Research of Internal Migration by Compartment Models: The Case of Erzurum-Bursa

Migration, which consists of quite complex components, is a concept subjected in many scientific research areas. Internal migration refers a migration occurred in the boundaries of a country. Migration in Turkey usually tends to be directed towards larger and more industrialized provinces. Nevertheless, there exists a density on the direction of certain provinces such as migration from Erzurum to Bursa. Nowadays, the proceeding of the migration flows between Erzurum and Bursa since 1980’s is another point which necessitates to be examined. The purpose of this study is to investigate the migration between Erzurum and Bursa by using compartment models in the 1980-2015 period. The paper performs compartment models to explain the changes of migration flows in terms of gross domestic product, unemployment rate, and time. According to the results, there is a significant increase in migration from Erzurum to Bursa depending on the time of migration and unemployment rate. Nonetheless, there is no significant change related with the gross domestic product. In addition, the study has shown that migration increases as unemployment rate decreases; but there is no significant change in migration depending on time and gross domestic product from Bursa to Erzurum

Demographic Characteristics of Syrian Patients Having Died in Hospital

Objective: Our study aims at reviewing the demographic characteristics of Syrian patients who presented to a state hospital in Sanliurfa, where the largest immigrant camp is located, and subsequently died.Material and Methods: Syrian patients who died after presenting to a state hospital in Sanliurfa between 2011-2015 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients’ age, gender, trauma status, reasons of death, and place of death (inside or outside the hospital) were examined in detail.Results: The study included a total of 1866 Syrian citizens who after being admitted to hospital were declared dead at the state hospital in Sanliurfa between 2011 and 2015. Of the patients, 43.7% (n=816) were female. The mean age of the patients was 61.16 ± 23.6 years (%95 CI: 60.08 - 62.23). Comparing the patients according to reasons of their death, while the groups varied depending on age, gender and traumatic injury (p<0.001, p=0.047, p<0.001, respectively), no difference was obtained between the groups according to presence of a firearm injury (p=0.290).Conclusion: There is no significant difference between in-hospital deaths and emergency service deaths of traumatic Syrian patients

Morin provides therapeutic effect by attenuating oxidative stress, inflammation, endoplasmic reticulum stress, autophagy, apoptosis, and oxidative DNA damage in testicular toxicity caused by ifosfamide in rats

Objective(s): In the present study, it was evaluated whether morin has a protective effect on testicular toxicity caused by ifosfamide (IFOS), which is used in the treatment of various malignancies. Materials and Methods: For this purpose, 100 or 200 mg/kg morin was given to Sprague Dawley rats for 2 days, and a single dose (500 mg/kg) IFOS was administered on the 2nd day. At the 24th hr of IFOS administration, animals were decapitated and testicular tissues were taken and the status of oxidative stress, inflammation, endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS), autophagy, and apoptosis markers were analyzed by biochemical, molecular, and histopathological methods.Results: According to the data obtained, it was determined that IFOS caused oxidative stress in testicular tissues. It was observed that inflammation, ERS, autophagy, apoptosis, and oxidative DNA damage occurred with oxidative stress. Morin treatment suppressed oxidative stress. Morin showed anti-inflammatory effects by reducing TNF-α and IL-1β protein levels. It also increased the mRNA transcript levels of the ERS marker ATF-6, PERK, IRE1, GRP-78, and CHOP genes, and the apoptosis marker genes Bax, Casp-3, and apaf-1. It up-regulated the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 gene and the cell survival signal AKT-2 gene. Morin caused a decrease in beclin-1 protein levels and showed an anti-autophagic effect. In addition, morin attenuated oxidative DNA damage and decreased 8-OHdG immune-positive cell numbers.Conclusion: As a result, it was observed that IFOS caused cellular damage by activating various signaling pathways in testicular tissue, while morin exhibited protective properties against this damage

The diagnostic value of serum copeptin levels in an acute pulmonary embolism

Background: Acute pulmonary embolism (APE) is a common disease which is associated with high mortality and morbidity. Circulating level of copeptin, which was demonstrated to be elevated in heart failure, acute myocardial infarction and pulmonary arterial hypertension, were reported to be independent predictors of poor outcome in recent studies. The aim of the present study was to investigate the clinical utility of copeptin in the diagnosis of APE. Methods: A total of 90 consecutive patients, admitted to emergency service due to acute chest pain and/or dyspnea and who underwent pulmonary computerized tomography angiography (CTA) due to suspicion of APE, were included in this prospective study. The patients diagnosed with APE were defined as APE (+) group and the remaining individuals with normal pulmonary CTA result were defined as APE (–) group. Results: Copeptin levels (7.76 ± 4.4 vs. 3.81 ± 1.34 ng/dL; p &lt; 0.001) were higher in the APE (+) group as compared to the APE (–) group. Copeptin was significantly positively correlated with B-type natriuretic peptide (r = 0.434, p &lt; 0.001), D-dimer (r = 0.315, p = 0.003) and troponin I (r = 0.300, p = 0.004) and inversely correlated with arterial oxygen saturations (r = –0.533, p &lt; 0001). When the correlation of copeptin with right ventricular dysfunction parameters was investigated, it was significantly inversely correlated with the tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (r = –0.521, p &lt; 0.001) and positively correlated with right to left ventricle ratio (r = 0.329, p = 0.024). Copeptin (OR 1.836, 95% CI 1.171–2.878, p = 0.008) was found as a significant independent predictor of APE in a multivariate analysis, after adjusting for other risk parameters.  Conclusions: Copeptin is a promising new biomarker, which may be used to support the need for further investigations and to improve the diagnosis of patients with APE.

