Early Islamic Architecture and Structural Configurations

ABSTRACT: Islam spread rapidly after its founding, encompassing much of North Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. The art of this vast region draws its distinctive character both from Islam itself and from the diverse cultural traditions of the world's Muslims. Because Islam discouraged the use of figurative images, particularly in religious contexts-unlike Christian art-Islamic artists developed a rich vocabulary of aniconic, or nonfigural, ornament that is a hallmark of Islamic work. This vocabulary includes complex geometric patterns and the scrolling vines known outside the Islamic world as arabesques. Figural representation, to the extent it was permitted which varied from time to time and place to place, first developed most prominently in regions with strong pre-Islamic figural traditions, such as those that had been under the control of the Roman and Byzantine empires. Stylized forms for representing animals and plants developed in the regions that had been under the control of the Sassanian dynasty of Persia (modern Iran), the heirs of the artistic traditions of the ancient Near East, who ruled from 226 to 641. Because the Arabian birthplace of Islam had little art, these Persian and Roman Byzantine influences shaped Islamic art in its formative centuries. The elements of early early Islamic architecture were formed to respond effectively to people's physical, environmental, social, physiological and religious requirements at their time. The research demonstrates that architects used to copy-paste various elements of the Islamic historical buildings in their design work without understanding the meanings and values that it holds. Such approach would only transfer the element's form though strips it from its historical context and values. The paper argues that architect should comprehend not only the hidden values of the historical elements only but also how values interacted and are integrated into these elements. By doing so, the architect would be able to correctly perceive and read these elements thus incorporate it successfully in his/ her design. This article gives perspective of early Islamic architecture and structural configurations of the related era

Vitamin B12 status in patients of Turkish and Dutch descent with depression: A comparative cross-sectional study

Background: Studies have shown a clear relationship between depressive disorders and vitamin B12 deficiency. Gastroenteritis and Helicobacter pylori infections can cause vitamin B12 deficiency. Helicobacter pylori infections are not uncommon among people of Turkish descent in The Netherlands. Aim: To examine the frequency of vitamin B12 deficiency in depressive patients of Turkish descent and compare it to the frequency of vitamin B12 deficiency in depressive patients of Dutch descent. Methods: The present study is a comparative cross-sectional study of 47 patients of Turkish descent and 28 of Dutch descent. The depressive disorder diagnosis and differential diagnosis were made using the Structured Clinical Interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition text revision (SCID). The severity of the depressive symptoms was determined using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the 21-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D-21). Serum baseline vitamin B6 and B12, folic acid and total serum homocysteine (tHcy) levels were measured. Results: The average ages of the patients of Turkish and Dutch descent were 40.57 and 44.75 years, respectively. There were no demonstrable differences between the serum vitamin B6, folic acid and tHcy levels in the two groups. The serum vitamin B12 levels were however clearly lower in the patients of Turkish descent than in those of Dutch descent. Vitamin B12 deficiency was however observed in 14 patients of Turkish descent and 1 of Dutch descent. This difference was significant. On the BDI, the patients of Turkish descent scored significantly higher than those of Dutch descent. Patients with vitamin B12 deficiency and those with hyperhomocysteinaemia had a significantly higher BDI score than patients with normal vitamin B12 and homocysteine levels. No relationship was observed with vitamin B12 and tHcy. Conclusion: Vitamin B12 deficiency occurs more frequently in depressive patients of Turkish than of Dutch descent. This is why it is advisable to test the vitamin B12 serum level in depressive patients of Turkish descent

Transmitted antiretroviral drug resistance mutations in newlydiagnosed HIV-1 positive patients in Turkey

Introduction: The objective of this study was to determine the transmitted drug resistance mutations (TDRMs) in newly diagnosed HIV-1 positive patients in Turkey. Materials and Methods: The study was carried out between 2009 and 2014 and antiretroviral naïve 774 HIV-1 infected patients from 19 Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology Departments in Turkey were included; gender: 664 (86%) male, median age: 37 (range; 1–77), median CD4+T-cell: 360 (range; 1–1320) count/mm3, median HIV-RNA load: 2.10+E6 (range; 4.2+E2–7.41+E8) IU/mL. HIV-1 drug resistance mutations were detected by population based sequencing of the reverse transcriptase (codon 41–238) and protease (codon 1–99) domains of pol gene of HIV-1, and analyzed according to the criteria by the World Health Organization 2009 list of surveillance drug resistance mutations [1]. Results: The patients had TDRMs to NRTIs (K65R, M184V), NNRTIs (K101E, K103N/S, G190A/E/S, Y181I/C, Y188H/L) and PIs (M46L, I54V, L76V, V82L/T, N83D, I84V, L90M). The prevalence of overall TDRMs was 6.7% (52/774). Resistance mutations were found to be 0.7% (6/774), 4.1% (32/774) and 2.1% (17/774) to NRTIs, NNRTIs and PIs drug groups, respectively. Three patients had NRTIs+NNRTs resistance mutations (M184V+K103N) as multi-class drug resistance. However, thymidine analogue resistance mutations (TAMs) determined two distinct genotypic profiles in the HIV-1 reverse transcriptase: TAM1: M41L, L210W and T215Y, and TAM2: D67N, K70R, K219E/Q, and T215F. The prevalence of TAM1 and TAM2 were 7.7% (60/774) and 4.3% (34/774), respectively. Conclusions: The TDRMs prevalence of antiretroviral naïve HIV-1 infected patients may be suggested current situation of Turkey. These long-term and large-scale results show that the resistance testing must be an integral part of the management of HIV infection in Turkey

Levosimendan Administration in Limb Ischemia: Multicomponent Signaling Serving Kidney Protection

