DETECTION OF DISCOMFORT INDEX WITH REMOTE SENSING TECHNOLOGY: THE CASE OF ANTALYA PROVINCE

Thermal adaptation and thermal comfort indices are critical in determining the thermal comfort of the outdoor environment. They also play an essential role in research on heat stress, an environmental threat that can affect individuals' productivity, health and even survival. Urban growth and the resulting expansion of impervious surfaces affect the thermal characteristics of a landscape by raising Land Surface Temperatures (LST). The resulting warming can lead to thermal discomfort, the prevalence of heat-related health problems, air pollution, increased water use and energy demand for air conditioning, among others. Recently, efforts to understand the effects of urbanization and landscape changes on indoor and outdoor temperatures have increased significantly. Together with remote sensing technology, this study aims to understand human heat stress, and geographic information system (GIS) is a tool used in the research. In the estimation of heat stress, besides temperature, physiological status, environmental impact and relative humidity factors are also important. The discomfort index (DI) is a heat stress indicator proposed by Thom (1959), which expresses the contribution of air temperature and relative humidity to human thermal comfort. The discomfort index proposed by Thom (1959) was calculated as DI=0.5Ta+0.5Tw (Ta: dry bulb temperature, Tw: wet bulb temperature) modified by SOHAR, Adar and Laky (1963). In the study, the dry bulb temperature, assumed to be equal to the air temperature, was taken monthly from MODIS LST data at 1km resolution. Relative humidity was produced by interpolating 73 meteorological data in the study area at 1km resolution. Wet bulb temperature is difficult to measure, so it was calculated from dry bulb temperature and relative humidity data so that the discomfort index as a measure of heat stress in the study area was calculated with a resolution of 1 km. The discomfort index was calculated monthly and annually and classified according to Thom's 4 comfort classes. According to the calculation results, Antalya's average discomfort index value for the whole year is 24.9 °C, indicating that Antalya is a moderately comfortable place. This value varies monthly, especially in April and October when the heat stress is the highest

OPTIMIZED ECOLOGICAL NETWORK APPROACH OF HIGHLY URBANIZED CITIES: THE CASE OF ADANA CITY

One of the most significant challenges in urban areas, where the process of rapid urban expansion takes place, is the loss of agricultural lands and natural habitats. The conversion of these areas into residential and commercial zones leads to a decline in urban biodiversity and the progressive loss of vital habitat areas. Analyzing habitat connectivity and conducting landscape measurements provide valuable insights for the development of land use and management strategies, enhancing our understanding of the spatial structure of the landscape, and directing conservation efforts. Incorporating measures such as green corridors and landscape connection networks into urban planning management becomes crucial in order to mitigate the adverse effects of habitat fragmentation and enhance ecosystem resilience within cities. Remote sensing techniques offer opportunities to create habitat connectivity models that enable the quantitative and qualitative identification of fragmented habitat patches. These models serve as tools to evaluate the effectiveness of conservation measures and monitor the potential impacts of future land use changes on habitat networks. Within this context, an optimized approach to habitat connectivity is presented, aiming to contribute to landscape planning and ecological-based studies in a city with undergoing rapid urbanization like Adana. By identifying degraded areas and introducing new habitat patches, a significant improvement in the connectivity of the habitat network has been observed. The findings indicated that the addition of new habitat patches to degraded areas can substantially enhance the city's overall habitat connectivity

Utilizing image texture to detect land-cover change in Mediterranean coastal wetlands

Land-use/cover change dynamics were investigated in a Mediterranean coastal wetland. Change Vector Analysis (CVA) without and with image texture derived from the co-occurrence matrix and variogram were evaluated for detecting land-use/cover change. Three Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) scenes recorded on July 1985, 1993 and 2005 were used, minimizing change detection error caused by seasonal differences. Images were geometrically, atmospherically and radiometrically corrected. CVA without and with texture measures were implemented and assessed using reference images generated by object-based supervised classification. These outputs were used for cross-classification to determine the ‘from–to’ change used to compare between techniques. The Landsat TM image bands together with the variogram yielded the most accurate change detection results, with Kappa statistics of 0.7619 and 0.7637 for the 1985–1993 and 1993–2005 image pairs, respectively

Serum IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 Levels in Healthy Children Between 0 and 6 Years of Age

Objective: Along with growth hormone (GH) levels, measurements of serum insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and IGF-binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) are used in the diagnosis of GH deficiency and in monitoring the efficacy and safety of long-term GH treatment. The purpose of the present study was to establish reference values for serum IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 in healthy Turkish children less than 6 years of age

Refinement of the critical genomic region for congenital hyperinsulinism in the Chromosome 9p deletion syndrome

Version 2; peer review: 3 approved. Available from F1000 Research via the DOI in this recordBackground: Large contiguous gene deletions at the distal end of the short arm of chromosome 9 result in the complex multi-organ condition chromosome 9p deletion syndrome. A range of clinical features can result from these deletions with the most common being facial dysmorphisms and neurological impairment. Congenital hyperinsulinism is a rarely reported feature of the syndrome with the genetic mechanism for the dysregulated insulin secretion being unknown. Methods: We studied the clinical and genetic characteristics of 12 individuals with chromosome 9p deletions who had a history of neonatal hypoglycaemia. Using off-target reads generated from targeted next-generation sequencing of the genes known to cause hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia (n=9), or microarray analysis (n=3), we mapped the minimal shared deleted region on chromosome 9 in this cohort. Targeted sequencing was performed in three patients to search for a recessive mutation unmasked by the deletion. Results: In 10/12 patients with hypoglycaemia, hyperinsulinism was confirmed biochemically. A range of extra-pancreatic features were also reported in these patients consistent with the diagnosis of the Chromosome 9p deletion syndrome. The minimal deleted region was mapped to 7.2 Mb, encompassing 38 protein-coding genes. In silico analysis of these genes highlighted SMARCA2 and RFX3 as potential candidates for the hypoglycaemia. Targeted sequencing performed on three of the patients did not identify a second disease-causing variant within the minimal deleted region. Conclusions: This study identifies 9p deletions as an important cause of hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia and increases the number of cases reported with 9p deletions and hypoglycaemia to 15 making this a more common feature of the syndrome than previously appreciated. Whilst the precise genetic mechanism of the dysregulated insulin secretion could not be determined in these patients, mapping the deletion breakpoints highlighted potential candidate genes for hypoglycaemia within the deleted region.Wellcome TrustRoyal Societ

