Green production-clean technology and eco-efficiency keys for sustainability

Preserving their place on the agenda of international platforms in recent years, green (clean/eco efficiency) technologies are one of the basic components of the important concept of achieving sustainable development. Eco efficiency associates economic production with environmental factors in an internal union of economic development and protecting the ecosystem, in addition to revealing the importance of sustainable development and green economy in all stages of economic production. Green production controls the effects of process, product and services on human health and the ecosystem, while also being an approach to increase the sustainable efficiency of production. Changes to production and product development stages affect the whole value chain of products and steps taken within the scope of green technologies in this situation should be evaluated with the holistic approach of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). LCA within this scope assesses the total environmental effect to prevent transfer of environmental load from one stage to another. In this study, to leave a livable world for future generations, all aspects of the absolute relationships between green technologies and eco efficiency are dealt with and analysis of the current status in Turkey is performed

Superfast Responsive, Tough Organogels Based On Butyl Rubber

Tez (Yüksek Lisans) -- İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü, 2008Thesis (M.Sc.) -- İstanbul Technical University, Institute of Science and Technology, 2008Bu tezin amacı, uygulama odaklı yüksek derecede dayanıklılıga sahip yani 100 % mekanik deformasyona dayanıklı ve dısardan gelen uyarılara hızlı cevap veren yumusak bir malzeme olarak tanımlanan ideal bir jel hazırlamaktır. Bu amaçla, donmus benzen çözeltilerindeki butil kauçugunun (PIB) kükürt monoklorür (S2Cl2) ile çapraz baglanmasıyla makrogözenekli organojeller hazırlandı. Bu sekilde benzersiz mekanik özelliklere sahip hızlı cevap veren jelleri sentezlerken stratejimiz kriyojellesme tekniginin varolan jellesme sistemine uygulanmasıdır. Böylelikle butil kauçugunun çapraz baglanma reaksiyonları, reaksiyon sisteminin donma noktasının altındaki sıcaklıklarda gerçeklestirildi. Çapraz baglayıcı konsantrasyonunun, jel hazırlama sıcaklıgının ve jellesme sisteminin sogutma hızının jel özellikleri üzerine etkisi arastırıldı. Jeller, mekanik ve sisme özellikleri yoluyla karakterize edildi. Mekanik test sonuçlarına göre, donmus PIB çözeltilerinden hazırlamıs jeller çok dayanıklı; herhangi bir kırılma gerçeklesmeden 100 % deformasyona kadar sıkıstırılabilirler. Üstelik, sıkıstırılmıs jel iyi çözücü ile temas ettiginde hemen orijinal seklini alıyor. Jellerin ayrı ayrı toluen ve metanoldeki sisme- büzülme döngülerinin tersinir oldugu yani kısa bir tekrar sisme periyotundan sonra orijinal sekline ve agırlıgına döndügü de görülmüstür.The aim of this thesis is to prepare an ideal gel from the point of view of application, that is, a soft material exhibiting both a high degree of toughness, i.e., a mechanical stability up to about 100 % strain and a fast response rate against the external stimuli. To achieve this aim, macroporous organogels were prepared by crosslinking of butyl rubber (PIB) in frozen benzene solutions using sulfur monochloride (S2Cl2) as a crosslinking agent. Our strategy to synthesize such fast responsive PIB gels with unique mechanical properties is the application of the so-called “cryogelation technique” to the present gelling system. Effects of the crosslinker concentration, gel preparation temperature and the rate of cooling of the gelation system on the gel properties were investigated. The gels were characterized by means of their mechanical and swelling properties. S2Cl2 was found to be an efficient crosslinking agent even at very low reaction temperatures up to -22oC and at crosslinker ratios down to about 0.9 mol S2Cl2 / mol internal vinyl group on PIB. The rate of cooling of the gelation system was found to be an important parameter determining the gel properties. The results of the mechanical tests showed that, the gels prepared from frozen PIB solutions are very tough; they can be compressed up to about 100 % strain without any crack development. Further, the compressed gel immediately swells in contact with good solvents to recover its original shape.Yüksek LisansM.Sc

