Predictive expressions for withdrawal force capacity of various size of dowels from particleboard and medium density fiberboard

The objective of this study was to develop predictive expressions for estimating the withdrawal force capacity of various size of beech (Fagus orientalis) dowels from medium density fiberboard (MDF) and particleboard (PB). Furthermore, effects of the base material type, dowel diameter, dowel penetration and adhesive type on withdrawal force capacity were investigated. Polyurethane (PU), polyvinyl acetate based D2, and polyvinyl acetate (PVA) adhesives were utilized for gluing of dowels. A total of 540 specimens were prepared for edge and face withdrawal force capacity tests including two material types (MDF, PB), three dowel diameters (6 mm, 8 mm, 10 mm), three dowel penetration depths (15 mm, 20 mm, 25 mm for edge, 6 mm, 9 mm, 12 mm for face), three adhesive types and five replications for each group.  Specimens were tested under static withdrawal forces. Based on results of tests, predictive expressions that allow furniture engineers to estimate edge and face dowel withdrawal force capacity as a function of dowel diameter and dowel penetration were developed. Calculations showed that the expressions developed provided reasonable estimates for withdrawal force capacity of dowels. As a result of statistical analyses, material type, dowel diameter, dowel penetration, adhesive type and their four-way interaction have significantly affected the withdrawal force capacity of dowels. Test results also indicated that PU adhesive and MDF ranked the highest withdrawal force capacity among the adhesive and material types. Increasing either dowel diameter or penetration tended to have a positive effect on withdrawal force capacity. Dowel diameter was found to have a higher effect on withdrawal force capacity than dowel penetration

Effect of insulin resistance on left ventricular structural changes in hypertensive patients

Both left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy and insulin resistance (IR) have often been demonstrated in patients with essential hypertension (EH). Insulin may exert a direct growth promoting effect on cardiomyocytes rather than affecting the LV internal diameter. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of IR on LV geometry. We enrolled 105 patients (71 females, mean age, 49.2 ± 13.6 years) with recently diagnosed and untreated hypertension (blood press > 140 and/or 90 mmHg, fasting glucose < 110 mg/dL), and grouped them as normal (N) (39 patients, 26 females, mean age, 48.5 ± 14.7 years) if all M-mode echocardiographic measurements were within normal limits, concentric remodeling (CR) (22 patients, 15 females, mean age, 50.5 ± 14.8 years) if relative wall thickness was increased but left ventricular mass index (LVMI) was normal, concentric hypertrophy (CH) (13 patients, 9 females, mean age, 50.3 ± 10.8 years) if both ventricular thicknesses and the LVMI were increased, and eccentric hypertrophy (EH) (31 patients, 21 females, mean age, 48.6 ± 12.9 years) if ventricular thicknesses were normal, but LVMI was increased. Transthoracic echocardiography was performed in all subjects, and interventricular septal thickness (IVS), posterior wall thickness (PWT), sum of wall thickness (SWT), left ventricular end-diastolic internal diameter (LVED), relative wall thickness (RWT), and LVMI were recorded. Blood samples for routine biochemical examination and fasting insulin levels were obtained and then the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) index was calculated by the formula: HOMA Index = Fasting Blood Glucose (mg/dL) × Immunoreactive Insulin (μU/mL)/405, for the assessment of IR. There were no significant differences among the groups with respect to age, blood pressure (BP) levels, fasting blood glucose (FBG), LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C), HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C), total cholesterol (TC), or triglyceride (TG) levels. Insulin levels were significantly higher in the CR and CH groups in comparison with the N group (P = 0.004), and the HOMA index was higher in the CH group compared to the N group (P = 0.024). In Pearson's correlation analysis, insulin was found to be directly correlated with IVS (r = 0.29, P = 0.002), SWT (r = 0.25, P = 0.009), and RWT (r = 0.33, P = 0.0001). The HOMA index was also directly correlated with IVS (r = 0.33, P = 0.001), SWT (r = 0.29, P = 0.002), and RWT (r = 0.29, P = 0.003). Cardiac changes in hypertensive patients include increased LVMI and altered LV geometry. The concentric LV geometry seen in hypertensive patients might be mediated, at least in part, by increased insulin levels and the HOMA index. Copyright © 2006 by the International Heart Journal Association

