Influence of birth cohort, age and period on suicide mortality rate in Turkey, 1983-2013

Objective: This study is designed to evaluate the potential effects of age, period and cohort (APC) on trends in suicide between 1983 and 2013 in Turkey. Methods: Mortality data were obtained from the Turkish Statistical Institute. The data were grouped into seven age groups, four periods and ten birth cohorts. A nonlinear regression model was estimated for both sexes. The effects of age, period and cohort were parameterized using natural spline smoothing functions. Results: There were 61,795 deaths recorded as suicides during the investigated time period, where 64.5% occurred in males (n = 39,862) and 35.5% in females (n = 21,933). There is an upward trend in mortality by age until the end of the study period for males and females. Age effect is decreased until the forties, kept decreasing during the middle ages, and sharply increased after the sixties. The death rates for females declined from 1999 until the end of the study period. For males, the death rates increased until the end of the study period. Conclusion: If the current trends continue, it can be expected that these effects will continue to reduce female mortality and increase male mortality. Future studies on suicide, strongly focused on specific factors attributed to period effects, are needed in Turkey. © National Institute of Public Health, Prague 2019

Schwarzschild-De Sitter black holes in 4+1 dimensional bulk

We construct a static solution for 4+1 dimensional bulk such that the 3+1 dimensional world has a linear warp factor and describes the Schwarzschild-dS_{4} black hole. For m=0 this four dimensional universe and Friedmann Robertson Walker universe are related with an explicit coordinate transformation. We emphasize that for linear warp factors the effect of bulk on the brane world shows up as the dS_{4} background which is favored by the big bang cosmology.Comment: 6 page

The next step of the word problem over monoids

It is known that a group presentation P can be regarded as a 2-complex with a single 0-cell. Thus we can consider a 3-complex with a single 0-cell which is known as a 3-presentation. Similarly, we can also consider 3-presentations for monoids. In this paper, by using spher- ical monoid pictures, we show that there exists a finite 3-monoid-presentation which has unsolvable ‘‘generalized identity problem’’ that can be thought as the next step (or one- dimension higher) of the word problem for monoids. We note that the method used in this paper has chemical and physical applications

CD28 between tolerance and autoimmunity: The side effects of animal models [version 1; referees: 2 approved]

Regulation of immune responses is critical for ensuring pathogen clearance and for preventing reaction against self-antigens. Failure or breakdown of immunological tolerance results in autoimmunity. CD28 is an important co-stimulatory receptor expressed on T cells that, upon specific ligand binding, delivers signals essential for full T-cell activation and for the development and homeostasis of suppressive regulatory T cells. Many in vivo mouse models have been used for understanding the role of CD28 in the maintenance of immune homeostasis, thus leading to the development of CD28 signaling modulators that have been approved for the treatment of some autoimmune diseases. Despite all of this progress, a deeper understanding of the differences between the mouse and human receptor is required to allow a safe translation of pre-clinical studies in efficient therapies. In this review, we discuss the role of CD28 in tolerance and autoimmunity and the clinical efficacy of drugs that block or enhance CD28 signaling, by highlighting the success and failure of pre-clinical studies, when translated to humans

Higher Dimensional Cylindrical or Kasner Type Electrovacuum Solutions

We consider a D dimensional Kasner type diagonal spacetime where metric functions depend only on a single coordinate and electromagnetic field shares the symmetries of spacetime. These solutions can describe static cylindrical or cosmological Einstein-Maxwell vacuum spacetimes. We mainly focus on electrovacuum solutions and four different types of solutions are obtained in which one of them has no four dimensional counterpart. We also consider the properties of the general solution corresponding to the exterior field of a charged line mass and discuss its several properties. Although it resembles the same form with four dimensional one, there is a difference on the range of the solutions for fixed signs of the parameters. General magnetic field vacuum solution are also briefly discussed, which reduces to Bonnor-Melvin magnetic universe for a special choice of the parameters. The Kasner forms of the general solution are also presented for the cylindrical or cosmological cases.Comment: 16 pages, Revtex. Text and references are extended, Published versio

Vascular Diseases in Women:Do Women Suffer from Them Differently?