Integrating mitoepigenetics into research in mood disorders: a state-of-the-art review

Mood disorders, including major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder, are highly prevalent and stand among the leading causes of disability. Despite the largely elusive nature of the molecular mechanisms underpinning these disorders, two pivotal contributors—mitochondrial dysfunctions and epigenetic alterations—have emerged as significant players in their pathogenesis. This state-of-the-art review aims to present existing data on epigenetic alterations in the mitochondrial genome in mood disorders, laying the groundwork for future research into their pathogenesis. Associations between abnormalities in mitochondrial function and mood disorders have been observed, with evidence pointing to notable changes in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). These changes encompass variations in copy number and oxidative damage. However, information on additional epigenetic alterations in the mitochondrial genome remains limited. Recent studies have delved into alterations in mtDNA and regulations in the mitochondrial genome, giving rise to the burgeoning field of mitochondrial epigenetics. Mitochondrial epigenetics encompasses three main categories of modifications: mtDNA methylation/hydroxymethylation, modifications of mitochondrial nucleoids, and mitochondrial RNA alterations. The epigenetic modulation of mitochondrial nucleoids, lacking histones, may impact mtDNA function. Additionally, mitochondrial RNAs, including non-coding RNAs, present a complex landscape influencing interactions between the mitochondria and the nucleus. The exploration of mitochondrial epigenetics offers valuable perspectives on how these alterations impact neurodegenerative diseases, presenting an intriguing avenue for research on mood disorders. Investigations into post-translational modifications and the role of mitochondrial non-coding RNAs hold promise to unravel the dynamics of mitoepigenetics in mood disorders, providing crucial insights for future therapeutic interventions

CLIP-Guided StyleGAN Inversion for Text-Driven Real Image Editing

Researchers have recently begun exploring the use of StyleGAN-based models for real image editing. One particularly interesting application is using natural language descriptions to guide the editing process. Existing approaches for editing images using language either resort to instance-level latent code optimization or map predefined text prompts to some editing directions in the latent space. However, these approaches have inherent limitations. The former is not very efficient, while the latter often struggles to effectively handle multi-attribute changes. To address these weaknesses, we present CLIPInverter, a new text-driven image editing approach that is able to efficiently and reliably perform multi-attribute changes. The core of our method is the use of novel, lightweight text-conditioned adapter layers integrated into pretrained GAN-inversion networks. We demonstrate that by conditioning the initial inversion step on the CLIP embedding of the target description, we are able to obtain more successful edit directions. Additionally, we use a CLIP-guided refinement step to make corrections in the resulting residual latent codes, which further improves the alignment with the text prompt. Our method outperforms competing approaches in terms of manipulation accuracy and photo-realism on various domains including human faces, cats, and birds, as shown by our qualitative and quantitative results.Comment: Accepted for publication in ACM Transactions on Graphic

A rare neurodegenerative disorder with a novel mutation in ROGDI and Rett- like phenotype: Kohlschutter- Tönz syndrome

Kohlschutter-Tonz syndrome (KTZS) is a rare neurodegenerative disorder that presents with seizures, developmental delay, psychomotor regression, hypoplastic dental enamel morphology characteristic for amelogenesis imperfecta, and dysmorphologies. Genetic analysis has identified loss of function mutations within the coding region of the ROGDI and SLC13A5 genes in KTZS. In this report, we documented the clinical, radiological, electroencephalographic, and genetic results of a 3.5-year-old Turkish girl, born to nonconsanguineous parents, who was the first patient diagnosed with KTZS in Turkey. The patient presented with Rett syndrome-like phenotype, neurodevelopmental delay, refractory seizures, and amelogenesis imperfecta. After obtaining informed consent, chromosomal DNA was extracted from the peripheral blood of our patient and her parents. To investigate the molecular diagnosis of the patient, the clinical exome sequencing was performed. The Sanger sequencing analysis was performed for all of the family members for the validation and segregation of this mutation. Pub Med/Medline, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were also searched to find all of the published data on KTZS. The literature comprises 18 published studies about KTZS. The genetic analysis of our patient revealed a novel homozygous c.201-1G>T mutation in the ROGDI gene. The same mutation was also found to be heterozygous in her mother and father. The mutation caused alternative splicing of the ROGDI translation and resulted in a disruption of the ROGDI protein

