Smoking among Nurses in Turkey: Comparison with Other Countries

The purpose of this study was to obtain baseline information on smoking among nurses. An attempt was made to contact, in person, all 301 nurses working for the university hospital in Sivas, Turkey, and when contacted they were asked to complete an anonymous questionnaire. Each unit of the hospital was visited three times, and 239 (79%) nurses were reached who all completed the questionnaire. Of the 239 respondents, 107 (45%) were current smokers, reflecting a substantially higher prevalence compared to that among the adult female population. The quit ratio was 22.5%. Of 127 ever-smoker nurses who responded to the related item, 90% started smoking during or after nursing education. This pattern of smoking initiation was different from the pattern in developed countries where nurses had already started smoking before beginning that training. Nurses with a high school education had a significantly higher prevalence of ever-smoking. Most respondents frequently or sometimes saw doctors smoking in rooms for nurses and in rooms for doctors in inpatient services. In-depth qualitative studies are needed to determine the reasons for the different smoking-initiation pattern

Topical Simvastatin as Host-Directed Therapy against Severity of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Mice.

We recently demonstrated that statins mediate protection against intracellular pathogens, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Listeria monocytogenes in mice. Here, we investigated the immunomodulatory potential of simvastatin as a topical or systemic host-directed drug therapy in controlling inflammatory responses in an experimental mouse model of cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania major (LV39). In an ear infection model, topical application of simvastatin directly on established lesions significantly reduced severity of the disease reflected by ear lesion size and ulceration. The host protective effect was further accompanied by decreased parasite burden in the ear and draining lymph nodes in both BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice. Pre-treatment of these mice on a low-fat cholesterol diet and systemic simvastatin also reduced footpad swelling, as well as parasite burdens and ulceration/necrosis in the more robust footpad infection model, demonstrating the prophylactic potential of simvastatin for cutaneous leishmaniasis. Mechanistically, following L. major infection, simvastatin-treated primary macrophages responded with significantly reduced cholesterol levels and increased production of hydrogen peroxide. Furthermore, simvastatin-treated macrophages displayed enhanced phagosome maturation, as revealed by increased LAMP-3 expression in fluorescent microscopy and Western blot analysis. These findings demonstrate that simvastatin treatment enhances host protection against L. major by increasing macrophage phagosome maturation and killing effector functions

A Study of Zero-Out Auctions: Testbed Experiments of a Process of Allocating Private Rights to the Use of Public Property

The study examines a proposal to auction rights to land at a major airport and return the auction revenues to the winners. Experiments with such auctions are reported. New econometric models of the process are developed and evaluated

A supramolecular peptide nanofiber templated Pd nanocatalyst for efficient Suzuki coupling reactions under aqueous conditions

Cataloged from PDF version of article.A bioinspired peptide amphiphile nanofiber template for formation of one-dimensional Pd nanostructures is demonstrated. The Pd and peptide nanocatalyst system enabled efficient catalytic activity in Suzuki coupling reactions in water at room temperature. The nanocatalyst system can be easily separated and reused in successive reactions without significant loss in activity and structural integrity. This journal is © 2012 The Royal Society of Chemistry

Cooperative effect of heparan sulfate and laminin mimetic peptide nanofibers on the promotion of neurite outgrowth

Cataloged from PDF version of article.Extracellular matrix contains an abundant variety of signals that are received by cell surface receptors contributing to cell fate, via regulation of cellular activities such as proliferation, migration and differentiation. Cues from extracellular matrix can be used for the development of materials to direct cells into their desired fate. Neural extracellular matrix (ECM) is rich in axonal growth inducer proteins, and by mimicking these permissive elements in the cellular environment, neural differentiation as well as neurite outgrowth can be induced. In this paper, we used a synthetic peptide nanofiber system that can mimic not only the activity of laminin, an axonal growth-promoting constituent of the neural ECM, but also the activity of heparan sulfate proteoglycans in order to induce neuritogenesis. Heparan sulfate mimetic groups that were utilized in our system have an affinity to growth factors and induce the neuroregenerative effect of laminin mimetic peptide nanofibers. The self-assembled peptide nanofibers with heparan sulfate mimetic and laminin-derived epitopes significantly promoted neurite outgrowth by PC-12 cells. In addition, these scaffolds were even effective in the presence of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs), which are the major inhibitory components of the central nervous system. In the presence of these nanofibers, cells could overcome CSPG inhibitory effect and extend neurites on peptide nanofiber scaffolds. © 2012 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Electrostatic effects on nanofiber formation of self-assembling peptide amphiphiles

Cataloged from PDF version of article.Self-assembling peptide amphiphile molecules have been of interest to various tissue engineering studies. These molecules self-assemble into nanofibers which organize into three-dimensional networks to form hydrocolloid systems mimicking the extracellular matrix. The formation of nanofibers is affected by the electrostatic interactions among the peptides. In this work, we studied the effect of charged groups on the peptides on nanofiber formation. The self-assembly process was studied by pH and zeta potential measurements, FT-IR, circular dichroism, rheology, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The aggregation of the peptides was triggered upon neutralization of the charged residues by pH change or addition of electrolyte or biomacromolecules. Understanding the controlled formation of the hydrocolloid gels composed of peptide amphiphile nanofibers can lead us to develop in situ gel forming bioactive collagen mimetic nanofibers for various tissue engineering studies including bioactive surface coatings. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Binaural beats or 432 Hz music? which method is more effective for reducing preoperative dental anxiety?

