Soil salinity and alkalinity in the Great Konya Basin, Turkey

In the summers of 1964 to 1968 a study was made of soil salinity and alkalinity in the Great Konya Basin, under the auspices of the Konya Project, a research and training programme of the Department of Tropical Soil Science of the Agricultural University, Wageningen.The Great Konya Basin, some 300 km south of Ankara, at an altitude of about 1010 m, covers about 10 000 sq. km. For centuries it has been an important agricultural area.The Basin is surrounded by mountains, draining into it by rivers, surface run-off and subsurface seepage. Some of the riverwater is used for irrigation. Since the Basin has no outlet, the remaining water collects in the central depression, whence it evaporates.The climate is semi-arid with a dry warm summer and a cool rather wet winter. As annual evaporation considerably exceeds precipitation, salts collect in many places in the soil or on the surface. This causes increasing salinity harmful for agriculture, especially since Na +is the major cation so that most saline soils are alkali-effected as well. The distribution of the salts has been related to hydrology and topography.During the summer of 1964, 1965 and 1966, numerous salt-affected soils have been studied and analysed as basis for a survey of salinity and alkalinity during one week of September 1967. In the survey about 800 samples were taken from over 250 soil profiles and 500 wells at representative sites throughout the Basin were sampled, after analyses of 500 groundwater samples in May 1967 to check variations in depth and electrical conductivity of the groundwater during the dry season. Taking into account the physiography and distribution of the soil types, the collected information has been presented in sketch maps of salinity and alkalinity of the soils, and depth, chemical composition and properties of groundwater throughout the Basin.To study salinity, some new techniques were introduced: the sum of the cations in the saturation extract has been related to its electrical conductivity. This relation shows geographic variation.Salinity in the Great Konya Basin occurs mainly in three areas: the western central part of the Basin, a depression north of the Town of Karapinar, and the central eastern part of the Basin. The north and south are not salt-affected. Generally salinity increases with decreasing altitude, except for the central western part, where this trend is disturbed by irrigation. The low parts also have the highest watertable, with very high electrical conductivity. There salinity is caused mainly by supply of salts from subsurface flow from the higher soils towards the central depression.The salts accumulating in the soil chiefly consist of sulphates and chlorides; sulphates predominate in the west, chlorides in the east.The alkalinity map, based on sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), shows a similar pattern to salinity.Dynamics of the salts in the soil have been examined. Efflorescence has been studied by chemical and X-ray analysis, and by electron-microscopy. It had an influence on evaporation from the surface. A salt crust considerably decreases further salinization because of decreased evaporation. Three types of salt crusts, differing in morphology and structure, were distinguished.Consequences of salinity and alkalinity for agriculture in the Great Konya Basin are discussed. Recommendations for increasing yields and for preventing or decreasing salinity in irrigated soils are given

The 11q Terminal Deletion Disorder Jacobsen Syndrome is a Syndromic Primary Immunodeficiency

Background: Jacobsen syndrome (JS) is a rare contiguous gene syndrome caused by partial deletion of the long arm of chromosome 11. Clinical features include physical and mental growth retardation, facial dysmorphism, thrombocytopenia, impaired platelet function and pancytopenia. In case reports, recurrent infections and impaired immune cell function compatible with immunodeficiency were described. However, Jacobsen syndrome has not been recognized as an established syndromic primary immunodeficiency. Goal: To evaluate the presence of immunodeficiency in a series of 6 patients with JS. Methods: Medical history of 6 patients with JS was evaluated for recurrent infections. IgG, IgA, IgM and specific antibodies against S. pneumoniae were measured. Response to immunization with a polysaccharide vaccine (Pneumovax) was measured and B and T lymphocyte subset analyses were performed using flowcytometry. Results: Five out of 6 patients suffered from recurrent infections. These patients had low IgG levels and impaired response to S. pneumoniae polysaccharide vaccination. Moreover, we also found a significant decrease in the absolute number of memory B cells, suggesting a defective germinal center function. In a number of patients, low numbers of T lymphocytes and NK cells were found. Conclusions: Most patients with JS suffer from combined immunodeficiency in the presence of recurrent infections. Therefore, we consider JS a syndromic primary immunodeficiency. Early detection of immunodeficiency may reduce the frequency and severity of infections. All JS patients should therefore undergo immunological evaluation. Future studies in a larger cohort of patients will more precisely define the pathophysiology of the immunodeficiency in JS

