The bear in Eurasian plant names: Motivations and models

Ethnolinguistic studies are important for understanding an ethnic group's ideas on the world, expressed in its language. Comparing corresponding aspects of such knowledge might help clarify problems of origin for certain concepts and words, e.g. whether they form common heritage, have an independent origin, are borrowings, or calques. The current study was conducted on the material in Slavonic, Baltic, Germanic, Romance, Finno-Ugrian, Turkic and Albanian languages. The bear was chosen as being a large, dangerous animal, important in traditional culture, whose name is widely reflected in folk plant names. The phytonyms for comparison were mostly obtained from dictionaries and other publications, and supplemented with data from databases, the co-authors' field data, and archival sources (dialect and folklore materials). More than 1200 phytonym use records (combinations of a local name and a meaning) for 364 plant and fungal taxa were recorded to help find out the reasoning behind bear-nomination in various languages, as well as differences and similarities between the patterns among them. Among the most common taxa with bear-related phytonyms were Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (L.) Spreng., Heracleum sphondylium L., Acanthus mollis L., and Allium ursinum L., with Latin loan translation contributing a high proportion of the phytonyms. Some plants have many and various bear-related phytonyms, while others have only one or two bear names. Features like form and/or surface generated the richest pool of names, while such features as colour seemed to provoke rather few associations with bears. The unevenness of bear phytonyms in the chosen languages was not related to the size of the language nor the present occurence of the Brown Bear in the region. However, this may, at least to certain extent, be related to the amount of the historical ethnolinguistic research done on the selected languages

İlk ve orta adolesan dönemdeki erkek sıçanlara uygulanan 900-megahertz elektromanyetik alanın dalak üzerine etkileri: Biyokimyasal ve histopatolojik çalışma

Aim: Adolescents are at risk due to the intensive use of mobile phones. The aim of this study was to investigate the histopathological and biochemical effects of 900-Megahertz electromagnetic field on spleen in late adolescent period, exposed during periods of early and mid-adolescence. Material and Methods: In this study, 24 Sprague Dawley 21-day-old male rats were divided into control (n=8), sham (n=8) and electromagnetic field groups (n=8). Control group rats were not subjected to any application. Electromagnetic field group rats were taken into the electromagnetic field cage and were exposed to 900-Megahertz electromagnetic field (1 hour per day for 25 days). Sham group rats were taken into the electromagnetic field cages but were not exposed to electromagnetic field. At the end of the treatment, all animals were sacrificed by cervical dislocation method and the spleens were removed. After histological procedures, tissue sections were taken and stained with hematoxylin-eosin and periodic acid Schiff. Histopathological evaluation was performed on the spleen tissues. Oxidative stress parameters including lipid peroxidation, superoxide dismutase, glutathione and catalase levels were investigated via biochemical analysis. Results: Histopathological evaluation revealed megakaryocyte cells, enlarged white pulps and dilated sinusoids in spleen tissues of adolescent rats in electromagnetic field group. According to biochemical analysis results, it was determined that glutathione and lipid peroxidation values were increased, but superoxide dismutase and catalase values were decreased. Conclusion: It can be said that the 900-Megahertz electromagnetic field applied in adolescent period caused morphological changes on spleen tissue and caused oxidative stress in male rats. © 2019, Duzce University Medical School. All rights reserved

The Effect of 900-Megahertz Electromagnetic Field Exposure in the First and Middle Adolescent Period on the Spleen in Male Rats: A Biochemical and Histopathological Study

