Spor Yapan Çocukların Spor Tercihleri Ve Bunu Etkileyen Bazı Faktörlerin İncelenmesi,

Araştırmanın amacı spor yapan öğrencilerin spor yapma tercihlerini belirleyen faktörlerin belirlenmesi ve bazı faktörler arasındaki ilişkinin incelenmesidir. Araştırma uygulamalı bir çalışma olup, ölçekli bir anket formu kullanılmıştır. Uygulamada kullanılan anket daha önce kullanılmış ve güvenirliliği sağlanmış bir anket olup, anket üzerinde bazı değişiklikler gerçekleştirilmiştir. Araştırmanın örneklemini rast gele yöntemle seçilmiş olan 3562 katılımcı oluşturmaktadır. Katılımcılara (N= 3562) uygulanan anketin güvenirlik katsayısı (Cronbach’s Alpha) hesaplanarak 0.950 değeri elde edilmiştir. Bireyden elde edilen veriler SPSS Pasw 18.0 istatistik programı ile analiz edilmiştir. Araştırma 19 ay sürmüştür. Araştırmada kullanılan teknik basit rassal yöntemdir. Araştırmada betimleyici istatistikler, faktör analizi, KMO ve Barlett’s testi, eşleştirilmiş iki grup t-testi, bağımsız t- testi, Crosstabs testi ve Anova testlerinden yararlanılmıştır. Araştırma sonunda anne-baba eğitim durumu, gelir durumu, spor yapılan mekanın spor tercihine etki ettiği bulunmuştur. Aynı zamanda ebeveyn eğitimi, çalışma durumu ve Tv ve görsel araçların çocuğun beslenme alışkanlıklarında, beslenme alışkanlığının ise psikolojik durum ve spor yaralanmalarında etken faktör olduğu saptanmıştır

Acute and delayed sulfur mustard toxicity; novel mechanisms and future studies

Sulfur mustard (SM), also known as mustard gas, has been the most widely used chemical weapon. The toxicity of SM as an incapacitating agent is of much greater importance than its ability to cause lethality. Acute toxicity of SM is related to reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, DNA damage, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activation and energy depletion within the affected cell. Therefore melatonin shows beneficial effects against acute SM toxicity in a variety of manner. It scavenges most of the oxygen- and nitrogen-based reactants, inhibits inducible nitric oxide synthase, repairs DNA damage and restores cellular energy depletion. The delayed toxicity of SM however, currently has no mechanistic explanation. We propose that epigenetic aberrations may be responsible for delayed detrimental effects of mustard poisoning. Epigenetic refers to the study of changes that influence the phenotype without causing alteration of the genotype. It involves changes in the properties of a cell that are inherited but do not involve a change in DNA sequence. It is now known that in addition to genetic mutations, epimutations can also involve in the pathogenesis of a variety of human diseases. Several actions of melatonin are now delineated by epigenetic actions including modulation of histone acetylation and DNA methylation. Future studies are warranted to clarify whether epigenetic mechanisms are involved in pathogenesis of delayed sulfur mustard toxicity and melatonin alleviates delayed toxicity of this warfare agent

Epigenetic perturbations in the pathogenesis of mustard toxicity; hypothesis and preliminary results

Among the most readily available chemical warfare agents, sulfur mustard (SM), also known as mustard gas, has been the most widely used chemical weapon. SM causes debilitating effects that can leave an exposed individual incapacitated for days to months; therefore delayed SM toxicity is of much greater importance than its ability to cause lethality. Although not fully understood, acute toxicity of SM is related to reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, oxidative stress, DNA damage, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) activation and energy depletion within the affected cell. Therefore several antioxidants and PARP inhibitors show beneficial effects against acute SM toxicity. The delayed toxicity of SM however, currently has no clear mechanistic explanation. One third of the 100,000 Iranian casualties are still suffering from the detrimental effects of SM in spite of the extensive treatment. We, therefore, made an attempt whether epigenetic aberrations may contribute to pathogenesis of mustard poisoning. Preliminary evidence reveals that mechlorethamine (a nitrogen mustard derivative) exposure may not only cause oxidative stress, DNA damage, but epigenetic perturbations as well. Epigenetic refers to the study of changes that influence the phenotype without causing alteration of the genotype. It involves changes in the properties of a cell that are inherited but do not involve a change in DNA sequence. It is now known that in addition to mutations, epimutations contribute to a variety of human diseases. Under light of preliminary results, the current hypothesis will focus on epigenetic regulations to clarify mustard toxicity and the use of drugs to correct possible epigenetic defects

