A statistical karyotype analysis of European black pine (Pinus nigra Arn.) seed sources

A comparative intraspecific karyotype analysis was performed on European black pine (Pinus nigra Am.) seed sources (countries) by examining root tip meristemic cells of young seedlings (two weeks old). By a combination of Feulgen and Aceto-carmine staining methods, metaphase chromosomes range (12.93 ± 1.33) seedlings from two to three seed collections each of French, Austrian, Yugoslavian, Greek and Turkish seed sources were studied. Variables including chromosome number, short arm length (SL), long arm length (LL), total chromosome length (TL), arm ratio (AR), relative chromosome length (RL), centromere index (CI), morphological index (MI), and secondary constriction and satellite occurrences for each cell were measured. The chromosome number was 2n = 24 for all seed sources. However, aneuploidy 2n = 18 was observed in one seedling of each of the Yugoslavian and Greek seed sources. Analyses of variances for the means of chromosonial variables (F-tests were conducted for the variables SL, LL, TL, CI and MI) indicated that there were significant (P < .05 or P < .01) differences among the seed sources. Chromosomes XI and XII were especially variable among seed sources, with significant (p < .01) variation found for SL, LL, TL, AR, CI and MI. The frequency of secondary constriction occurrences was relatively higher on the long arms of chromosomes and on the longer chromosomes. At low frequency, satellite occurrences were only observed in the Yugoslavian and Greek seed sources, especially on their longer chromosomes. French and Austrian seed sources had only one submetacentric chromosome (chromosome-XII) while the others had two (chromosome-XI and XII). By integrating all the variables measured on all haploid chromosomes, a cluster analysis of the seed collections was performed. Seed sources from Austria and France appear clustered close together, as did Greece and Yugoslavia. The Turkish seed source, however, was the least similar to any of the other sources. Seed collections generally clustered within seed sources

Genetic variation in shoot-growth patterns of Douglas-fir populations from southwest Oregon

This study had three objectives: (1) to teat the hypothesis that multiple flushing of the terminal shoot (intermittent growth pattern) in Douglas-fir seedlings (Pseudotsuca menziesii var. menziesii) has an adaptive significance, especially in inland populations from the drier regions in southwest Oregon; (2) to evaluate the genetic and adaptive consequences of selecting for height increment in early testing programs; (3) to evaluate the utility of indirectly selecting for height increment by directly selecting for length and number of stem units. To accomplish objectives 1 and 2, seedling families were grown from two inland and two coastal sources (160 open-pollinated families in total) for two growing seasons in two test environments. In one environment ("dry") an intermittent moisture regime was created by withholding water during the growing season until seedlings reached -12 bars of moisture stress. Seedlings were then rewatered on a weekly schedule. In the other environment ("wet"), seedlings were watered weekly to maintain water stress of seedlings at lees than -3 bars. For objective 3. seedling families from one inland and one coastal source of Douglas-fir (80 open-pollinated families) were grown in plastic tubes for two growing seasons. Results supported the hypothesis that intermittent shoot growth is of adaptive significance in Douglas-fir in the first growing season. Shoot growth patterns varied genetically both between populations and among families within populations. As expected. families from drier inland environments, where periodic summer droughts are commons responded to the intermittent moisture regime with a higher frequency of multiple flushing. Families from coastal environments, where the moisture regime is more consisitently favorable during the growing seasons were less sensitive to the dry treatment and had a much higher frequency of seedlings which continued to grow despite the imposed drought. In the second growing season. patterns of intermittent shoot growth in inland and coastal families were not as expected. Shoot growth patterns did vary genetically between inland and coastal populations. Inland populations however, did not respond to the dry treatment with a greater frequency of multiple flushing. Apparently, inland families have adapted to drier environment and shorter growing season by relying predominantly on predetermined growth for height increment and are not able to respond to favorable growing conditions by extended free growth. Coastal families however, have developed a less regulated pattern of growth and rely more heavily on free growth for attaining height increment. The magnitude of genetic and adaptive effects of selecting for height increment in early testing programs depended on the origin of population and the environment of planting site. In inland populations early selection for total height increment mainly selects for predetermined growth. This would not lead to maladaptation in the more severe planting sites of inland southwest Oregon. Selected genotypes however would not be able to take advantage of longer growing season at favorable planting sites. In coastal populations early selection for height increment mainly selects for free growth. This may lead to maladaptation on even the favorable planting sites because with increased free growth. the length of the growth period is also increased. Slecting for length and number of stem units does not appear to be an efficient way of selecting for height increment in Douglas-fir. For this procedure to be effective, heritabilities of stem-unit measurements must be higher than heritability of height increment itself. Also genetic correlations between stem-unit measurements and height increment or its components (predetermined and free growth) must be strong. In this study, heritabilities of stem-unit measurements were small and correlations were weak

