A comparative study on the fatty acid profiles of total lipid, neutral and polar lipids in the liver and muscle of Capoeta sieboldii (Steindachner, 1864) and Capoeta baliki (Turan, Kottelat, Ekmekçi, Imamoğlu, 2006) from Tödürge lake (Sivas, Turkey)

The fatty acid compositions of the total lipid, neutral and polar lipid fractions in the liver and muscle of Capoeta sieboldii and Capoeta baliki from Tödürge Lake were determined. Major fatty acids found in total lipid (TL) and neutral lipid (NL) in liver and muscles were C16:0, C16:1 n-7, C18:1 n-9, C18:1 n-7, C20:4 n-6, C20:5 n-3, C22:5 n-3, and C22:6 n-3. Beside these acids, C18:0 was another notable fatty acid in polar lipid (PL) fraction of the tissues investigated. The n-3/n-6 ratio, which is an indicator of health benefits of fish oils, was between 2.89 (PLs of liver) and 5.84 (PLs of muscle) in C. baliki, while it was found between 1.43 (PLs of liver) and 2.52 (NLs of muscle) in C. sieboldii. C. baliki was the excellent species in terms of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) levels in TL (43.92% in muscle) and PLs (52.94% in muscle) and C22:6 n-3 amounts (docosahexaenoic acid; DHA) were responsible for these high percentages. These results suggest that Capoeta species investigated have high nutritive value in terms of polyunsaturated fatty acids for human nutrition

Changing the bonding force of impression tray to edentulous maxillary jaw simulator with impression valve system: In vitro study

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of an impression valve system (IVS) on the bonding force between an  impression tray and an edentulous maxillary jaw.Materials and Methods: In this in vitro study, a polyether.coated maxillary jaw simulator (PM) was used to model an edentulous maxillary jaw. The IVS was placed into individual impression trays. An irreversible hydrocolloid impression was taken of the PM when the IVS was open and closed. The impression tray bonding force was measured using a digital dynamometer. Student's t.test was used to determine the significance of the difference between these two groups.Results: The impression tray was more easily separated from the PM when the IVS was open (108 ± 3.9 N). The separation was more difficult when the IVS was closed (153.7 ±14.2 N). The difference between these two findings (P = 0.000) was significant.Conclusion: The use of an IVS facilitates the removal of the impression tray from the mouth when taking impressions from an edentulous maxillary jaw.Key words: Bonding force, impression tray, maxillary ja

The Role of Leucoyte-Derived Free Oxygen Radicals in the Pathogenesis of Experimental Acute Pancreatitis

The role of free oxygen radicals in experimental acute pancreatitis induced by common bile duct ligation was investigated by measuring malondialdehyde levels in the rat pancreas. Also, the potential role of leucocytes as the source of free oxygen radicals was tested by inducing leukopenia with methotrexate. The malondialdehyde levels in the control, pancreatitis and pancreatitis + methotrexate groups were 9.6 ± 2.0, 44.8 ± 11.4, and 25.6 ± 5.0 nmol malondialdehyde/ g pancreas tissue respectively. The corresponding histopathological severity scores were 0.5 ± 0.7, 8.1 ± 1.2 and 3.7 ± 1.1. The results suggest that the leucocyte may be an important source of free oxygen radicals in this experimental model

Effect of different segmentation methods using optical satellite imagery to estimate fuzzy clustering parameters for Sentinel-1A SAR images