Mechanıcal and fıre propertıes of orıental beech ımpregnated wıth fıre-retardants and coated wıth polyurea/polyurethane hybrıd and epoxy resıns

This study was performed to investigate some mechanical properties such as modulus of rupture and compression strength parallel to grain and some fire properties such as weight loss and temperature values of Oriental beech (Fagus orientalis) treated with fire-retardants&nbsp; and coated with polyurethane/polyurea hybrid resin and epoxy resin were investigated. The coatings are based on epoxy and polyurethane\polyurea hybrid resins. Firstly,&nbsp; an impregnation method was applied by using fire-retardants which are boron chemicals and ammonium sulfate before coating process. Oriental beech was impregnated with 3 % aqueous solution of boric acid, borax, boric acid and borax mixture (1:1), and ammonium sulfate. Oriental beech was primed with epoxy resin by using Sikafloor®-156, and then coated with Sikalastic®-851, a polyurethane/polyurea hybrid resin. Results showed that modulus of rupture and compression strength parallel to grain values of&nbsp;polyurethane/polyurea and epoxy resin coated Oriental beech wood were higher than that of un-treated and non-coated (control) group. Fire-retardants treatment before polyurethane/polyurea and epoxy resin coatings caused to decrease modulus of rupture and compression strength parallel to grain values of Oriental beech in some extent. Weight loss and temprature &nbsp;values of polyurethane/polyurea and epoxy resin coated Oriental beech were higher than that of un-treated and non-coated (control) group. Hovewer, fire-retardants treatment before polyurethane/polyurea and epoxy resin coatings improved fire properties of Oriental beech wood

Investigating burnout levels and its determinants among the veterinary medicine students: The case of Istanbul University

This study was conducted to examine burnout levels and their determinants among veterinary medicine students. Answers (n = 447) to a survey formed the data of this study. Maslach Burnout Inventory - Student Scale, which was adapted to the Turkish language, was used to determine the burnout levels of the students. As a result, burnout levels were obtained as 13.31, 7.82, and 7.69 for Emotional Exhaustion (EE), Depersonalization (DP), and Personal Accomplishment (PA) components, respectively. Year of study and having a hobby affected three of the burnout components. In order to determine the relationship between students’ burnout levels and students’ tendency to drop out, to work in a different profession after graduation and academic failure, a logistic regression analysis was conducted. Results revealed that year of study, weighted grade point average (WGPA), EE, DP, PA, repeating academic semester(s), number of the repeated academic semester(s), and perceived difficulty of veterinary education were significantly associated with the students’ intention to drop out of the faculty. Gender, living situation, monthly income, EE, DP and PA affected education-occupation mismatch. Furthermore, gender, year of study, WGPA, living situation, monthly income, EE, DP, PA, and perceived difficulty level of the veterinary education influenced repeating academic semester(s). The results of this study reveal that burnout syndrome would lead to students’ dropping out of the faculty, education-occupation mismatch and academic failure. Future studies must be conducted throughout the country to assess burnout syndrome in veterinary students

Toxoplasmosis and Public Health Genomics

Toxoplasma gondii infection generally causes flu-like symptoms in healthy individuals; however, immunosuppression of the infected individual causes reactivation of the pathogen to its active form and relapse of the toxoplasmosis. Today it is known that toxoplasmosis triggers psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia as well as behavioral changes such as suicide attempts. Although dermatological manifestations are very rare, the dermatological lesions are not unique. In addition, previous toxoplasma infection also causes congenital infections because of placental infection and causes birth defects and spontaneous abortion. T. gondii strains are mainly divided into three main clonal lineages, yet higher recombination rate causes unusual population structure and heterogeneous distribution of the pathogen. Both genetic variations, of the pathogen and the patients, are important for virulence property and success of the therapies. The scientist focuses on the genetic variations of the pathogens and individuals to achieve effective treatment and developed tailor-made medicines. Thus, understanding the molecular basis of the disease and the link of molecular mechanism with host immunity is important to fully know the disease and related disorders. In this chapter, we would like to evaluate the current knowledge on genetic, molecular characteristics of toxoplasmosis in view of public health genomics