Cancer-related psychosocial factors and self-reported changes in lifestyle among gynecological cancer survivors:Cross-sectional analysis of PROFILES registry data

PURPOSE: Obesity is prevalent in gynecological cancer survivors and is associated with impaired health outcomes. Concerns due to cancer and its treatment may impact changes in lifestyle after cancer. This study aimed to assess the association between cancer-related psychosocial factors and changes in physical activity and diet, 18 months after initial treatment among gynecological cancer survivors. METHODS: Cross-sectional data from the ROGY Care study were used, including endometrial and ovarian cancer patients treated with curative intent. The Impact of Cancer Scale (IOCv2) was used to assess cancer-related psychosocial factors. Self-reported changes in nutrients/food groups and in physical activity post-diagnosis were classified into change groups (less/equal/more). Multivariable logistic regression models were used to assess associations. RESULTS: Data from 229 cancer survivors (59% endometrial, 41% ovarian, mean age 66 ± 9.5, 70% tumor stage I) were analyzed. In total, 20% reported to eat healthier from diagnosis up to 18 months after initial treatment, 17% reported less physical activity and 20% more physical activity. Health awareness (OR 2.79, 95% CI: 1.38; 5.65), body change concerns (OR 3.04 95% CI: 1.71; 5.39), life interferences (OR 4.88 95% 2.29; 10.38) and worry (OR 2.62, 95% CI: 1.42; 4.85) were significantly associated with less physical activity up to 18 months after initial treatment whereby gastrointestinal symptoms were an important confounder. CONCLUSION(S): This study underlines the need to raise awareness of the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and to provide tailored lifestyle advice, taking into account survivors’ health awareness, body change concerns, life interferences, worry and gastrointestinal symptoms, in order to improve health behavior among gynecological cancer survivors. TRIAL REGISTRATION: http://clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01185626, August 20, 2010 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00520-021-06433-0

Exhaustion of the CD8+ T cell compartment in patients with mutations in phosphoinositide 3-kinase delta

Pathogenic gain-of-function mutations in the gene encoding phosphoinositide 3-kinase delta (PI3Kδ) cause activated PI3Kδ syndrome (APDS), a disease characterized by humoral immunodeficiency, lymphadenopathy, and an inability to control persistent viral infections including Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections. Understanding the mechanisms leading to impaired immune response is important to optimally treat APDS patients. Immunosenescence of CD8+ T cells was suggested to contribute to APDS pathogenesis. However, the constitutive activation of T cells in APDS may also result in T cell exhaustion. Therefore, we studied exhaustion of the CD8+ T cell compartment in APDS patients and compared them with healthy controls and HIV patients, as a control for exhaustion. The subset distribution of the T cell compartment of APDS patients was comparable with HIV patien

Ethnicity, schooling, and merit in the Netherlands

We examine to what extent ethnicity affects academic ability measured in the first year of secondary school and secondary school type in the Netherlands. We focus on second-generation immigrants. The empirical results indicate that academic ability (both in mathematics and language) is not affected by ethnicity, independent of parents’ occupation, education, and resources. On a bivariate level, children of Turkish and Moroccan immigrants in the Netherlands are found relatively often in lower tracks in secondary school. This relationship is fully driven by social class and merit, operationalized as including ability and effort. Moreover, children of Turkish, Surinamese and Antillean migrants are, relative to Dutch children from similar backgrounds and merit, more often found in higher tracks in secondary school. However, given the very skewed distribution of educational attainment of immigrants, it is questionable whether ‘class versus ethnicity models’ can accurately compare achievements of native and immigrant children in the Netherlands