Clinical Course of Hyperprolactinemia in Children and Adolescents: A Review of 21 Cases

Objective: Hyperprolactinemia may be due to various etiological factors and may present with different signs and symptoms. It is relatively less frequent in childhood than in adulthood. The aim of this study was to evaluate retrospectively the clinical course and outcome of hyperprolactinemia in pediatric patients

Combined Neutrase-Alcalase Protein Hydrolysates from Hazelnut Meal, a Potential Functional Food Ingredient

Consumers\u27 interest in functional foods has significantly increased in the past few years. Hazelnut meal, the main valuable byproduct of the hazelnut oil industry, is a rich source of proteins and bioactive peptides and thus has great potential to become a valuable functional ingredient. In this study, hazelnut protein hydrolysates obtained by a single or combined hydrolysis by Alcalase and Neutrase were mainly characterized for their physicochemical properties (SDS-PAGE, particle size distribution, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, molecular weight distribution, etc.) and potential antiobesity effect (Free fatty acid (FFA) release inhibition), antioxidant activity (DPPH and ABTS methods), and emulsifying properties. The impact of a microfluidization pretreatment was also investigated. The combination of Alcalase with Neutrase permitted the highest degree of hydrolysis (DH; 15.57 \ub1 0.0%) of hazelnut protein isolate, which resulted in hydrolysates with the highest amount of low-molecular-weight peptides, as indicated by size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and SDS-PAGE. There was a positive correlation between the DH and the inhibition of FFA release by pancreatic lipase (PL), with a significant positive effect of microfluidization when followed by Alcalase hydrolysis. Microfluidization enhanced the emulsifying activity index (EAI) of protein isolates and hydrolysates. Low hydrolysis by Neutrase had the best effect on the EAI (84.32 \ub1 1.43 (NH) and 88.04 \ub1 2.22 m2/g (MFNH)), while a negative correlation between the emulsifying stability index (ESI) and the DH was observed. Again, the combined Alcalase-Neutrase hydrolysates displayed the highest radical scavenging activities (96.63 \ub1 1.06% DPPH and 98.31 \ub1 0.46% ABTS). FTIR results showed that the application of microfluidization caused the unfolding of the protein structure. The individual or combined application of the Alcalase and Neutrase enzymes caused a switch from the β-sheet organization of the proteins to α-helix structures. In conclusion, hazelnut meal may be a good source of bioactive and functional peptides. The control of its enzymatic hydrolysis, together with an appropriate pretreatment such as microfluidization, may be crucial to achieve the best suitable activity

Interactions between Hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) Protein and Phenolics and In Vitro Gastrointestinal Digestibility

In this study, we investigated the formation of protein–phenolic complexes from dephenolized hazelnut meal protein isolates (dHPI) and hazelnut skin phenolic extracts (HSE) and their effects on the bioaccessibility of both hazelnut proteins and phenolics. The dHPI–HSE complexes were of considerable size and were dependent on HSE concentration due to aggregation. Although catechin was the main component of HSE, it did not cause aggregation, except for a slight rise in particle size. According to fluorescence quenching, the hazelnut protein–phenolic extract complex had a linear Stern–Volmer plot expressing static quenching between 0–0.5 mM concentration; the interaction was mainly dependent on hydrogen bonding and van der Waals forces (ΔH < 0 and ΔS < 0), and the reaction was spontaneous (ΔG < 0). According to Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy results, higher phenolic extract concentration caused an increase in irregular structures in hazelnut protein, while the lowest catechin and phenolic concentration altered the regular structure. Skin extracts did not alter the digestibility of dephenolized proteins, but dephenolization reduced the degree of hydrolysis by pancreatin. The formation of the protein–phenolic complex had a beneficial effect on the bioaccessibility of hazelnut skin phenols, predominantly those on the galloylated form of the catechins, such as gallocatechin gallate and epigallocatechin gallate. Thus, the bioaccessibility and antioxidant activity analysis results showed that protein–phenolic complexes obtained from hazelnut meal and skin may promote the transition of phenolic compounds from the gastrointestinal tract without degradation

