Possible Effect of 2100 Mhz Cell Phone Radiation on Heart and Spleen Tissues of Rats- 2100 Mhz Cep Telefonu Radyasyonun Sıçan Kalp ve Dalak Dokularına olası Etkileri

Introduction:The widespread access of the society to mobile phones and their intensive use cause health concerns. This study is aimed to investigate the possible histopathological effects of exposure to Radio-frequency Radiation (RFR) originating from mobile phones rat heart and spleen tissue.Methods: Totally 14 Sprague Dawley male rats were used and divided into 2 group (n= 7 for each); sham-control group, exposure group. RFR exposure group was exposed to 2100 MHz GSM-like RFR for 5 hours/day, for 14 days. Heart and spleen tissues of all rats were sampled for histopathological examination and hematoxylin-eosin staining was performed. For p53 examination, immunohistochemical staining was also used in both tissues.Results: Histopathological and immunohistochemical evaluation revealed no significant changes in heart tissue, but trabecular irregularity and enlargement of sinusoids were observed in the spleen in histopathological evaluation.Conclusion: It was observed that short-term RFR exposure did not cause significant morphological changes in heart and spleen tissue. This situation may be seen due to the protective effect of the body against RFR

Using an in-situ infra-red camera system for sea turtle hatchling emergence monitoring

We tested for the first time the efficiency of the use of infra-red (IR) cameras for sea turtle hatchling monitoring. The cameras were installed on one green turtle (Chelonia mydas) and four loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) nests during 2014 and 2015 nesting season in the south-east Mediterranean, Turkey. The camera monitoring, even with the limited sample size, have successfully corroborated the previous observations and provided further insights on hatchling emergence behavior. The analysis of the camera recordings revealed that hatchlings emerged from the nests asynchronously in varying numbers of groups and different group sizes, while c. 60% hatchlings emerged during the first 5 days of emergence activity. 98.6% of hatchlings emerged at night with a peak activity between 21:00 and 00:00. The day of first emergence varied between 38 and 64 days since egg deposition, while the day of last emergence varied only between 60 and 65 days. Total emergence activity continued up to maximum of 22 days, which is longer than that of previous records. Overall, the present study showed that IR camera monitoring is a promising tool for sea turtle monitoring and can provide detailed insights on sea turtle hatchling behavior

PİLOT DENİZ KAPLUMBAĞALARI İZLEME TAKİP SİSTEMLERİNİN ODTÜ-DBE KUMSALI’NDA, ERDEMLİ, TÜRKİYE (KUZEY-DOĞU AKDENİZ) UYGULANMASI