Qweak: A Precision Measurement of the Proton's Weak Charge

The Qweak experiment at Jefferson Lab aims to make a 4% measurement of the parity-violating asymmetry in elastic scattering at very low $Q^2$ of a longitudinally polarized electron beam on a proton target. The experiment will measure the weak charge of the proton, and thus the weak mixing angle at low energy scale, providing a precision test of the Standard Model. Since the value of the weak mixing angle is approximately 1/4, the weak charge of the proton $Q_w^p = 1-4 \sin^2 \theta_w$ is suppressed in the Standard Model, making it especially sensitive to the value of the mixing angle and also to possible new physics. The experiment is approved to run at JLab, and the construction plan calls for the hardware to be ready to install in Hall C in 2007. The theoretical context of the experiment and the status of its design are discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, LaTeX2e, to be published in CIPANP 2003 proceeding

Beyond bone biology: Lessons from team science

Today, research in biomedicine often requires the knowledge and technologies in diverse fields. Therefore, there is an increasing need for collaborative team science that crosses traditional disciplines. Here, we discuss our own lessons from both interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary teams, which ultimately ushered us to expand our research realm beyond bone biology. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

MIR376A is a regulator of starvation-induced autophagy

Background: Autophagy is a vesicular trafficking process responsible for the degradation of long-lived, misfolded or abnormal proteins, as well as damaged or surplus organelles. Abnormalities of the autophagic activity may result in the accumulation of protein aggregates, organelle dysfunction, and autophagy disorders were associated with various diseases. Hence, mechanisms of autophagy regulation are under exploration. Methods: Over-expression of hsa-miR-376a1 (shortly MIR376A) was performed to evaluate its effects on autophagy. Autophagy-related targets of the miRNA were predicted using Microcosm Targets and MIRanda bioinformatics tools and experimentally validated. Endogenous miRNA was blocked using antagomirs and the effects on target expression and autophagy were analyzed. Luciferase tests were performed to confirm that 3’ UTR sequences in target genes were functional. Differential expression of MIR376A and the related MIR376B was compared using TaqMan quantitative PCR. Results: Here, we demonstrated that, a microRNA (miRNA) from the DlkI/Gtl2 gene cluster, MIR376A, played an important role in autophagy regulation. We showed that, amino acid and serum starvation-induced autophagy was blocked by MIR376A overexpression in MCF-7 and Huh-7 cells. MIR376A shared the same seed sequence and had overlapping targets with MIR376B, and similarly blocked the expression of key autophagy proteins ATG4C and BECN1 (Beclin 1). Indeed, 3’ UTR sequences in the mRNA of these autophagy proteins were responsive to MIR376A in luciferase assays. Antagomir tests showed that, endogenous MIR376A was participating to the control of ATG4C and BECN1 transcript and protein levels. Moreover, blockage of endogenous MIR376A accelerated starvation-induced autophagic activity. Interestingly, MIR376A and MIR376B levels were increased with different kinetics in response to starvation stress and tissue-specific level differences were also observed, pointing out to an overlapping but miRNA-specific biological role. Conclusions: Our findings underline the importance of miRNAs encoded by the DlkI/Gtl2 gene cluster in stress-response control mechanisms, and introduce MIR376A as a new regulator of autophagy

The soluble guanylate cyclase activator cinaciguat prevents cardiac dysfunction in a rat model of type-1 diabetes mellitus

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus (DM) leads to the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy, which is associated with altered nitric oxide (NO)-soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC)-cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) signalling. Cardioprotective effects of elevated intracellular cGMP-levels have been described in different heart diseases. In the current study we aimed at investigating the effects of pharmacological activation of sGC in diabetic cardiomyopathy. METHODS: Type-1 DM was induced in rats by streptozotocin. Animals were treated either with the sGC activator cinaciguat (10 mg/kg/day) or with placebo orally for 8 weeks. Left ventricular (LV) pressure-volume (P-V) analysis was used to assess cardiac performance. Additionally, gene expression (qRT-PCR) and protein expression analysis (western blot) were performed. Cardiac structure, markers of fibrotic remodelling and DNA damage were examined by histology, immunohistochemistry and TUNEL assay, respectively. RESULTS: DM was associated with deteriorated cGMP signalling in the myocardium (elevated phosphodiesterase-5 expression, lower cGMP-level and impaired PKG activity). Cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, fibrotic remodelling and DNA fragmentation were present in DM that was associated with impaired LV contractility (preload recruitable stroke work (PRSW): 49.5 +/- 3.3 vs. 83.0 +/- 5.5 mmHg, P < 0.05) and diastolic function (time constant of LV pressure decay (Tau): 17.3 +/- 0.8 vs. 10.3 +/- 0.3 ms, P < 0.05). Cinaciguat treatment effectively prevented DM related molecular, histological alterations and significantly improved systolic (PRSW: 66.8 +/- 3.6 mmHg) and diastolic (Tau: 14.9 +/- 0.6 ms) function. CONCLUSIONS: Cinaciguat prevented structural, molecular alterations and improved cardiac performance of the diabetic heart. Pharmacological activation of sGC might represent a new therapy approach for diabetic cardiomyopathy