność badania kolposkopowego wykonanego przy wykorzystaniu skali Reida z histopatologią

Objectives: The aim of the study was to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of colposcopy and to determine the strength of correlation between colposcopic impression using the Reid Colposcopic Index (RCI) and histopathology. Material and methods: This was a prospective cross-sectional study carried out at the colposcopy clinic of Bakırköy Dr Sadi Konuk Education and Research Hospital, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, between June 2011 and September 2011. A total of 105 women who met the selection criteria were included in the study. All women underwent colposcopy and the final diagnosis was made using RCI. Colposcopy-guided biopsy was obtained from the abnormal areas. In cases when colposcopy did not reveal any lesion, a four-quadrant biopsy from the squamocolumnar junction was taken, which served as the gold standard. Results: According to the Reid scoring system, there were 60% of benign cases, whereas 27.6%, 5.7%, and 6.7% of the women were diagnosed with CIN 1, CIN 2, CIN 3, respectively. As far as histologic results were concerned, 62.9% of the subjects were benign, whereas 25.7%, 3.8%, and 7.6% of the patients were diagnosed with CIN 1, CIN 2, CIN 3, respectively. The correlation between the Reid scoring system and histologic results was statistically significant (p>0.05). Conclusions: The correlation between colposcopic lesions graded with RCI and histology was strong, particularly in women who had HGSIL on a Pap smear. Good correlation between colposcopic imaging using RCI and histopathology makes it a reproducible technique, easy to implement in colposcopy clinics.Cel pracy: Celem tej pracy jest ocena skuteczności diagnostycznej badania kolposkopowego i zbadanie zgodności obrazów kolposkopowych, uzyskanych przy użyciu skali Reida (RCI) z histopatologią. Materiał i metody: Badanie prospektywne, przekrojowe przeprowadzono w okresie od czerwca 2011 do września 2011 w Szpitalu Naukowo - Badawczym Bakırköy Dr Sadi Konuk w Pracowni Kolposkopii Kliniki Ginekologiczno- Położniczej. Do badania włączono 105 kobiet odpowiadających kryteriom. Wszystkie pacjentki miały wykonane badanie kolposkopowe i przy użyciu skali RCI postawiono diagnozę. Wykonano biopsję obszarów nieprawidłowych pod kontrolą kolposkopu. U kobiet, u których nie wykryto kolposkopowo patologii, wykonano biopsję na granicy nabłonków w czterech kwadrantach, które uznano jako złoty standard. Wyniki: Według skali Reida wykryto 60% zmian niezłośliwych, podczas gdy u 27,6% zdiagnozowano CIN 1, u 5,7% CIN 2, i u 6,7% CIN 3. Na podstawie badania histopatologicznego znaleziono 62,9% pacjentek ze zmianami niezłośliwymi, 25,7% CIN 1, 3,8% CIN 2, i 7,6% CIN 3. Związek indeksu RCI z histopatologią jest statystycznie znaczący (p>0.05). Dyskusja: Istnieje wysoki stopień zgodności pomiędzy prognozą dysplazji wykonaną przy pomocy RCI, a dysplazją w wynikach ostatecznych histologii. Zgodność jest jeszcze wyraźniejsza zwłaszcza u pacjentów z nieprawidłowym wynikiem wymazu HGSIL. Wysoka zgodność obrazów uzyskanych przy użyciu RCI z histopatologią zapewnia możliwość łatwej integracji tego narzędzia w pracowniach kolposkopowych, a także pozwala na stosowanie go przez innych lekarzy ginekologów

Comparison of Single Versus Double Intrauterine Insemination

SummaryObjectiveTo compare the outcomes of single versus double intrauterine insemination.Materials and MethodsThis prospective randomized study was carried out in 100 infertile patients. One intrauterine insemination was applied 36 hours after human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) injection to 50 patients in the first group. To 50 patients in the second group, two intrauterine inseminations were applied, of which the first was applied 24 hours after and the second 48 hours after the hCG injection.ResultsIn the first group, pregnancies were detected in eight patients (pregnancy rate per patient was 16%, pregnancy rate per cycle was 10.6%). In the second group, pregnancies were detected in five patients (pregnancy rate per patient was 10%, pregnancy rate per cycle was 6.4%). There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups (p>0.05).ConclusionSingle intrauterine insemination can be considered to be more reasonable than double intrauterine insemination treatment, taking into consideration the economic cost and the psychologic trauma to the patients. However, further studies with larger sample sizes are needed in order to reveal any actual differences between the two methods

The effect of periosteum on the union of the autoclaved bone graft-host bone: Experimental study in rabbits