Increased serum levels of NMDA receptor antibodies in female patients with bipolar disorder

Objective: Glutamatergic/GABAergic imbalance due to autoimmune antibodies targeting N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDA-R) is considered to be one of the shared pathways between bipolar disorder (BD) and autoimmune diseases. Evidence shows female vulnerability to autoimmune disorders, and suggests a sex-specific approach in autoimmunity research in BD. We aimed to assess serum concentrations of NMDA-R antibodies and density of NMDA and GABA receptors on platelets in euthymic patients with BD in comparison to healthy individuals; and to determine the impact of sex on serum concentrations of NMDA-R antibodies and the density of NMDA and GABA receptors on platelets. Method: NMDA antibody IgG were detected in serum samples of 27 DSM IV euthymic patients with bipolar disorder (16 females, 11 males) and 33 healthy individuals (17 females, 16 males), using ELISA method. The densities of NMDA and GABA receptors on platelets were investigated using immunocytochemical methods. Results: Patients with BD presented higher serum levels of NMDA-R antibodies in comparison to healthy individuals (p<0.001). The densities of NMDA and GABA receptor on platelets were similar in both groups. The NMDA-R antibody levels were influenced by both diagnosis and sex (F=5.813, df=1, p =0.020). Tserum lithium levels showed a significant linear association with the serum NMDA-R antibody levels even adjusting for age, sex, body mass index (F=-56.26, t=-2.52, p = 0.015, CI: -101.12/-11.40). Discussion: Our findings support a potential role of NMDA-R antibodies in the underlying pathophysiology of BD, particularly for females

The Reconstruction of Nasal Septal Perforation with High Density Porous Polyethylene Covered with Fascia Lata: An Experimental Study on Rabbit Model

ObjectivesEvaluation of a new material, high-density porous polyethylene (HDPP), which is covered with fascia lata, for experimental nasal septal perforation closure.MethodsTwenty New Zealand albino rabbits were included and divided into study and control groups. A lateral incision was made from the lateral aspect of the left nares to the incisura nasomaxillaris. After exposure of the cavum nasi, the nasal mucoperichondrium was elevated bilaterally. A full-thickness 0.5×0.5-cm perforation was created over the septum nasi with a No. 11 surgical blade. A fascia lata graft was used for the study group. The HDPP was covered with fascia lata and placed under the elevated mucosa. HDPP without a fascial covering was used in the control group. Four months after the procedure, magnetic resonance imaging was performed to evaluate resorption of the material. The animals were sacrificed, and the nasal septum was completely removed. Macroscopic and histopathological examinations were performed on the nasal septum.ResultsAll rabbits had survived after the 4-month period. Macroscopically, nine of 10 (90%) perforations were closed in the fascia lata-covered HDPP group. Histopathological examination of these nine rabbits revealed that the continuity of cartilage was disturbed in the perforation areas. Granulation tissue was inverted in areas in which the cartilage continuity was disturbed. The HDPP had remained intact at the edge of the perforation. In the HDPP group, six of 10 implants were still perforated (60%) and four (40%) were closed. The fascia lata-covered HDPP implant had a significantly higher perforation closure rate than that of the HDPP implant alone (P<0.05).ConclusionIn cases of septal perforation, it is better to cover the HDPP implant with fascia lata. This covered implant can be used for the repair of nasal septal perforations. HDPP implants are easy to work with and avoid the increased operative time and morbidity associated with harvesting autografts