Nest counting is considered one of the most reliable techniques used for assessing sea turtle populations. There is a standardized sea turtle monitoring technique for Turkey published by the Ministries of the Environment, Forestry and Urbanization and Forestry and Water Affairs. Besides providing data on numbers of adult females and changes in sea turtle population sizes, this technique also provides additional information such as number of eggs per nest, number of hatchlings taking into account underlying relationships of environmental variables and ecological parameters with the nesting ecology of sea turtles. To understand the population trends monitoring studies must continue to be conducted. The reliability of overnight patrol surveys in nest counting technique which should be carried out by large numbers of qualified researchers to obtain accurate nesting data could be challenged due to long and demanding working hours requiring very dedicated researchers, and the simultaneous observation of a large patrol area. Another difficulty encountered in this technique is the formal protocol need to be adapted according to the characteristics of each field, facilities of the project and budget. To overcome these difficulties, the present study details a trial of a new monitoring system for two species of sea turtles (Caretta caretta, Chelonia mydas). This system adopts the aid of technology through the use of automated infrared cameras and laser barriers during the 2013 nesting season at the METU-IMS Beach in Erdemli, Mersin, Turkey. Although the natural state of the beach at METU-IMS is well preserved, there is no official protection status with respect to the conservation of sea turtles in this area. One of the main aims of this research study is the introduction of the METU-IMS. Beach as a formally recognized sea turtle nesting site. Another major aim of this study was the trial and evaluation of new monitoring methodology in order to save time and human effort compared to the current standard monitoring systems. It is intended to establish a monitoring procedure which can be applied easily and consistently in the following seasons and which complies with official standards. To test the accuracy and efficiency of this automatized monitoring system, standard monitoring daily patrols were conducted to gather data to be compared with results of the new system using infrared (IR) motion sensitive cameras and laser beam systems. The latter detected 85.71% of nesting female emergence with 14.71% false alarms. Both systems share the common aims of locating the turtles in order to record and count all adult females arriving on the beach, classify them according to track morphology, locate nests and investigate clutch success. With the use of both systems we were able to collect intensive data on the following; nesting activities of adult females, spatial and temporal distributions of the nesting attempts and nests, nesting success, nest density, incubation duration, clutch size, hatching success and important nest parameters affecting embryonic development like depth, diameter, humidity and temperature over the duration of the 2013 nesting season. In order to achieve the overall objectives, inter-related sub-objectives were addressed namely: identifying the potential of IMS-METU beach as a sea turtle nesting site and understanding the relations of environmental variables and ecological parameters with the nesting ecology of sea turtles on IMS-METU Beach. To identify correlation of environmental parameters with nesting and hatching success, the beach was characterized due to profiles of sand composition, size, sort and vegetation. Stranding data were collected and genetic studies were conducted. In addition to monitoring studies, informative activities were held intensely. The results enabled us to understand the conditions for a successful incubation period and the importance of minimizing the anthropological threats. Continued research at METU-IMS beach may provide essential insights into the effects of climate change and coastal development on sea turtle ecology and conservation, provided that the terms of commitment towards long term studies and acquiring protection status for the breeding site are met. In conclusion, IR camera- laser barrier coupled system is found to be a promising tool for sea turtle nest monitoring substituting labor-intensive surveys. This system could be upgraded by image processing technologies via the visual fingerprinting and monitoring.Yuva sayma, deniz kaplumbağası popülasyonlarının değerlendirilmesi için kullanılan en yaygın tekniklerden biri olarak kabul edilir. Türkiye’de yapılan izleme çalışmaları için standart prosedür Çevre ve Şehircilik Bakanlığı ve Orman ve Su İşleri Bakanlığı ortak katkıları ile belirlenmiştir. Yuvalayan ergin dişi kaplumbağa sayıları ve popülasyon içindeki değişimi belirlemesinin yanı sıra, bu teknik, aynı zamanda yuva başına yumurta sayısı, yavru sayısı, yavru başarı oranı gibi pek çok veri ile çevresel ve ekolojik parametrelerin yuvalama ve yavru başarısına etkisinin anlaşılmasına destek olur. Popülasyon trendinin belirlenebilmesi için uzun zamanlı sürerli veri toplanması gerekmektedir. Belirlenmiş prosedür çok sayıda kalifiye araştırmacının gece devriye yöntemi çalışmalarını gerektirmekle beraber; uzun bekleme süreleri, nitelikli araştırmacı için harcanması gereken zaman ve bütün bölgenin eşzamanlı gözlem zorluğu gerekçeleri ile eleştirilebilir. Bir diğer nokta ise; her yuvalama kumsalının ekolojik ve fiziksel şartlarına, proje kaynaklarına ve bütçeye göre ortak protokolün uyarlanmasının gerekliliğidir. Bu tezde, Mersin, Türkiye’de bulunan ODTÜ -DBE Sahili 2013 yuvalama sezonunda yuvalayan iki tür deniz kaplumbağaları (Caretta caretta, Chelonia mydas ) izleme çalışmalarının teknolojinin katkısıyla otomatize kızılötesi kameralar ve lazer bariyerler kullanılarak geliştirilen yeni bir izleme yöntemi uygulanmıştır. Hızlı şehirleşme ve yanlış yapılaşma tehditleri altındaki sahil şeridinde doğal özelliklerini koruyabilen nadir bölgelerden biri olmasına rağmen ODTÜ-DBE kumsalının deniz kaplumbağaları açısından herhangi bir resmi statüsü bulunmamaktadır. Tezdeki ilk hedef, bölgeye resmi bir koruma statüsü kazandırabilmektir. Böle önemini vurgulamak için veri toplanması esnasında deniz kaplumbağalarını asgari insan etkisine maruz bırakmak, zaman ve iş gücü kazancı sağlayabilecek, sürerliliği kolayca sağlanabilecek ve belirlenmiş resmi standart prosedürün tüm gerekliliklerini karşılayabilecek bir metot uygulaması tezin takip eden ikinci ana amacıdır. Bu amaçlar çerçevesinde yeni uygulamanın doğruluğunu ve etkinliğini karşılaştırmalı test edebilmek için, standart günlük devriye izleme çalışması da eş zamanlı uygulanmıştır. Güvenlik sistemleri düşünülerek uyarlanmış lazer bariyer sistemi yüzde 85.71 anaç çıkışını alarmla bildirmiş fakat alarmların yüzde 14.71 i çalışma konusu dışındki aktivitelerden meydana gelmiştir. Her iki yöntemde de yuvalayan dişilerin sahilde veri toplanması için coğrafi konumunun belirlenmesi belirlen, izleri okuyarak veri toplanması, yuva yerinin belirlenmesi ve yavru başarısının takibi aynı tekniklerle belirlenmiştir. Her iki yöntemi kullanarak, genişletilmiş amaçlarla bu tez kapsamında 2013 yılı üreme sezonu için; ergin yuvalayan dişi kaplumbağa sayısı, başarılı- başarısız yuvalama aktivitesi, yuvaların mekânsal ve zamansal dağılımı verileri toplanmıştır. Bunlara ek olarak; yuvalama başarı oranı, morfolojik ölçü, yuva yoğunluğu, kuluçka süresi, yumurta sayısı, yavru başarı oranı ve embriyonik gelişimi etkileyen yuva derinlik, çap, nem, sıcaklık verileri de kayıt altına alınmıştır. Çevresel parametrelerin yuvalama ve yavru başarı oranları ile ilişkilerini izlemek amacı ile eğim, profil, kum kompozisyonu, tanecik düzeni ve şekli, bitkisel örtü belirlenerek sahil karakterizasyon çalışmaları yapılmıştır. Sahile vuran ölü- yaralı kaplumbağa verileri toplanarak, genetik çalışmalar da yapılmıştır. Etkin sonuç elde edebilmek için bilgilendirme faaliyetlerine de yoğunluk verilmiştir. Sonuçlar, başarılı kuluçka dönemini etkileyen faktörlerin ve antropolojik tehditleri minimize etmenin öneminin anlaşılması sağlamıştır. ODTÜ-DBE Sahili’nde sürekliliği sağlanacak izleme çalışmaları iklim değişimi ve yuvalama alanlarının tahribatının deniz kaplumbağaları üreme ekolojisi üzerindeki etkilerinin ve koruma yöntemlerinin belirlenmesine katkıda bulunacaktır. Otomatize kızılötesi kamera ve lazer bariyer izleme yöntemi güvenilir hassas veri toplanması ve işgücünün azaltılarak araştırmacıya zaman tasarrufu sağlanması konularında umut verici sonuçlar vermiştir. Yöntem görüntü işleme teknolojisi ile görsel veri üzerinden birey tanımlanması çalışmaları ile güncellenerek standart bir teknik olarak önerilme konusunda gelecek vaat etmektedir.M.S. - Master of Scienc

