Depression affects working memory performance: A Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) Study

Depression is a complex disorder that can be caused by psychosocial and biological conditions, and it not only affects to emotional life, but also cognitive functions, specifically the executive functions, attention, psychomotor speed, and memory. Some results of the studies in the literature show that depressed individuals perform worse on cognitive tasks than healthy individuals, while others indicate that there is no difference. Moreover, there is also no consensus about the depressed people brain functionalities. We aimed to compare the people who has high and low depression score measured with Beck Depression Inventory in terms of their working memory performance by using n-back paradigm and their brain activity by using optical imaging with this study. The age of lower BDI group (n = 11) is 23,9 ± 3,04 and higher BDI group (n = 23) is 22,2 + 2,28. The fNIRS were recorded from each subject while neutral words-faces and emotional words-faces are given to the subjects in the visuospatial 2-back WM task. There are no significant differences between the two groups behaviorally during the working memory performance, however, the high BDI group's PFC activation in right hemisphere is founded to be higher than the lower group. Our findings support the literature who is claiming the difference brain activity in depressed brain but not cognitive performance. Though, the small group size and the task difficulty (easy) could be the explanation of the behavioral results

Intravesical Treatment Modalities in Bladder Cancer: Current and Future Perspectives

Non-muscle-invasive bladder cancers encompass the pathological stages of Ta, T1, and carcinoma in situ. To prevent recurrence, intravesical therapy, which is performed after complete transurethral resection, is the current standard therapy for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancers. In patients with low-risk non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer, post-transurethral resection (TUR) management is a single immediate intravesical instillation of chemotherapy alone. For an intermediate-risk patient, a 6-week course of induction intravesical chemotherapy or immunotherapy can be adapted. Bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccine is still the gold standard of immunomodulating intravesical treatment used to reduce recurrence and progression. Nanotechnology is being developed for the diagnosis and treatment of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer. The newly developed technology will be able to change intravesical therapy success in non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer

Contribution to the knowledge of the Megalodontesidae, Argidae, Cimbicidae, Cephidae and Tenthredinidae (Symphyta: Hymenoptera) fauna from Bingöl and Diyarbakır provinces of Turkey

Abstract: This study is based upon material from Megalodontesidae, Argidae, Cimbicidae, Cephidae and Tenthredinidae collected from Bingöl and Diyarbakır provinces of Turkey between 2016 and 2018. The study resulted in recording for Turkish fauna of two species from one genera of Megalodontesidae, eight species from two genera of Argidae, two species from one genera of Cimbicidae, three species from three genera of Cephidae and 23 species from six genera of Tenthredinidae. In total, 38 species belonging to 13 genera of Symphyta are listed. Among them, Macrophya postica Brullé, 1832, Tenthredo bifasciata O. F. Müller, 1766 and Tenthredo zonula Klug, 1817 have been found the most abundant and widespread species. Separately, Tenthredo (Elinora) baetica Spinola, 1843 is newly recorded from Turkey. In addition, new localities have been found for some species, which have already been reported from Turkey

Singapore Logistics Cluster and Ankara Logistics Base As the Examples of Logistics Clusters in the Framework of Competition and Value Chain

DergiPark: 326015trakyasobedWith th globalization, increasing number of industry clusters was followed byt he emergence of logistics clusters which was an outcome of the increase in the volumes of production and Foreign trade as well as the demand for the logistic sservices. The countries, intending to increase their competitive strength, utilize the establishment and encouraging of logistics clusters as a statepolicy. In our country, the Ankara Logistics Base is the first established logistics cluster; it wa sfounded in 2004 by only the private sector, as there is not a legal regulation, supportor an incentive System for logistics clusters in the country. In this study, by conducting the respective Literature survey, the cases of Singapore logistics cluster and the Ankara Logistics Base are compared and an interview was made with the Administrative Unit of the Ankara Logistics Base to assess the position of the Base within the value chain and a survey was made with a total of 16 transportation, storageanddistributioncompanies, 15 of whichwerelocated inside the Base and 1 outside. Furthermore, the cluster schema of the Base is created by making a research to answer the questions whether the Base is a logistics cluster, whether it has been established in a plan in the process, whether it is a sub-cluster of a larger one in terms of the value chain or a logistics cluster on its own, what the service leve land scale of the Base is in terms of spatial distribution as well as who there late dactors are. As the result, the Ankara Logistics Base is expected to be a model for the logistics clusters, to be established in our countryKüreselleşme ile birlikte sayıları artan sanayi kümelenmelerini, artan üretim ve dış ticaret hacmi ile lojistik hizmetlere olan ihtiyacın artması sonucu lojistik kümelenmelerin oluşması takip etmiştir. Rekabet gücünü arttırmak isteyen ülkeler, lojistik kümelenmelerin kurulmasını ve teşvik edilmesini bir devlet politikası olarak uygulamaktadırlar. Ülkemizde ise; ilk kurulan lojistik kümelenmesi Ankara Lojistik Üssü olup; 2004 yılında Ülkemizde lojistik kümelenmelere yönelik herhangi bir yasal mevzuat, destek veya teşvik sisteminin bulunmaması sebebiyle sadece özel sektör tarafından kurulmuştur. Bu çalışmada, ilgili literatür taraması yapılarak; Singapur’da yer alan lojistik kümelenmesi ile Ankara Lojistik Üssü örnekleri karşılaştırılmış ve Ankara Lojistik Üssü’nün değer zinciri içerisindeki yerinin değerlendirilmesi için Ankara Lojistik Üssü Yönetim Birimi ile mülakat ve Üs içindeki 15 ile Üs dışında 1 taşımacılık, depolama ve dağıtım firması olmak üzere toplam 16 firma ile anket yapılmıştır. Ayrıca, yapılan çalışmalar ile Üssü’n kümelenme modeli bağlamında bir lojistik kümelenme olup olmadığı, süreç bağlamında planlı bir şekilde oluşup oluşmadığı, değer zinciri bağlamında herhangi büyük bir kümelenmenin alt kümelenmesi mi yoksa başlı başına bir lojistik kümelenme mi olduğu, mekansal yayılım bağlamında Üssü’n hizmet düzeyi ve ölçeğinin yanı sıra ilişkili aktörlerin kimler olduğu araştırılarak; Üssü’nün kümelenme şeması ortaya konmuştur. Sonuç olarak, Ankara Lojistik Üssü’nün Ülkemizde kurulacak lojistik kümelenmelere bir model teşkil etmesi beklenmektedi

