Soluble CD40 Ligand Levels in Otherwise Healthy Subjects With Impaired Fasting Glucose

Unlike diabetes mellitus and impaired glucose tolerance, it is not clear whether the subjects with impaired fasting glucose (IFG) are at increased risk of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases. The CD40-CD40 ligand interaction is involved in the mechanism of atherosclerosis. We investigated whether soluble CD40L (sCD40L) as well as high sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels are increased in subjects with IFG having no confounding factors for inflammation or atherosclerosis. Twenty four IFG subjects with no additional disorders and 40 appropriate healthy controls were studied. sCD40L and hsCRP levels in the IFG and control groups were similar. Blood pressures, total and LDL-cholesterol, and triglyceride levels were also similar, whereas HDL-cholesterol was lower and HOMA-IR indexes were higher in the IFG group. Though the sample size was small, the present data show that sCD40L seems not to alter in subjects with IFG suggesting that it might not be an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis

A Novel Identity-Based Privacy-Preserving Anonymous Authentication Scheme for Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communication

This paper proposes a novel bilinear pairing-free identity-based privacy-preserving anonymous authentication scheme for vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, called “NIBPA”. Today, vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) offer important solutions for traffic safety and efficiency. However, VANETs are vulnerable to cyberattacks due to their use of wireless communication. Therefore, authentication schemes are used to solve security and privacy issues in VANETs. The NIBPA satisfies the security and privacy requirements and is robust to cyberattacks. It is also a pairing-free elliptic curve cryptography (ECC)-based lightweight authentication scheme. The bilinear pairing operation and the map-to-point hash function in cryptography have not been used because of their high computational costs. Moreover, it provides batch message verification to improve VANETs performance. The NIBPA is compared to existing schemes in terms of computational cost and communication cost. It is also a test for security in the random oracle model (ROM). As a result of security and performance analysis, NIBPA gives better results compared to existing schemes

Femoral Neuropathy in a Patient with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Femoral mononeuropathy (FMN) as an extraarticular finding of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a phenomenon which has not been reported previously. We report a 53-year-old female patient with RA, presenting FMN findings during the course of the disease. On examination, right quadriceps and iliopsoas muscles showed grade 3 weakness on the Medical Research Council (MRC) scale. Sensory examination revealed sensory loss in the right medial leg and thigh. Patellar tendon reflex was absent in the right side. A diagnosis of a partial right femoral neuropathy was confirmed using nerve conduction study and electromyography. The probable mechanism of FMN was thought to be vasculitis

Epidemiology of pemphigus in Turkey: One-year prospective study of 220 cases

Pemphigus is a group of rare and life-threatening autoimmune blistering diseases of the skin and mucous membranes. Although they occur worldwide, their incidence shows wide geographical variation, and prospective data on the epidemiology of pemphigus are very limited. Objective of this work is to evaluate the incidence and epidemiological and clinical features of patients with pemphigus in Turkey. All patients newly diagnosed with pemphigus between June 2013 and June 2014 were prospectively enrolled in 33 dermatology departments in 20 different provinces from all seven regions of Turkey. Disease parameters including demography and clinical findings were recorded. A total of 220 patients were diagnosed with pemphigus during the 1-year period, with an annual incidence of 4.7 per million people in Turkey. Patients were predominantly women, with a male to female ratio of 1:1.41. The mean age at onset was 48.9 years. Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) was the commonest clinical subtype (n=192; 87.3%), followed by pemphigus foliaceus (n=21; 9.6%). The most common clinical subtype of PV was the mucocutaneous type (n=83; 43.2%). The mean Pemphigus Disease Area Index was 28.14±22.21 (mean ± Standard Deviation).  The incidence rate of pemphigus in Turkey is similar to the countries of South-East Europe, higher than those reported for the Central and Northern European countries and lower than the countries around the Mediterranean Sea and Iran. Pemphigus is more frequent in middle-aged people and is more common in women. The most frequent subtype was PV, with a 9-fold higher incidence than pemphigus foliaceus.   </p

How to get the most out of foreign direct investment in commercial banking

In this paper, I examine the impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on efficiency of local firms in the commercial banking industry. FDI in banking has accelerated rapidly in the last decade, especially in Latin American and Eastern European countries. Despite this increase in the number of foreign banks, there are still many restrictions on which foreign banks can enter, what they can do and how they can compete. In addition, banking FDI is still contentious since banking systems are so important to the health of the economy. I argue that to get the most out of FDI, policy makers should focus on improving the general institutional environment and reducing the regulatory burden on companies. Regulations that encourage competition and allow free entry will maximize the positive impact of foreign bank investment on local banks’ efficiency.Neste artigo, examinamos o impacto do Investimento Directo Estrangeiro (IDE) na eficiência de empresas locais do ramo da banca comercial. O IDE no sector da banca acelerou rapidamente na última década, principalmente nos países da América Latina e da Europa de Leste. Apesar do aumento do número de bancos estrangeiros, existem ainda muitas restrições quanto à forma como estes poderão entrar nos diversos países, àquilo que podem fazer e à forma como podem competir. Além disso, o IDE em termos de banca é um tema polémico, dada a importância dos sistemas de banca para a saúde da economia. Defendemos que, para se tirar o melhor partido do IDE, os governos deveriam concentrar-se em aperfeiçoar o ambiente institucional geral e a reduzir a carga regulatória sobre as empresas. As regulamentações que promovem a concorrência e permitem uma entrada livre maximizarão o impacto positivo do investimento bancário estrangeiro na eficiência dos bancos locais.En este artículo, se analiza el impacto de la inversión directa extranjera (IDE) en la eficacia de empresas locales en el sector de la banca comercial. La IDE en la banca se ha acelerado rápidamente en la última década, especialmente en América Latina y en los países de Europa del Este. A pesar del aumento del número de bancos extranjeros, siguen siendo muchas las restricciones para poder operar y ser competitivos. Además, la IDE en la banca sigue siendo un tema polémico, ya que los sistemas bancarios son importantes para una economía saludable. En el artículo se defiende que para sacar el máximo partido a la IDE, los gobiernos deben centrarse en mejorar el entorno institucional general y en reducir la carga normativa de las empresas. Las normas que animan la competitividad y que permiten la entrada libre aumentan al máximo el efecto positivo que la inversión en banca extranjera tiene en la eficacia de la banca local