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: Acute renal failure is a severe complication of lower extremity major arterial reconstructions, which could even be fatal. Levosimendan is a dual-acting positive inotropic and vasodilatory agent, which is suspected to have protective effects against cardiac ischemia. However, there is no data available on lower limb or remote organ ischemic injuries therefore the aim of the study was to investigate the effect of levosimendan on lower limb ischemia-reperfusion injury and the corollary renal dysfunction. METHODS: Male Wistar rats underwent 180 min bilateral lower limb ischemia followed by 4 or 24 hours of reperfusion. Intravenous Levosimendan was administered continuously (0.2mug/bwkg/min) throughout the whole course of ischemia and the first 3h of reperfusion. Results were compared with sham-operated and ischemia-reperfusion groups. Hemodynamic monitoring was performed by invasive arterial blood pressure measurement. Kidney and lower limb muscle microcirculation was registered by a laser Doppler flowmeter. After 4h and 24h of reperfusion, serum, urine and histological samples were collected. RESULTS: Systemic hemodynamic parameters and microcirculation of kidney and the lower limb significantly improved in the Levosimendan treated group. Muscle viability was significantly preserved 4 and 24 hours after reperfusion. At the same time, renal functional laboratory tests and kidney histology demonstrated significantly less expressive kidney injury in Levosimendan groups. TNF-alpha levels were significantly less elevated in the Levosimendan group 4 hours after reperfusion. CONCLUSION: The results claim a protective role for Levosimendan administration during major vascular surgeries to prevent renal complications

Spatial and temporal heterogeneity in human mobility patterns in Holocene Southwest Asia and the East Mediterranean

We present a spatiotemporal picture of human genetic diversity in Anatolia, Iran, Levant, South Caucasus, and the Aegean, a broad region that experienced the earliest Neolithic transition and the emergence of complex hierarchical societies. Combining 35 new ancient shotgun genomes with 382 ancient and 23 present-day published genomes, we found that genetic diversity within each region steadily increased through the Holocene. We further observed that the inferred sources of gene flow shifted in time. In the first half of the Holocene, Southwest Asian and the East Mediterranean populations homogenized among themselves. Starting with the Bronze Age, however, regional populations diverged from each other, most likely driven by gene flow from external sources, which we term “the expanding mobility model.” Interestingly, this increase in inter-regional divergence can be captured by outgroup-f$_3$-based genetic distances, but not by the commonly used F$_{ST}$ statistic, due to the sensitivity of F$_{ST}$, but not outgroup-f$_3$, to within-population diversity. Finally, we report a temporal trend of increasing male bias in admixture events through the Holocene

An update on vitamin B12-related gene polymorphisms and B12 status.

Vitamin B12 is an essential micronutrient in humans needed for health maintenance. Deficiency of vitamin B12 has been linked to dietary, environmental and genetic factors. Evidence for the genetic basis of vitamin B12 status is poorly understood. However, advancements in genomic techniques have increased the knowledge-base of the genetics of vitamin B12 status. Based on the candidate gene and genome-wide association (GWA) studies, associations between genetic loci in several genes involved in vitamin B12 metabolism have been identified. The objective of this literature review was to identify and discuss reports of associations between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in vitamin B12 pathway genes and their influence on the circulating levels of vitamin B12. Relevant articles were obtained through a literature search on PubMed through to May 2017. An article was included if it examined an association of a SNP with serum or plasma vitamin B12 concentration. Beta coefficients and odds ratios were used to describe the strength of an association, and a  < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Two reviewers independently evaluated the eligibility for the inclusion criteria and extracted the data. From 23 studies which fulfilled the selection criteria, 16 studies identified SNPs that showed statistically significant associations with vitamin B12 concentrations. Fifty-nine vitamin B12-related gene polymorphisms associated with vitamin B12 status were identified in total, from the following populations: African American, Brazilian, Canadian, Chinese, Danish, English, European ancestry, Icelandic, Indian, Italian, Latino, Northern Irish, Portuguese and residents of the USA. Overall, the data analyzed suggests that ethnic-specific associations are involved in the genetic determination of vitamin B12 concentrations. However, despite recent success in genetic studies, the majority of identified genes that could explain variation in vitamin B12 concentrations were from Caucasian populations. Further research utilizing larger sample sizes of non-Caucasian populations is necessary in order to better understand these ethnic-specific associations

Extrapolating understanding of food risk perceptions to emerging food safety cases

Important determinants of risk perceptions associated with foods are the extent to which the potential hazards are perceived to have technological or naturally occurring origins, together with the acute vs. chronic dimension in which the potential hazard is presented (acute or chronic). This study presents a case study analysis based on an extensive literature review examining how these hazard characteristics affect people’s risk and benefit perceptions, and associated attitudes and behaviors. The cases include E. coli incidences (outbreaks linked to fresh spinach and fenugreek sprouts), contamination of fish by environmental pollutants, (organochlorine contaminants in farmed salmon), radioactive contamination of food following a nuclear accident (the Fukushima accident in Japan), and GM salmon destined for the human food chain. The analysis of the cases over the acute vs. chronic dimension suggests that longitudinal quantification of the relationship between risk perceptions and impacts is important for both acute and chronic food safety, but this has infrequently been applied to chronic hazards. Technologies applied to food production tend to potentially be associated with higher levels of risk perception, linked to perceptions that the risk is unnatural. However, for some risks (e.g. those involving biological irreversibility), moral or ethical concerns may be more important determinants of consumer responses than risk or benefit perceptions. (Lack of) trust has been highlighted in all of the cases suggesting transparent and honest risk–benefit communications following the occurrence of a food safety incident. Implications for optimizing associated risk communication strategies, additional research linking risk perception, and other quantitative measures, including comparisons in time and space, are suggested