Amaç: Bu çalışmada tavşan radius kemiğinden alınan otolog segmenter kemik greftinin otoklavda bekletilerek intramedüller tespitle alındığı yere tekrar yerleştirilmesi ve periost dokusu ile bütünleşmesinin iyileşmeye etkisi incelendi. Gereç ve yöntemler: On altı erişkin tavşanda sol radiusun orta bölümünden 15 milimetre uzunluğunda kemik parça çıkarıldı. Çıkarılan kemikler 120 °C’de 15 dakika otoklavize edildi ve intramedüller Kirschner telleriyle yerine tekrar tespit edildi. Tavşanlar iki eşit gruba ayrıldı ve birinci gruptaki sekiz tavşanın greft-alıcı kemik birleşim bölgesi periost flebiyle örtülürken, ikinci gruptaki diğer sekiz tavşanın greft-alıcı kemik birleşim bölgesinde periost dokusu kullanılmadı. Cerrahi işlem sonrası 2, 4, 6. ve 8. haftalarda düz grafiler çekildi. Sekizinci haftanın sonunda elde edilen radyolojik bulgular Yang’ın modifiye radyolojik sayılama yöntemiyle değerlendirildi. Bulgular: Radyolojik bulgular 8. haftada birinci grupta (ort. 10.94) ikinci gruba (ort. 6.06) göre daha fazla kallus dokusuyla, daha erken ve daha fazla iyileşme elde edildiğini gösterdi. Fark istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bulundu (p=0.04, <0.05). Sonuç: Periost yaması kolay uygulanabilen ve greftalıcı bölgenin iyileşmesini hızlandıran biyolojik bir dokudur. Periost yama tekniği greft-alıcı kemik bölgesinin iyileşmesinde etkili bir yöntemdir ve bu teknik, yapısal allogreftlere uygulanmaya değer bulunmuştur

Evaluation of Natural Radioactivity and Radiological Hazards in Some Building Materials Used in Kars

Bu çalışmada, Kars ilinde kullanılan bazı yapı malzemelerinin radyoaktivite seviyeleri ve bu malzemelerinin kullanılmasından kaynaklanabilecek radyolojik riskler belirlendi. Kars'ın değişik bölgelerinden 10 farklı yapı malzemesini (kireçtaşı, kil, tras, alçıtaşı, demir cevheri ve dört farklı çimento numunesi) temsil eden toplam 60 numune toplanmıştır. Bu numunelerdeki 226Ra, 232Th ve 40K radyoizotoplarının radyoaktivite konsantrasyonları HPGe gama ışını spektrometre sistemi ile ölçüldü. 226Ra, 232Th ve 40K radyoizotoplarının ortalama radyoaktivite konsantrasyonları sırasıyla 22,87 Bq kg-1 , 19,49 Bq kg-1 , 265,29 Bq kg-1 ve 1,7 Bq kg-1 olarak bulundu. Elde edilen değerler kullanılarak yapı malzemeleri için radyolojik tehlike indisleri (radyum eşdeğer aktivitesi, yapı içi soğurulmuş doz hızı, yapı içi etkin doz hızı, I indisi ve I indisi) hesaplandı. Bu sonuçlar Türkiye’de ve dünyadaki çeşitli ülkelerde benzer malzemeler için bildirilen sonuçlarla kıyaslandı. Bu araştırmanın sonucunda incelenen yapı malzemelerinin radyolojik bir risk oluşturmadığı ve binaların inşasında güvenle kullanılabileceği görülmüştür.In this study, radioactivity levels of some building materials used in Kars province and radiological risks that could arise from these building materials were determined. A total of 60 samples representing 10 different building materials (limestone, clay, tras, gypsum, iron core and four different cement samples) from various regions of Kars were collected. The radioactivity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K radioisotopes in these samples were measured using an HPGe gamma-ray spectrometry system. The mean radioactivity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K were found to be 22.87 Bq kg-1 , 19.49 Bq kg-1 , 265.29 Bq kg-1 and 1.74 Bq kg-1 , respectively. Radiation hazard indices (radium equivalent activity, absorbed dose rate indoors, annual effective dose rate indoors, I index and I index) were calculated for the building materials using these obtained values. These results were compared with the results reported for similar materials in Turkey and in several countries around the world. As a result of this research, it was observed that the building materials examined did not constitute a radiological risk and could be used safely in the construction of buildings

Performance of copper azole treated softwoods exposed to marine borers

Wooden material has been used for shipbuilding and structural purposes in the marine environment since ancient times. Wood being used in the sea water can be damaged by marine wood boring organisms, which can turn marine wooden structures unserviceable with great economic cost. Using naturally durable species and preservative treated wood can increase the service life of wooden maritime structures and avoid or minimise the damages caused by marine borers. In this study, Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), Black pine (Pinus nigra) and Turkish fir (Abies bornmülleriana) naturally grown and economically important wood species in Turkey were treated with copper-azole and evaluated in marine trials for 7 and 14 months in the Western Black Sea region. In this experiment, Teredo navalis was the only teredinid species identified. Copper-azole treated fir and Scots pine specimens suffered no attack, after 7 and 14 months exposure, except four panels which suffered minor damage. However, copper-azole treated Black pine panels were moderately damaged, and all of the control panels of the softwoods were strongly attacked. The average largest shell diameter was found to be 4,79 mm in Scots pine, while the longest pallets (4,71 mm) was found in Black pine. All untreated test panels scored an average of 4 (heavily attacked) after a 14 month period. The cellulose ratio of Black pine decreased from 56 % to 50 %, and the holo-cellulose ratio from 76 % to 71 %. The treated samples showed resistance against marine borers although the copper (cu) leaching was high during the 14 months exposure underwater