Left ventricular non-compaction in pregnancy

Left-ventricular non-compaction (LVNC) represents an arrest in the normal process of myocardial compaction, resulting in multiple, prominent, persistant trabeculations and deep inter-trabecular recesses communicating with the ventricular cavity. LVNC is a rarely encountered cardiomyopathy and few cases have been reported in pregnancy. In this case report we present a patient who referred to our clinic with symptoms of heart failure during pregnancy and whose echocardiographic examination revealed prominent trabeculations in the left ventricle

Determination of Primary Surface Water Pollution Indicators by Multivariate Statistical Techniques in an Industrialized Basin

This study aimed to investigate the point and diffuse pollution sources of high total phosphorus (TP) pollution detected in the dry and wet seasons of the industrialized and urbanized Saz-Cayirova Basin through field observation and multivariate statistical techniques. In this context, nineteen water quality parameters were analyzed in surface water samples collected monthly between June 2020 and July 2021 from nineteen different sites along the Saz-Cayirova stream. Firstly, two reference sites representing a better surface water status were determined and assessed the water quality on the stream tributaries affecting the wastewater treatment plant in the two Organized Industrial Zones (OIZ). Secondly, hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) were performed to evaluate the complex water quality dataset and reveal the latent sources of TP pollution. The results showed that the tributaries in the pressure of OIZ discharges were highly enriched in COD, TOC, NO3-N, NH3-N, and TP concentrations compared to the reference level. Compared with reference sites, the concentrations of the four heavy metals examined were at a plausible level. Besides, the pollution sources of TP were industrial processes wastewater such as dyeing, washing, phosphating, domestic wastewater from OIZ, urban diffuse waters with organic character, and continuous discharges of undefined sources. The seasonal variation of TP values is observed relatively low, indicating that the stream network is greatly affected by point source pollution. Our observation and analysis imply that the treatment technologies adopted by the OIZ wastewaters plant is sufficient to treat heavy metals. However, measures need to be formulated to remove TP and organic pollution from the secondary production process. © 2022, Avestia Publishing. All rights reserved

Determination of adaptation capabilities of some durum wheat genotypes of foreign origin in Southeast Anatolian Region

Güneydoğu Anadolu Bölgesinin iki önemli alt bölgesini temsil eden Diyarbakır ve Kızıltepe lokasyonlarında 2011-2012 yetiştirme sezonunda yürütülen bu çalışma, adaptasyon kabiliyeti ve kalite özellikleri yönünden üstün durum buğday genotiplerini belirlemek ve ıslah programlarında kullanmak amacıyla yürütülmüştür. Çalışmada, ICARDA (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas)’dan temin edilen 18 hat ile 5 kontrol çeşit (Omrabi5, Younes1, Korifla, Waha, Miki2) ile beraber, bölgede ekilen Zühre çeşidi standart olarak kullanılmıştır. Deneme, tesadüf blokları deneme dese-nine göre iki lokasyonda ve üç tekerrürlü olarak kurulmuştur. Çalışmada tane verimi, bin tane ağırlığı, hektolitre ağırlığı, pro-tein içeriği, irmik rengi ile SDS değeri incelenmiştir. Yapılan bileşik analize göre, hektolitre ağırlığı dışındaki bütün paramet-reler açısından genotipler arasında önemli farklılıklar tespit edilmiştir. Lokasyonlar arasında tane verimi ve bin tane ağırlığı; genotip x lokasyon interaksiyonunda ise tane verimi, bin tane ağırlığı ve protein oranı bakımından önemli farklılıklar göz-lenmiştir. Ayrıca özellikler arası ve genotip-özellik ilişkilerini değerlendirmek amacıyla Biplot analizi uygulanmıştır. Bu ana-liz yöntemiyle, birbirleriyle ilişkili özellikler ve belirli özellikler açısından öne çıkan genotipler görsel olarak gösterilmiştir. İki lokasyon ortalamasına göre verim ve kalite özellikleri ile ilgili umut vadeden genotipler, ıslah programının ileri kademele-rine alınmıştır.This study was performed in growing season of 2011-2012 in Diyarbakır and Kızıltepe, representing two important subregions of Southeast Anatolia Region, in order to identify durum wheat genotypes having superior adaptaptation capabilities and quality features to be used in breeding programs. The material used in the study included 18 lines and 5 control varieties (Omrabi5, Younes1, Korifla, Waha, Miki2) obtained from ICARDA (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas)and Zühre durum wheat variety cultivated in the region as the standart. The trials were performed as a randomized complete block design experiment with three replications in two locations. Grain yield, thousand kernel weight, hectoliter weight, protein content, semolina color and SDS value were evaluated in the study. The results of the analyses of compound variances revealed significant differences between genotypes in all the parameters except hectoliter weight. Significant differences were found between locations in terms of grain yield and thousand kernel weight and in terms of grain yield, thousand kernel weight and protein content between the genotype x location interaction. A biplot analysis method was performed to evaluate inter-trait and genotype-trait relationships. Traits related to each other and the genotypes featured in terms of particular traits were visually shown by this analysis. Promising genotypes according to the grain yield and quality characteristics based on two location averages were taken to the advanced stages of the breeding progra