Analysis of Factors Affecting the Innovation Level of Agricultural Operators

In this research, it is aimed to determine the factors affecting the innovation level of agricultural enterprises. Konya province was chosen as the research area because it is one of the important agricultural production centres in Türkiye. Stratified random sampling method was used within the scope of the study. A total of 268 agricultural enterprise owners were interviewed face to face and survey data were compiled. Multiple regression model was applied in the analysis of the factors affecting the perception of innovations by the operator. In this research, considering the characteristics of the data collected by the questionnaire, the linear regression model, which uses functional forms in regression models, was used. In the study, innovation index was taken as the dependent variable in the linear regression model. Independent variables were determined as education, experience, number of parcels, amount of land, active capital, amount of land, agricultural income, following innovations, receiving training on agricultural issues, participating in agricultural activities, following events related to agriculture on social media and cooperation with institutions. As a result of the model, a positive relationship was determined between education, experience, number of parcels, amount of land, active capital, amount of land, agricultural income, following innovations, receiving training on agriculture-related issues, participating in agriculture-related activities, following agriculture-related events on social media and cooperation with institutions and innovation index

Effects of antimitotic agents on haploid plant production from unpollinated ovules of sugar beet (beta vulgaris l.)

The effects of antimicrotubule agents on haploid embryo formation from unpollinated ovules of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) were investigated. The antimitotic agent colchicine (at 100 and 150 mg/l) and trifluralin (at 5.0 mg/l) increased the frequency of haploid embryo formation whereas pronamide (at 76.9 and 128.2 mg/l) and trifluralin (at 3.4 mg/l) decreased. Ovules that were non-treated with antimicrotuble agents (i.e., ovules of the control treatment) produced higher percentages of haploid embryos (4.25 %) when compared to the pronamide and trifluralin at 3.4 mg/l concentration. Toxic effects of these agents on embryo formation from ovules were evident. A significant genotypic variation among the lines used was observed. The line M4 produced the highest yield with a mean of 14.71% haploid embryo production while the line M2 producing no embryos at all