Insecticidal Effect of the Extracts of Cladonia foliacea (Huds.) Willd. and Flavoparmelia caperata (L.) Hale AgainstAdults of the Grain Weevil, Sitophilus granarius (L.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Four different concentrations of extracts, obtained from the two lichen species (Cladonia foliacea (Huds.) Willd. and Flavoparmelia caperata (L.) Hale), were tested against the grain weevil, Sitophilus granaries (L.) under laboratory conditions. Mortality rate of adults was determined at 24, 48, and 96 h. Obtained results showed that the extracts of C. foliacea and F. caperata had insecticidal effects on the adults of S. granarius in comparison with control. The insecticidal effect was influenced by the concentration of the extract and the exposure time. Higher concentrations and longer exposure time resulted to highest toxicity levels on S. granarius. Mortality rates after 96 h of treatment with highest concentration (20 mg.ml-1) of the extracts of F. caperata and C. foliacea were determined as 91 and 83%, respectively. Bioassay revealed that 96 h LC50 values were 0.107 and 0.354 mg.ml-1, respectively. The results suggest that lichen compounds could be useful as alternatives of pesticides

Variations on Hammersley's interacting particle process

The longest increasing subsequence problem for permutations has been studied extensively in the last fifty years. The interpretation of the longest increasing subsequence as the longest 21-avoiding subsequence in the context of permutation patterns leads to many interesting research directions. We introduce and study the statistical properties of Hammersleytype interacting particle processes related to these generalizations and explore the finer structures of their distributions. We also propose three different interacting particle systems in the plane analogous to the Hammersley process in one dimension and obtain estimates for the asymptotic orders of the mean and variance of the number of particles in the systems.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Discrete Mathematics Letter

Insecticidal Effect of Usnea longissima (Parmeliaceae) Extract against Sitophilus granarius (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Two secondary metabolites (diffractaic acid & usnic acid) and extract of a lichen species, Usnea longissima Ach. were tested against adults of Sitophilus granarius (L.) on Petri dishes. After exposure, mortality of the adults was determined at 24th, 48th and 96th h. The results showed that secondary metabolites and extract of U. longissima have an insecticidal effect on adults of Sitophilus granarius (L.) in comparison with controls. The insecticidal effect was influenced by the concentrations of the extracts and the exposure time. Higher concentrations and longer exposure time resulted in maximum toxicity on S. granarius. Treatment with extract and lichen compounds of U. longissima pointed out equal mortality against adults of S. granarius. The mortality rates after 96 h of treatment with the maximum concentration (10 mg mL-1) of U. longissima extract, diffractaic acid and usnic acid were determined as 98.98, 91.91 and 94.94% for S. granarius, respectively. However, there was no mortality in the controls. The mortality rates after 96 h of treatment with the 10 mg mL-1 in concentrations of the extract of U. longissima were established and the highest mortality rate was found against S. granarius with 98.98%

Hydrolytic Degradation of Polylactic Acid Fibers as a Function of pH and Exposure Time

Polylactic acid (PLA) is a widely used bioresorbable polymer in medical devices owing to its biocompatibility, bioresorbability, and biodegradability. It is also considered a sustainable solution for a wide variety of other applications, including packaging. Because of its widespread use, there have been many studies evaluating this polymer. However, gaps still exist in our understanding of the hydrolytic degradation in extreme pH environments and its impact on physical and mechanical properties, especially in fibrous materials. The goal of this work is to explore the hydrolytic degradation of PLA fibers as a function of a wide range of pH values and exposure times. To complement the experimental measurements, molecular-level details were obtained using both molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with ReaxFF and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The hydrolytic degradation of PLA fibers from both experiments and simulations was observed to have a faster rate of degradation in alkaline conditions, with 40% of strength loss of the fibers in just 25 days together with an increase in the percent crystallinity of the degraded samples. Additionally, surface erosion was observed in these PLA fibers, especially in extreme alkaline environments, in contrast to bulk erosion observed in molded PLA grafts and other materials, which is attributed to the increased crystallinity induced during the fiber spinning process. These results indicate that spun PLA fibers function in a predictable manner as a bioresorbable medical device when totally degraded at end-of-life in more alkaline conditions