The value of admission glycosylated hemoglobin level in patients with acute myocardial infarction

Background: Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) level on admission is a prognostic factor for mortality in patients with and without diabetes after myocardial infarction. In the present study, the authors examined the relationship between admission HbA1c level and myocardial perfusion abnormalities in patients with acute myocardial infarction. Methods: One hundred consecutive patients with acute myocardial infarction who were treated with thrombolytic therapy were included in the present prospective study. Blood glucose and HbA1c levels of all patients were measured within 3 h of admission. Patients were divided into three groups according to HbA1c level: 4.5% to 6.4% (n=25), 6.5% to 8.5% (n=28) and higher than 8.5% (n=47). All patients then underwent exercise thallium-201 imaging and coronary angiography to determine ischemic scores and the number of diseased coronary arteries four weeks after admission. Results: Seven patients died within the four-week follow-up period. There was a significant relationship between admission HbA1c level and mortality (P=0.009). Furthermore, there was a significant relationship between HbA1c level and total ischemic scores in patients with acute myocardial infarction (r=0.482; P=0.001). Ischemic scores increased as HbA1c levels increased in patients with acute myocardial infarction. Conclusions: The results demonstrated that admission plasma glucose and HbA1c levels are prognostic factors associated with mortality after acute myocardial infarction. ©2008 Pulsus Group Inc. All rights reserved

Long-term prognosis of patients with heart failure: Follow-up results of journey HF-TR study population

Background: Despite advances in therapeutic management of patients with heart failure, there is still an increasing morbidity and mortality all over the world. In this study, we aimed to present the 3-year follow-up outcomes of patients included in the Journey HF-TR study in 2016 that has evaluated the clinical characteristics and management of patients with acute heart failure admitted to the hospital and present a national registry data. Methods: The study was designed retrospectively between November 2016 and December 2019. Patient data included in the previously published Journey HF-TR study were used. Among 1606 patients, 1484 patients were included due to dropout of 122 patients due to inhospital death and due to exclusion of 173 due to incomplete data. The study included 1311 patients. Age, gender, concomitant chronic conditions, precipitating factors, New York Heart Association, and left ventricular ejection fraction factors were adjusted in the Cox regression analysis. Results: During the 3-year follow-up period, the ratio of hospitalization and mortality was 70.5% and 52.1%, respectively. Common causes of mortality were acute decompensation of heart failure and acute coronary syndrome. Angiotensin receptor blockers, beta-blockers, statin, and sacubitril/valsartan were found to reduce mortality. Hospitalization due to acute decompensated heart failure, acute coronary syndrome, lung diseases, oncological diseases, and cerebrovascular diseases was associated with the increased risk of mortality. Implantation of cardiac devices also reduced the mortality. Conclusions: Despite advances in therapeutic management of patients with heart failure, our study demonstrated that the long-term mortality still is high. Much more efforts are needed to improve the inhospital and long-term survival of patients with chronic heart failure