A rational utilization of reinforcement material for flexural design of 3D printed composite beams

Recent developments in composite industry address the adaptation of 3D printing technology to overcome the design and manufacturing challenges of the traditional composite processing techniques. This adaptation can be performed with the development of design methodologies corresponding to the type of structural load-carrying members in a structure. Considering the frequently use of beams in structures, the development of the design methodology of beams is essential for the adaptation of the additive manufacturing. Therefore, in this paper, the flexural loading concept is analytically formulated to derive moment capacity for the flexural behavior of 3D printed composite beams. Then, the formulation is adapted to develop a design methodology of 3D printed laminates under flexural loading. Additionally, the analytical solutions developed for the design methodology presented in this paper were verified with a good agreement with experimental studies

Numerical characterization of permeability tensor of fiber preforms for liquid composite molding applications

Composite materials are of paramount importance in aeronautics, aerospace and automotive applications. Consisting of fibers and matrix keeping the fibers together, composite materials offer high strength and low weight. In one of the most common composite manufacturing method, Liquid Composite Molding (LCM) process, reinforcing glass, carbon or Kevlar fiber preforms are placed in a mold cavity and a liquid resin is introduced to cover the remaining empty space to form a composite by curing the resin. The primary objective in LCM processes is the successful filling of the preform with resin system. In order to obtain a desired composite product, the process needs to be modeled to have an insight about the filling and curing stages of the LCM process. The fiber preform permeability plays a key role in the filling pattern of the mold, which dictates if there will be any voids in the composites. Thus, to achieve a successful model of the LCM process, one needs to characterize the permeability tensor to quantify the resistance to resin flow through fibers. Besides various experimental and numerical techniques to characterize the permeability, this study offers a new numerical methodology to characterize the permeability of a unit cell of a fiber system. The study involves the characterization of the permeability of a unit cell under various shear strains and project a permeability map from the unit cell characterizations on the macro scale including the drape effect

The effects of progesterone treatment on nuchal translucency in women with threatened miscarriage

This study aims to investigate the effects of progesterone on the possible changes in nuchal translucency (NT) levels for patients diagnosed with threatened miscarriage. The study group was composed of 125 patients diagnosed with threatened miscarriage and taking 400 mg/day micronized orally progesterone at least for two weeks, the control group was composed of 160 healthy pregnant women not taking any progesterone. Crown rump length (CRL) NT thickness, Pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A), free beta human chorionic gonadotropin (Beta-HCG) levels of patients were measured for assessment of aneuploidy risk. Both of the groups were divided into four subgroups to determine the relationship between thickness of NT and progesterone use for specific CRL measurements. CRL in the first, second, third and fourth group was 45–55 mm, 55–65 mm, 65–75 mm, 75–84 mm, respectively. The two groups were age and BMI matched. In all groups of CRL there were no significant difference in Mom levels of NT thickness, PAPP-A and free Beta-HCG between the study and control groups. There havent been any relation between NT thickness and progesterone use.IMPACT STATEMENT What is already known about this subject? Recently some studies have claimed that progesterone use might have caused atypical blood flow pattern on foetal circulation, which could possibly increase NT. If the NT thickness is affected by the use of progesterone, then the false positive rate of detecting Down Syndrome screening tests would increase. What the results of this study add? In this study we did not found any relation between NT thickness and progesterone use. What the implications are of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? Using orally progesterone due to threatened miscarriage do not change NT thickness levels. Further studies have to be done with a large number of participants