Aim: Adolescents are at risk due to the intensive use of mobile phones. The aim of this study was to investigate the histopathological and biochemical effects of 900-Megahertz electromagnetic field on spleen in late adolescent period, exposed during periods of early and mid-adolescence. Material and Methods: In this study, 24 Sprague Dawley 21-day-old male rats were divided into control (n=8), sham (n=8) and electromagnetic field groups (n=8). Control group rats were not subjected to any application. Electromagnetic field group rats were taken into the electromagnetic field cage and were exposed to 900-Megahertz electromagnetic field (1 hour per day for 25 days). Sham group rats were taken into the electromagnetic field cages but were not exposed to electromagnetic field. At the end of the treatment, all animals were sacrificed by cervical dislocation method and the spleens were removed. After histological procedures, tissue sections were taken and stained with hematoxylin-eosin and periodic acid Schiff. Histopathological evaluation was performed on the spleen tissues. Oxidative stress parameters including lipid peroxidation, superoxide dismutase, glutathione and catalase levels were investigated via biochemical analysis. Results: Histopathological evaluation revealed megakaryocyte cells, enlarged white pulps and dilated sinusoids in spleen tissues of adolescent rats in electromagnetic field group. According to biochemical analysis results, it was determined that glutathione and lipid peroxidation values were increased, but superoxide dismutase and catalase values were decreased. Conclusion: It can be said that the 900-Megahertz electromagnetic field applied in adolescent period caused morphological changes on spleen tissue and caused oxidative stress in male rats. © 2019, Duzce University Medical School. All rights reserved

Micromatricial metronidazole benzoate film as a local mucoadhesive delivery system for treatment of periodontal diseases

The main objective of this study was to develop a local, oral mucoadhesive metronidazole benzoate (MET) delivery system that can be applied and removed by the patient for the treatment of periodontal diseases. Mucoadhesive micromatricial chitosan/poly(ε-caprolactone) (CH/PCL) films and chitosan films were prepared. thermal behavior, morphology, and particle size measurements were used to evaluate the prepared films. The effect of different molar masses of CH and different ratios of medium Mwt molar mass chitosan (MCH):PCL on water absorption, in vitro bioadhesion, mechanical properties, and in vitro drug release was examined. In vivo performance of the selected formulation was also evaluated. Differential scanning calorimetry examination revealed that MET existed mainly in amorphous form. Under microscopic examination, PCL microparticles were homogeneously dispersed in the films. The use of different molar masses of CH and different ratios of (MCH):PCL affected the size of the entrapped particles. Addition of PCL significantly decreased percentage water uptake and bioadhesion force compared with pure CH film. With regard to mechanical properties, the 2-layered film containing 1∶0.625 MCH:PCL had the best tensile properties. At fixed CH:PCL ratio (1∶1.25), the slowest drug release was obtained from films containing high molar mass CH. On the other hand, the 2-layered film that consisted of 1∶0.625 MCH:PCL had the slowest MET release. In vivo evaluation of the selected film revealed that metronidazole concentration in saliva over 6 hours ranged from 5 to 15 μg/mL, which was within and higher than the reported range of minimum inhibitory concentration for metronidazole. A significant in vitro/in vivo correlation under the adopted experimental conditions was obtained

Enhanced Topical Delivery of Terbinafine Hydrochloride with Chitosan Hydrogels

Chitosan-based carriers have important potential applications for the administration of drugs. In the present study, topical gel formulations of terbinafine hydrochloride (T-HCl) were prepared using different types of chitosan at different molecular weight, and the antifungal inhibitory activity was evaluated to suggest an effective formulation for the treatment of fungal infections. The characteristics of gel formulations were determined with viscosity measurements and texture profile analysis. Stability studies were performed at different temperatures during 3 months. The ex vivo permeation properties were studied through rat skin by using Franz diffusion cells. The antifungal inhibitory activity of formulations on Candida species and filamentous fungi was also examined with agar-cup method. The microbiological assay was found suitable for determination of in vitro antifungal activity of T-HCl. A marketed product was used to compare the results. The antifungal activity of T-HCl significantly increased when it was introduced into the chitosan gels. A higher drug release and the highest zone of inhibition were obtained from gels prepared with the lowest molecular weight chitosan (Protasan UP CL 213) compared to that of other chitosan gels and marketed product. These results indicated the advantages of the suggested formulations for topical antifungal therapy against Candida species and filamentous fungi