Epidemiology of pemphigus in Turkey: One-year prospective study of 220 cases

Pemphigus is a group of rare and life-threatening autoimmune blistering diseases of the skin and mucous membranes. Although they occur worldwide, their incidence shows wide geographical variation, and prospective data on the epidemiology of pemphigus are very limited. Objective of this work is to evaluate the incidence and epidemiological and clinical features of patients with pemphigus in Turkey. All patients newly diagnosed with pemphigus between June 2013 and June 2014 were prospectively enrolled in 33 dermatology departments in 20 different provinces from all seven regions of Turkey. Disease parameters including demography and clinical findings were recorded. A total of 220 patients were diagnosed with pemphigus during the 1-year period, with an annual incidence of 4.7 per million people in Turkey. Patients were predominantly women, with a male to female ratio of 1:1.41. The mean age at onset was 48.9 years. Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) was the commonest clinical subtype (n=192; 87.3%), followed by pemphigus foliaceus (n=21; 9.6%). The most common clinical subtype of PV was the mucocutaneous type (n=83; 43.2%). The mean Pemphigus Disease Area Index was 28.14±22.21 (mean ± Standard Deviation).  The incidence rate of pemphigus in Turkey is similar to the countries of South-East Europe, higher than those reported for the Central and Northern European countries and lower than the countries around the Mediterranean Sea and Iran. Pemphigus is more frequent in middle-aged people and is more common in women. The most frequent subtype was PV, with a 9-fold higher incidence than pemphigus foliaceus.   </p

Effect of soymilk substitution on the rheological and sensory properties of salep (Traditional turkish milk beverage)

Soymilk mixed at a proportion of 0%, 25%, 50%, and 75% (g/100 g total milk) with cow's milk to make a salep, a beverage prepared from the dried tubers of Orchis mascula. The values of the flow behaviour index, n, of salep samples decreased as the soymilk content in the beverage increased. All salep beverages exhibited a pseudoplastic behaviour. Among the samples, salep beverage containing 25% soymilk was scored the highest in terms of overall acceptance by sensory panellists. Statistically significant (p < 0.05) differences were determined for colour, odour, taste, mouthfeel, and overall acceptance as the concentration of soymilk increased in salep beverage. This study produced a beverage from cow's milk and soymilk to offer a promising nutritious and healthy alternative to the consumers with a reasonable acceptance. The rheological parameters of the cow's milk-soymilk salep blends obtained in this study may have useful implications for design and processing

Bulgur quality as affected by drying methods

Solar-drying and microwave-drying methods significantly affected the bulk density of bulgur samples in our study. The pilaf bulgur yield was highest for solar-dried bulgur, followed by microwave-, tray-, and sun-dried bulgur samples, respectively. The drying method affected protein extractability, bulgur yield, and water and oil absorption values of bulgur. The lightness (L) value was found significantly higher for solar-, sun-, and microwave-dried pilav bulgur samples compared with tray-dried bulgur. The redness (a) and yellowness (b) values of bulgur were, also affected. by drying methods. The drying method had no significant effect on flavor, mouthfeel, and appearance of bulgur samples