A novel MEMS based batteryless active RFID system

Bu makalede yeni bir titreşim temelli mikro enerji harmanlayıcı sistemi &ouml;nerilmiştir. Titreşimler ve ani hareketlerin, mekanik yapının sadece eğilmesine değil aynı zamanda gerilmesine yol a&ccedil;ması prensibine dayanarak, sistemin doğrusal olmayan b&ouml;lgede &ccedil;alışması sağlanmıştır. Tasarlanan ve modellemesi yapılan mekanik yapının &uuml;zeri ince bir piezoelektrik film tabakası ile kaplanmış ve bu tabaka &uuml;zerinde oluşan mekanik stres elektrik enerjisine &ccedil;evrilerek devreleri beslemek i&ccedil;in kullanılmıştır. Doğrusal olmayan b&ouml;lgede &ccedil;alışmanın, mikrowatt mertebesindeki g&uuml;&ccedil; seviyelerini mm3&rsquo;l&uuml;k aletlerle elde edebileceği g&ouml;z &ouml;n&uuml;ne alındığında, g&uuml;neş panellerinde elde edilen g&uuml;&ccedil; yoğunlukları kadar y&uuml;ksek enerjilerin elde edilebileceği g&ouml;r&uuml;lm&uuml;şt&uuml;r. Algılayıcı kabiliyeti sayesinde bilgi depolayabilen, kum tanesi b&uuml;y&uuml;kl&uuml;ğ&uuml;nde olan ve &uuml;retiminde kullanılan temel malzeme silikon olan bu aletler &ldquo;zeki kum&rdquo; olarak isimlendirilmiştir. Mekanik yapının modellenmesi ve tasarımı geliştirilmiş ve &uuml;retim sonu&ccedil;ları da ayrıca verilmiştir. Sistemin bilgi g&ouml;nderebilmesi ve alabilmesi amacıyla iyi bilinen RFID teknolojisi tabanlı bir kablosuz haberleşme y&ouml;ntemi &ouml;nerilmiştir. Bu bağlamda, paket taşımacılığında s&uuml;rekli ivme denetleme, sınır g&uuml;venliği i&ccedil;in kendinden beslemeli algılayıcılar, &ccedil;abuk bozulan yiyeceklerin taşımacılığında sıcaklık denetleme ve pilsiz kalp atışı algılayıcı gibi bir&ccedil;ok uygulama &ouml;nerilmiştir. RFID devrelerinin tasarımı yapılmış ve benzetim sonu&ccedil;ları elde edilmiştir. Oku-yaz bellek olarak manyetik belleklerden yararlanılmıştır. Bu sayede, pil kullanılmadan aktif bir şekilde veri yazabilen bir sistem yaratılmıştır. &ldquo;Zeki RFID&rdquo; olarak isimlendirilen bu sistemde ayrıca bilginin iletimi i&ccedil;in de yeni bir mod&uuml;lasyon y&ouml;ntemi &ouml;nerilmiştir. &nbsp;Anahtar Kelimeler: Enerji harmanlayıcı, RFID, mikroelektronik, MEMS.In this paper, a novel, vibration based micro energy harvester system has been proposed. The modeling, design and fabrication of the devices have been carried out. There are several propositions in this work. The biggest claim is to achieve high power density levels with a mm3 device by using a novel vibration based mechanical structure. The operating regime is nonlinear unlike its conventional counterparts, which yields to generate more electrical energy. The proposed packaging method of the device is very simple and easy to realize. Furthermore, a wireless communication scheme based on the well-known RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology has also been proposed. The mechanical structure of the device is based on a clamped-clamped beam where four tethers share a thick proof mass. The proof mass is used in order to bring the first eigenfrequency of the system below 50Hz which enlarges the operating frequency range.  The surface of the proof mass also acts as a platform for the sensor circuits. Vibrations or sudden movements cause the mechanical structure do not only bend but also stretch, thus working in non-linear regime. The piezoelectric thin film layer on the silicon tethers converts the mechanical stress into the electrical energy. Microwatts of power can be achieved with a mm3 device which yields a high power density levels on the order of the solar panels. This device is named 'smart sand', because it has sensor capabilities that can store information, its size is almost a sand grain and the main material used for the fabrication is silicon. The modeling and design of the mechanical structure has been developed by using COMSOL" (a finite element analysis (FEA) tool) and SIMULINK" (an extension tool of MATLAB). Firstly, the stress levels have been calculated and the transient response of the structure has been investigated. Then, the theoretical analysis has been combined with these two tools and expected power density levels have been found. The fabrication of the "smart sand" has also been developed in this work. Bulk micromachining techniques have been used in order to form the proof mass. The piezoelectric thin film layer has been deposited onto the tethers by sol-gel method. Electrodes of the piezoelectric layer have been fabricated by the lift-off process. The packaging has been embedded into the fabrication process which reduced the handling issues during the process. An elastomer (poly dimethyl siloxane, PDMS) which is very easy to pattern, handle and cheap has been used for the packaging which has not been tried before. The "smart sand" serves as a typical accelerometer which senses the continuous vibrations or sudden accelerations. In order to further develop the sensor capabilities of the system, a new approach has been proposed which is called the "smart RFID" platform where the device has been combined with the RFID concept. In this context, an RFID transponder has been designed. The circuitry has the capabilities of sending and receiving 64 bits of data. The 64-bit memory has been constructed with the magnetic random access memory (MRAM) cells. Few bits have been reserved for the acceleration or temperature data. When a sudden or continuous acceleration happen, the "smart sand" generates voltage and this voltage is used to write the memory bits without the need of a battery. Therefore, the "smart RFID" platform behaves like a batteryless active RFID transponder. In order to determine whether the adequate voltage level is reached or not, a mechanical relay has been proposed and its design has been investigated. Other bits are used for standard identification and they are written or read via an external reader. The frequency of operation has been chosen 2.45GHz. Several applications have been proposed that is possible to use the "smart RFID" platform; such as continuous acceleration monitoring in package delivery, self-powered sensors for homeland security, temperature monitoring of the perishable food item delivery and a batteryless heart rate sensor. Their feasibilities have been investigated and discussed.The applications can be further enhanced and new application alternatives can be developed. The proposed RFID platform has been designed and simulated. All sub-blocks have been designed and the results have been given. In addition to the standard circuit designs, a new modulation technique has been proposed and simulated. This technique eases the data and clock recovery circuits. Keywords: Energy Harvester, RFID, Microelectronics, MEMS.