CT Findings of Patients with Small Bowel Obstruction due to Bezoar: A Descriptive Study

Purpose. The aim of this study was to present the computed tomography (CT) findings of bezoars that cause obstruction in the small bowel and to emphasize that some CT findings can be considered specific to some bezoar types. Materials and Methods. The records of 39 patients who underwent preoperative abdominal CT and subsequent operation with a diagnosis of intestinal obstruction due to bezoars were retrospectively analyzed. Results. In total, 56 bezoars were surgically removed from 39 patients. Bezoars were most commonly located in the jejunum (n=26/56, 46.4%). Sixteen (41.0%) patients had multiple bezoar locations in the gastrointestinal tract. Common CT findings in all patients were a mottled gas pattern and a focal ovoid or round intraluminal mass with regular margins and a heterogeneous internal structure. Furthermore, some CT findings were determined to be specific to bezoars caused by persimmons. Conclusions. Preoperative CT is valuable in patients admitted with signs of intestinal obstruction in geographic regions with a high bezoar prevalence. We believe that the correct diagnosis of bezoars and the identification of their number and location provide a great advantage for all physicians and surgeons. In addition, some types of bezoars have unique CT findings, and we believe that these findings may help to establish a diagnosis

Fabrication of curcumin-loaded magnetic PEGylated-PLGA nanocarriers tagged with GRGDS peptide for improving anticancer activity

Carrier-mediated drug delivery systems are highly promising as a treatment option for the targeted delivery of potent cytotoxic drugs with increased efficacy and safety. Considering that poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) polymers each provide certain advantages for biological purposes, PEGylated-PLGA nanoparticles have emerged as a leading candidate among other alternatives. Furthermore, these nanoparticles can be modified with the specific short peptide sequences such as glycine-arginine-glycine-aspartic acid‑serine (GRGDS), which selectively binds to integrins overexpressed in most cancer cells, allowing for targeted delivery. Here, we reported the details in fabrication and characterization of magnetic PEGylated-PLGA nanoparticles functionalized with GRGDS peptide. In addition, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) and the natural pharmaceutical compound curcumin (Cur) were loaded into these polymeric nanoparticles to assess their anticancer activity potential. Overall, this study provides comprehensive methodologies, including all synthesis procedures, challenges, and useful suggestions for peptide-conjugated polymeric nanoparticles that may be used for cellular targeting and therapeutic applications. • Step by step fabrication protocol for the Cur loaded magnetic PEGylated-PLGA nanoparticles was presented. • Validation of the fabrication and the GRGDS conjugation to the nanoparticles were shown via detailed characterization studies. • The cytotoxic effect of the Cur-loaded and GRGDS-tagged magnetic nanoparticles was tested on T98G glioblastoma cell line as a preliminary in vitro study

Linking behavioral patterns to personal attributes through data re-mining

A fundamental challenge in behavioral informatics is the development of methodologies and systems that can achieve its goals and tasks, including behavior pattern analysis. This study presents such a methodology, that can be converted into a decision support system, by the appropriate integration of existing tools for association mining and graph visualization. The methodology enables the linking of behavioral patterns to personal attributes, through the re-mining of colored association graphs that represent item associations. The methodology is described and mathematically formalized, and is demonstrated in a case study related with retail industry

Novel method for trisomy 21 screening in the first trimester of pregnancy: fetal brain angle

Objectives The present study was performed to examine the utility of a new first trimester marker called the "brain angle" (BA) in screening for trisomy 21. We postulate that differences in the midbrain anatomy between euploid fetuses and those that are affected by trisomy 21 are reflected in changes in BA measurements. Methods In fetuses at 11(+0)-13(+6) weeks of gestations, which were at high risk for trisomy 21, the angle was measured between the line crossing the thalamus and mesencephalon cranial border tangentially and the line crossing the brainstem lower limit. This angle was compared between fetuses with trisomy 21 (based on karyotyping) and those with a normal karyotype. Results Trisomy 21 was detected in 45 (8%) of 560 fetuses. Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed that, at BA >= 94 degrees, the sensitivity and specificity for determining trisomy 21 were 97.8% (95% CI=88.2-99.9%) and 100% (95% CI=99.2-100%), respectively. Conclusions Fetal BA appears to be a promising new first trimester marker in screening for trisomy 21