An Ottoman Classical Political Economist: Sarantis Archigenes and His Tasarrufat-i Mulkiye

In the 1840s Sarantis Archigenes, an Ottoman Greek citizen, wrote a book on political economy called Tasarrufat- Mulkiye. The book contained both political-economic knowledge and developmentalist policy recommendations for the Ottoman Empire. The emphasis given to human capital, trade and transportation, industrialization and property relations is noteworthy. Since it did not reach large numbers of people, the importance of Tasarrufat- Mulkiye has not been appreciated. The goal of this article is to provide an account of Archigenes' views on political economy as presented in his long-neglected book. Had the policy makers in the Empire in the second half of the nineteenth century taken Archigenes' views seriously, a sound development strategy could have been formed

Numerical analysis and experimental verification of optical scattering from microplastics

Accurate and fast characterization of the micron-sized plastic particles in aqueous media requires an in-depth understanding of light interaction with these particles. Due to the complexity of Mie scattering theory, the features of the scattered light have rarely been related to the physical properties of these tiny objects. To address this problem, we reveal the relation of the wavelength-dependent optical scattering patterns with the size and refractive index of the particles by numerically studying the angular scattering features. We subsequently present a low-cost setup to measure the optical scattering of the particles. Theoretical investigation shows that the angular distribution of the scattered light by microplastics carries distinct signatures of the particle size and the refractive index. The results can be used to develop a portable, low-cost setup to detect microplastics in water

Hydrazones

We report some novel pyrazole derivatives taking 4-phenylcarbonyl-5-phenyl-2,3-dihydro-2,3-furandione, I. For this, 4-phenylcarbonyl-5-phenyl-2,3-dihydro-2,3-furandione, 1 was reacted with benzaldehyde (2- or 4-fluorophenyl)hydrazone to give 4-benzoyl-1-(2- or 4-fluorophenyl)-5-phenyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid 2a,b. Pyrazol derivative containing 2-fluorophenyl group 2a was converted into carboxylic chloride derivative 3a by thionyl chloride and then the compound 4a was obtained from reaction ammonia with compound 3a. In the next step, 4-benzoyl-1-(2-fluorophenyl)-5-phenyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid 2a was reacted with MeOH/H2SO4, EtOH/H2SO4, 2-nitrophenylhydrazine and 3-nitrophenylydrazine to give 5a,b and 6a,b pyrazol derivatives, respectively. The structures regarding all compounds synthesized were determined by the IR, NMR and elemental analysis method

The synthesis and reactions of novel pyrazole derivatives by 4-phenylcarbonyl-5-phenyl-2,3-dihydro-2,3-furandione reacted with some hydrazones

We report some novel pyrazole derivatives taking 4-phenylcarbonyl-5-phenyl-2,3-dihydro-2,3-furandione, 1. For this, 4-phenylcarbonyl-5-phenyl-2,3-dihydro-2,3-furandione, 1 was reacted with benzaldehyde(2-or 4-fluorophenyl)hydrazone to give 4-benzoyl-1-(2-or 4-fluorophenyl)-5-phenyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid 2a,b. Pyrazol derivative containing 2-fluorophenyl group 2a was converted into carboxylic chloride derivative 3a by thionyl chloride and then the compound 4a was obtained from reaction ammonia with compound 3a. In the next step, 4-benzoyl-1-(2-fluorophenyl)-5-phenyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid 2a was reacted with MeOH/H2SO4, EtOH/H2SO4, 2-nitrophenylhydrazine and 3-nitrophenylydrazine to give 5a,b and 6a,b pyrazol derivatives, respectively. The structures regarding all compounds synthesized were determined by the IR, NMR and elemental analysis method

Criteria Assessment for Covid-19 Vaccine Selection via BWM

The aim of this study is to discover the supreme and other most important criteria that count in decision making considering vital uncertainties associated with certain parameters, risks, and costs for individuals in order to select the right Covid-19 vaccine based on a set of remarkable criteria. A survey study for assessment according to the given most important criteria based on expert opinion is conducted through the Best-Worst Method (BWM). A form including pairwise comparison vectors was sent to the participants in order to reveal priorities against their subjective decision-making criteria for vaccine selection. The essence of the study addresses that the efficacy criterion has the highest score and it is followed by the other given criteria such as storage requirements, incorporated vaccine technology, and international acceptance criterion. Participants tend to prioritize the origin and price of the vaccine behind all other criteria. Long-sought Covid-19 vaccine and its alternatives with different disclosed criteria of them have led to increasing indecision of people who have an opportunity to choose individually and the government officials who are responsible for country-wide procurement and policymakers; as a result, criteria evaluation is a challenging task. To solve the mentioned multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem, BWM is newly employed in vaccine selection problems and its robust approach reveals the subjective priority of the criteria