Association analysis of ADPRT1, AKR1B1, RAGE, GFPT2 and PAI-1 gene polymorphisms with chronic renal insufficiency among Asian Indians with type-2 diabetes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To determine association of nine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in ADP ribosyltransferase-1 (ADPRT1), aldo-keto reductase family 1 member B1 (AKR1B1), receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE), glutamine:fructose-6-phosphate amidotransferase-2 (GFPT2), and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) genes with chronic renal insufficiency (CRI) among Asian Indians with type 2 diabetes; and to identify epistatic interactionss between genes from the present study and those from renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS), and chemokine-cytokine, dopaminergic and oxidative stress pathways (previously investigated using the same sample set).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Type 2 diabetes subjects with CRI (serum creatinine ≥3.0 mg/dl) constituted the cases (n = 196), and ethnicity and age matched individuals with diabetes for a duration of ≥ 10 years, normal renal functions and normoalbuminuria recruited as controls (n = 225). Allelic and genotypic constitution of 10 polymorphisms (SNPs) from five genes namely- <it>ADPRT1</it>, <it>AKR1B1, RAGE, GFPT2 </it>and <it>PAI-1 </it>with diabetic CRI was investigated. The genetic associations were evaluated by computation of odds ratio and 95% confidence interval. Multiple logistic regression analysis was carried out to correlate various clinical parameters with genotypes, and to study epistatic interactions between SNPs in different genes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Single nucleotide polymorphisms -429 T>C in <it>RAGE </it>and rs7725 C>T SNP in 3' UTR in <it>GFPT2 </it>gene showed a trend towards association with diabetic CRI. Investigation using miRBase statistical tool revealed that rs7725 in <it>GFPT2 </it>was a perfect target for predicted miRNA (hsa miR-378) suggesting the presence of the variant 'T' allele may result in an upregulation of GFPT2 contributing to diabetic renal complication. Epistatic interaction between SNPs in transforming growth factor <it>TGF-β1 </it>(investigated using the same sample set and reported elsewhere) and <it>GFPT2 </it>genotype was observed.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Association of SNPs in <it>RAGE </it>and <it>GFPT2 </it>suggest that the genes involved in modulation of oxidative pathway could be major contributor to diabetic chronic renal insufficiency. In addition, GFPT2 mediated overproduction of TGF-β1 leading to endothelial expansion and thereby CRI seems likely, suggested by our observation of a significant interaction between GFPT2 with TGF-β1 genes. Further, identification of predicted miRNA targets spanning the associated SNP in <it>GFPT2 </it>implicates the rs7725 SNP in transcriptional regulation of the gene, and suggests <it>GFPT2 </it>could be a relevant target for pharmacological intervention. Larger replication studies are needed to confirm these observations.</p

Association between the rs6950982 polymorphism near the SERPINE1 gene and blood pressure and lipid parameters in a high-cardiovascular-risk population: interaction with Mediterranean diet

The SERPINE1 (serpin peptidase inhibitor, clade E, member 1) gene, better known by its previous symbol PAI-1 (plasminogen activator inhibitor 1), has been associated with cardiovascular phenotypes with differing results. Our aim was to examine the association between the rs6950982 (G > A) near the SERPINE1 gene, blood pressure (BP) and plasma lipid concentrations as well as the modulation of the polymorphism effects by adherence to Mediterranean diet (AMD). We studied 945 high-cardiovascular-risk subjects. Biochemical, clinical, dietary and genetic data (rs6950982) were obtained. We also determined the common rs1799768 (4G/5G), for checking independent effects. AMD was measured by a validated questionnaire, and four groups were considered. rs6950982 (A > G) and rs1799768 (4G/5G) were only in moderate–low linkage disequilibrium (D′ = 0.719; r2 = 0.167). The most significant associations we obtained were with rs6950982 (A > G). In males, the G allele was nominally associated with higher diastolic BP (AA: 81.5 ± 10.9, AG: 82.1 ± 11.4, GG: 85.7 ± 10.5 mmHg; Padditive = 0.030) and systolic BP (AA + AG: 141.4 ± 6.9 mmHg vs. GG: 149.8 ± 8.0 mmHg; Precessive = 0.036). In the whole population, the rs6950982 was also associated with plasma lipids. Subject with the G allele presented higher total cholesterol (Padditive = 0.016, Precessive = 0.011), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (Padditive = 0.032, Precessive = 0.031) and triglycerides (Padditive = 0.040, Precessive = 0.029). AMD modulated the effect of rs6950982 on triglyceride concentrations (P for interaction = 0.036). Greater AMD reduced the higher triglyceride concentrations in GG subjects. No significant interactions were found for the other parameters. The rs6950982 was associated with higher BP in men and higher triglycerides in the whole population, this association being modulated by AMD