The aim of this prospective clinical study was to investigate the effectiveness of binaural beats and music at a frequency of 432 Hz and compare which method is more effective for reducing preoperative dental anxiety in impacted third molar surgery. Ninety patients were randomly selected to the binaural beats group, music group and control group. Visual analog scale used to evaluate dental anxiety before the local anesthesia in the first measurement. Local anesthesia was applied to the all patients. Patients in the music group listened to 432 Hz tuned music using earphones for 10 minutes. Patients in the binaural beats group listened to binaural beats using earphones (for the right ear, 220 Hz and for the left ear 210 Hz) for 10 minutes. No special treatment was applied to the patients in control group. In the second measurement, dental anxiety was measured again in all three groups. For analysis of differences between three groups was used One way Anova and Kruskal Wallis test. Twenty seven male and 53 female patients included the study. In the first measurement, the same level of anxiety was recorded in all three groups. (p=0.811) There was a significant decrease in anxiety in both the binaural beats and music group in the second measurement. (p<0.001). Binaural beats and 432 Hz tuned music are a valid non pharmacological adjuvant to reduce dental anxiety in impacted third molar surgery. They have a positive effect to reduce the dental anxiety

Heparin Mimetic Peptide Nanofibers Promote Angiogenesis

Cataloged from PDF version of article.New blood vessel formation (angiogenesis) is one of the most important processes required for functional tissue formation. Induction of angiogenesis is usually triggered by growth factors released by cells. Glycosaminoglycans (e.g., heparan sulphates) in the extracellular matrix aid in proper functioning of these growth factors. Therefore, exogeneous heparin or growth factors were required for promoting angiogenesis in previous regenerative medicine studies. Here we report for the first time induction of angiogenesis by a synthetic nanofibrous peptide scaffold without the addition of any exogenous growth factors or heparin. We designed and synthesized a self-assembling peptide amphiphile molecule that is functionalized with biologically active groups to mimic heparin. Like heparin, this molecule has the ability to interact with growth factors and effectively enhance their bioactivity. The nanofibers formed by these molecules were shown to form a 3D network mimicking the structural proteins in the extracellular matrix. Because of heparin mimicking capabilities of the peptide nanofibers, angiogenesis was induced without the addition of exogenous growth factors in vitro. Bioactive interactions between the nanofibers and the growth factors enabled robust vascularization in vivo as well. Heparin mimetic peptide nanofibers presented here provide new opportunities for angiogenesis and tissue regeneration by avoiding the use of heparin and exogenous growth factors. The synthetic peptide nanofiber scaffolds enriched with proper chemical functional groups shown in this study can be used to induce various desired physiological responses for tissue regeneration. © 2011 American Chemical Society

Amyloid-like peptide nanofiber templated titania nanostructures as dye sensitized solar cell anodic materials

Cataloged from PDF version of article.One-dimensional titania nanostructures can serve as a support for light absorbing molecules and result in an improvement in the short circuit current (Jsc) and open circuit voltage (Voc) as a nanostructured and high-surface-area material in dye-sensitized solar cells. Here, self-assembled amyloid-like peptide nanofibers were exploited as an organic template for the growth of one-dimensional titania nanostructures. Nanostructured titania layers were utilized as anodic materials in dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The photovoltaic performance of the DSSC devices was assessed and an enhancement in the overall cell performance compared to unstructured titania was observed. © 2013 The Royal Society of Chemistry

A Spectroscopic Survey of a Sample of Active M Dwarfs

A moderate resolution spectroscopic survey of Fleming's sample of 54 X-ray selected M dwarfs with photometric distances less than 25 pc is presented. Radial and rotation velocities have been measured by fits to the H-alpha profiles. Radial velocities have been measured by cross correlation. Artificial broadening of an observed spectrum has produced a relationship between H-alpha FWHM and rotation speed, which we use to infer rotation speeds for the entire sample by measurement of the H-alpha emission line. We find 3 ultra-fast rotators (UFRs, vsini > 100km/s), and 8 stars with 30 < vsini < 100 km/s. The UFRs have variable emission. Cross-correlation velocities measured for ultra-fast rotators (UFRs) are shown to depend on rotation speed and the filtering used. The radial velocity dispersion of the sample is 17 km/s. A new double emission line spectroscopic binary with a period of 3.55 days has been discovered, and another known one is in the sample. Three other objects are suspected spectroscopic binaries, and at least six are visual doubles. The only star in the sample observed to have significant lithium is a known TW Hya Association member, TWA 8A. These results show that there are a number of young (< 10^8 yr) and very young (< 10^7 yr) low mass stars in the immediate solar neighbourhood. The H-alpha activity strength does not depend on rotation speed. Our fast rotators are less luminous than similarly fast rotators in the Pleiades. They are either younger than the Pleiades, or gained angular momentum in a different way.Comment: 38 pages incl. 14 figures and 4 tables, plus 12 pages of table for electronic journal only; LaTeX, aastex.cls. Accepted 07/18/02 for publication in The Astronomical Journa