Long-term prognosis of patients with heart failure: Follow-up results of journey HF-TR study population

Background: Despite advances in therapeutic management of patients with heart failure, there is still an increasing morbidity and mortality all over the world. In this study, we aimed to present the 3-year follow-up outcomes of patients included in the Journey HF-TR study in 2016 that has evaluated the clinical characteristics and management of patients with acute heart failure admitted to the hospital and present a national registry data. Methods: The study was designed retrospectively between November 2016 and December 2019. Patient data included in the previously published Journey HF-TR study were used. Among 1606 patients, 1484 patients were included due to dropout of 122 patients due to inhospital death and due to exclusion of 173 due to incomplete data. The study included 1311 patients. Age, gender, concomitant chronic conditions, precipitating factors, New York Heart Association, and left ventricular ejection fraction factors were adjusted in the Cox regression analysis. Results: During the 3-year follow-up period, the ratio of hospitalization and mortality was 70.5% and 52.1%, respectively. Common causes of mortality were acute decompensation of heart failure and acute coronary syndrome. Angiotensin receptor blockers, beta-blockers, statin, and sacubitril/valsartan were found to reduce mortality. Hospitalization due to acute decompensated heart failure, acute coronary syndrome, lung diseases, oncological diseases, and cerebrovascular diseases was associated with the increased risk of mortality. Implantation of cardiac devices also reduced the mortality. Conclusions: Despite advances in therapeutic management of patients with heart failure, our study demonstrated that the long-term mortality still is high. Much more efforts are needed to improve the inhospital and long-term survival of patients with chronic heart failure

Case Report of An Incidental Unicentric Castleman Disease

DergiPark: 889347tmsjAims: To emphasize the hardship of diagnosing Castleman disease and present a potential treatment method. Case Report: A sixty-three-year-old male patient was admitted to the outpatient clinic with an attack of acute cholecystitis. The patient’s abdominal computed tomography revealed an incidentally detected lipid dense solid mass (64x53x37 mm) at the level of right renal hilum with 29x13 mm solid components in the middle. The patient was admitted to the urology department and underwent surgery where the mass was totally excised due to suspicion of a malignancy (liposarcoma). Histopathological examination later on resulted with unicentric Castleman disease, hyaline vascular subtype. Conclusion: Since unicentric Castleman disease has an asymptomatic clinical course and is quite rare, it is necessary to rule out many potential possibilities before reaching a proper diagnosis. However, unicentric Castleman disease usually exhibits a good prognosis after the removal of the affected lymph node. Still, Castleman disease should be a candidate considered in the differential diagnosis of patients with incidentally discovered lymphadenopathy. On the whole, for a better understanding of underlying pathophysiology, there still lies a gap to be filled with knowledge acquired through further studies

Identification of open-green lands’ potential in Burdur city, Turkey

Bu çalışmanın amacı, Burdur kenti açık-yeşil alanlarının mevcut durumunu incelemek, yeterlilikleri ve işlevsel niteliklerini tespit etmektir. Bu amaçla, açık-yeşil alanlardan meydanlar, parklar, çocuk oyun alanları, spor alanları, okul bahçeleri, resmi kuruluşlar, mezarlıklar, pazaryerleri ile yollar, yaya yolları, refüj ve bulvarlar incelenmiştir. Burdur kentinde kişi başına 8.4 m2 açık-yeşil alan düştüğü ve bu alanın yetersiz olduğu belirlenmiştir. Bu çalışmanın bulguları bütün olarak düşünüldüğünde, Burdur kenti mevcut açık-yeşil alanlarının gelişigüzel bir dağılıma sahip oldukları sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Ayrıca, kentte yer alan açık-yeşil alanların bitkilerinin estetik ve işlevsel özellikleri açısından kent insanının ihtiyaçlarını karşılayacak nitelikte olmadığı, bitkisel tasarımın yetersiz olduğu ve kullanılan bitki türlerinin mekanın kalitesini artırmada yeterli olmadığı gözlenmiştir. Sonuç olarak, Burdur kentini modern, yaşanabilir ve kaliteli bir mekan haline getirmek için, açık-yeşil alanları nitelik ve nicelik yönünden konunun uzmanları tarafından planlanması ve tasarlanması uygun olacaktır.The aim of this study is to examine the current state of the open-green lands of Burdur city, and to determine their competencies and functional qualities. For this purpose, squares, parks, playgrounds, sport fields, school gardens, public institutions, cemeteries, marketplaces and roads, pedestrian paths, refuges and boulevards of open-green lands were examined. It was determined that there was 8.4 m2 open-green land per capita in Burdur city and this land is inadequate. As considered the findings of the present study as whole, it was found out that the existing open-green lands of Burdur city had a haphazard distribution. In addition, it was observed that the plants of the open-green lands in the city were not enough to meet the needs of the urban people in terms of their aesthetic and functional characteristics, plant design was insufficient and the plant species used were not sufficient to increase the quality of the space. As a result, in order to make the city of Burdur a modern, livable and quality place, it would be suitable to be planned and designed the open-green lands by the related experts in terms of quality and quantity