Outer Rotor SRM Design for Electric Vehicle without Reducer via Speed-Up Evolutionary Algorithm

Reducers utilized in automotive industry provide motor to run in most effective region and transmission output torque to increase. However, they cause mass and cost to increase and also efficiency to decrease due to mechanical losses. The aim of this study is to design a direct drive motor (outer rotor switched reluctance motor (OR-SRM)) without reducer resulting in enhanced efficiency for electric vehicle (EV). To estimate dimension and electrical parameters of OR-SRM, mathematical equations are originally derived from its geometry. Considering the constraints of package size and outer diameter, all the dimension parameters of the motor are optimized via multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA) to get the desired efficiency and torque. In order to validate the results in the proposed approach, OR-SRM is modeled by Maxwell 3D using optimized dimension parameters. In-wheel OR-SRM with 18/12 poles (30 kW) is manufactured to employ it in an EV. Theoretical results are compared to experimental results. It can be concluded that the results are satisfactory

The ancient DNA and archaeobotanical analysis suggest cultivation of Triticum aestivum subsp. spelta at Yumuktepe and Yenikapı Pottery Neolithic sites in Turkey

Archaeobotanical materials subject to aDNA analysis were recovered from Yumuktepe and Yenikapı, two important archaeological sites in Anatolia and date back to the Pottery Neolithic Period i.e., 7th millennium BC. Many charred ancient seeds representing various cereal species including a great number of wheat grains were documented in mentioned sites. Among the cereal seeds, charred wheat samples were tentatively identified as Triticum aestivum subsp. spelta L. or Triticum new glume wheat (NGW) or atypical emmer or naked wheat in Yumuktepe and Yenikapı showed similarities with the morphological characteristics of T. aestivum subsp. spelta wheat, but it was difficult to reach a firm conclusion. This study aimed to provide genetic data to enable more precise identification of charred wheat seeds using an ancient DNA (aDNA) approach. aDNAs were successfully extracted from the representative charred seeds of T. aestivum subsp. spelta or NGW or atypical emmer or naked wheat. The PCR amplification of 26SrDNA and IGS gene regions with aDNA was carried out and sequenced. The expected product sizes of IGS 158 bp for the D genome and 87 bp for the A or B genomes and DNA sequence comparisons with other wheat species revealed that T. aestivum subsp. spelta or NGW or atypical emmer or naked wheat samples included the D genome from Aegilops tauschii and is more likely to be T. aestivum subsp. spelta. The discovery of T. aestivum subsp. spelta grains in the Yenikapı and Yumuktepe suggest that the cultivation of hexaploid wheat was widespread. Further, spelta hulled wheat, which is the progenitor of the hexaploid wheat, might have been cultivated in these settlements. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V

FDG-PET/BT ile tespit edilen küçük hücreli akciğer kanserinin kemik iliği metastazı

Öksürük, hemoptizi, kilo kaybı, yaygın kemik ağrısı şikayetleri ile başvuran elli dokuz yaşında erkek hastanın kontrastlı toraks BT’sin- de sağ akciğerde kitle tespit edildi. Kitlenin biopsi sonucu küçük hücreli akciğer kanseri KHAK olarak rapor edildi. Yaygın kemik ağrısı şikayeti olan hastanın kemik sintigrafisi normal olarak değerlendirildi. Evreleme amacıyla yapılan FDG-PET/BT’de kemik ili- ğinde heterojen artmış FDG florodeoksi glukoz tutulumu saptandı. Kemik iliği biyopsisinin patolojik değerlendirme sonucu KHAK metastazı olarak raporlandı. Klinik olarak kemik metastazı şüphesi bulunan ve kemik sintigrafisi normal olan hastalarda kemik ve kemik iliği metastazlarını göstermek için FDG-PET/BT görüntüleme akılda tutulmalıdı

The impact of admission red cell distribution width on long-term cardiovascular events after primary percutaneous intervention: A four-year prospective study

Background: Red cell distribution width (RDW) is an indicator of erythrocyte in different size, and its prognostic value has been demonstrated in numerous cardiac and non-cardiac diseases. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the predictive value of RDW on the long- -term cardiovascular events in patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods: Ninety-six consecutive patients (mean age 60.6 ± 12.5 years, 77.1% male) with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), who were treated with primary PCI, were analyzed prospectively. Baseline RDW and high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were measured. The patients were followed up for major adverse cardiac events (MACE) for up to 48 months after discharge. Results: There were 30 patients with long-term MACE (Group 1) and 66 patients without long-term MACE (Group 2). Age, admission RDW, hs-CRP and creatine kinase-MB levels, heart rate after PCI, previously used angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, left anterior descending artery lesion, and electrocardiographic no-reflow were higher in Group 1. Admission hemoglobin levels were lower in Group 1. An RDW level ≥ 13.85% measured on admission had 80% sensitivity and 64% specificity in predicting long-term MACE on receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis. In multivariate analyses, only admission RDW (HR 5.26, &lt; 95% CI 1.71–16.10; p = 0.004) was an independent predictor of long-term MACE. Conclusions: A high baseline RDW value in patients with STEMI undergoing primary PCI is independently associated with increased risk for long term MACE