According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among women worldwide, yet its magnitude is often underestimated. Biological and gender differences affect health, diagnosis, and healthcare in numerous ways. The lack of sex and gender awareness in health research and healthcare is an ongoing issue that affects not only research but also treatment and outcomes. The importance of recognizing the impacts of both sex and gender on health and of knowing the differences between the two in healthcare is beginning to gain ground. There is more appreciation of the roles that biological differences (sex) and sociocultural power structures (gender) have, and both sex and gender affect health behavior, the development of diseases, their diagnosis, management, and the long-term effects of an illness. An important issue is the knowledge and awareness of women about vascular diseases. The risk of cardiovascular events is drastically underestimated by women themselves, as well as by those around them. The purpose of this review is to draw attention to improving the medical care and treatment of women with vascular diseases

Clinical, genetic, and functional characterization of the glycine receptor β-subunit A455P variant in a family affected by hyperekplexia syndrome

Hyperekplexia is a rare neurological disorder characterized by exaggerated startle response affecting newborns with the hallmark characteristics of hypertonia, apnea, and noise or touch-induced non-epileptic seizures. The genetic causes of the disease can vary and several associated genes and mutations have been reported to affect glycine receptors (GlyRs); however, the mechanistic links between GlyRs and hyperekplexia are not yet understood. Here, we describe a patient with hyperekplexia from a consanguineous family. Extensive genetic screening using exome sequencing coupled with autozygome analysis and iterative filtering supplemented by in silico prediction identified that the patient carries the homozygous missense mutation A455P in GLRB, which encodes the GlyR β-subunit. To unravel the physiological and molecular effects of A455P on GlyRs, we used electrophysiology in a heterologous system as well as immunocytochemistry, confocal microscopy, and cellular biochemistry. We found a reduction in glycine-evoked currents in N2A cells expressing the mutation compared to wild type cells. Western blot analysis also revealed a reduced amount of GlyR β protein both in cell lysates and isolated membrane fractions. In line with the above observations, co-immunoprecipitation assays suggested that the GlyR α1-subunit retained co-assembly with βA455P to form membrane-bound heteromeric receptors. Finally, structural modelling showed that the A455P mutation affected the interaction between the GlyR β-subunit transmembrane domain 4 and the other helices of the subunit. Taken together, our study identifies and validates a novel loss-of-function mutation in GlyRs whose pathogenicity is likely to cause hyperekplexia in affected individuals

Global Englishes language teaching:Bottom-up curriculum implementation

In today's globalised world, the needs of English language learners have changed, particularly those learning to use the English language as a lingua franca. Growing research showcasing the global use of English as a lingua franca (ELF), the creativity of ELF users, and the diverse ways in which they negotiate successful communication in multilingual encounters has numerous implications for the field of TESOL. This article reports on a study with preservice and in‐service TESOL practitioners taking a Global Englishes for Language Teaching (GELT) option course in a 1‐year Master's in TESOL programme at a Russell Group university in the United Kingdom. The study explores attitudes towards GELT but also towards the proposals for, and barriers to, curriculum innovation as well as factors influencing such attitudes. Interviews (n = 21) and questionnaires (n = 47) revealed that attitudes remain norm bound, yet the study revealed a positive orientation towards GELT and provided insights into the feasibility of GELT‐related curriculum innovation and teacher education syllabus design. The study calls for more research with preservice and in‐service TESOL practitioners at different stages of the innovation process to ensure successful and sustainable GELT curricular innovation

The association of self-esteem, depression and body satisfaction with obesity among Turkish adolescents

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity and to examine the effects of actual weight status, perceived weight status and body satisfaction on self-esteem and depression in a high school population in Turkey.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional survey of 2101 tenth-grade Turkish adolescents aged 15–18 was conducted. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated using weight and height measures. The overweight and obesity were based on the age- and gender-spesific BMI cut-off points of the International Obesity Task Force values. Self-esteem was measured using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and depression was measured using Children's Depression Inventory. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine relationships among the variables.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Based on BMI cut-off points, 9.0% of the students were overweight and 1.1% were obese. Logistic regression analysis indicated that (1) being male and being from a higher socio-economical level were important in the prediction of overweight based on BMI; (2) being female and being from a higher socio-economical level were important in the prediction of perceived overweight; (3) being female was important in the prediction of body dissatisfaction; (4) body dissatisfaction was related to low self-esteem and depression, perceived overweight was related only to low self-esteem but actual overweight was not related to low self-esteem and depression in adolescents.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results of this study suggest that school-based adolescents in urban Turkey have a lower risk of overweight and obesity than adolescents in developed countries. The findings of this study suggest that psychological well-being of adolescents is more related to body satisfaction than actual and perceived weight status is.</p