Optical and SAR data are efficient data sources for shoreline monitoring. The processing of SAR data such as feature extraction is not an easy task since the images have totally different structure than optical imagery. Determination of threshold value is a challenging task for SAR data. In this study, SENTINEL-2A optical data was used as ancillary data to predict fuzzy membership parameters for segmentation of SENTINEL-1A SAR data to extract shoreline. SENTINEL-2A and SENTINEL-1A satellite images used were taken in September 9, 2016 and September 13, 2016 respectively. Three different segmentation algorithms which are selected from object, learning and pixel-based methods. They have been exploited to obtain land and water classes which have been used as an input data for parameter estimation. Thus, the performance of different segmentation algorithm has been investigated and analysed. In the first step of the study, Mean-Shift, Random Forest and Whale Optimization algorithms have been employed to obtain water and land classes from the SENTINEL-2A image. Water and land classes derived from each algorithm – are used as input data, and then the required parameters for the fuzzy clustering of SENTINEL-1A SAR image, were calculated. Lake Constance, Germany has been chosen as the study area. In this study, additionally an interface plugin has been developed and integrated into the open source Quantum GIS software platform. The developed interface allows non-experts to process and extract the shorelines without using any parameters. But, this system requires pre-segmented data as input. Thus, the batch process calculates the required parameters

Obesity During Adolescence and Feeding Practices During Infancy: Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Breastfeeding is proposed to play a role in reducing the risk of obesity throughout life. Kuwait has an extremely high prevalence of childhood obesity (45% of adolescents are overweight/obese) and extremely low breastfeeding indicators, particularly exclusive breastfeeding. In fact, little is known about the association between breastfeeding and obesity from Kuwait and the broader Middle East. Aims: To estimate the prevalence of overweight/obesity in female adolescents in Kuwait and assess its association with breastfeeding during infancy. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that included 775 girls randomly selected from public and private high schools in Kuwait. The primary exposure was breastfeeding in the first four months of life, and the outcome was overweight/obesity during adolescence. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the association between breastfeeding and overweight/obesity while adjusting for potential confounders. Results: Approximately 45% of adolescent girls were either overweight/obese. We found no significant association between breastfeeding (exclusive/mixed breastfeeding and formula feeding/no breastfeeding) and overweight/obesity neither in univariable analysis (Crude Prevalence Ratio: 1.14, 95%CI [0.92–1.36] & Crude Prevalence Ratio: 1.29, 95%CI [0.86–1.68]; p = 0.293) for mixed feeding and no breastfeeding respectively, nor in multivariable analysis (Adjusted Prevalence Ratio: 1.14, 95%CI [0.85–1.42] & Adjusted Prevalence Ratio: 1.20, 95%CI [0.68–1.68]; p = 0.589) for mixed feeding and no breastfeeding respectively. Conclusion: Breastfeeding during infancy was not significantly associated with overweight/obesity during adolescence. However, breastfeeding should be encouraged for its indisputable benefits for infants and their mothers alike. Further prospective studies are needed to assess the association

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Psychological Well-Being of Caregivers of People with Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the effects of the COVID-19 lockdown on the psychological well-being of caregivers of people with dementia or mild cognitive impairment (PwD/MCI). Electronic databases were searched from inception to August 2022 for observational studies investigating the COVID-19 lockdown and psychological well-being of caregivers of PwD/MCI. Summary estimates of standardized mean differences (SMD) in psychological well-being scores pre- versus during COVID-19 were calculated using a random-effects model. Fifteen studies including 1702 caregivers (65.7% female, mean age 60.40 ± 12.9 years) with PwD/MCI were evaluated. Five studies found no change in psychological well-being parameters, including depression, anxiety, distress, caregiver burden, and quality of life. Ten studies found a worsening in at least one parameter: depression (six studies, n = 1368; SMD = 0.40; 95%CI: 0.09–0.71; p = 0.01, I2 = 86.8%), anxiety (seven studies, n = 1569; SMD = 1.35; 95%CI: 0.05–2.65; I2 = 99.2%), caregiver distress (six studies, n = 1320, SMD = 3.190; 95%CI: 1.42–4.95; p < 0.0001; I2 = 99.4%), and caregiver burden (four studies, n = 852, SMD = 0.34; 95%CI: 0.13–0.56; p = 0.001; I2 = 54.1%) (p < 0.05). There was an increase in depression, anxiety, caregiver burden, and distress in caregivers of PwD/MCI during the lockdown in the COVID pandemic. This could have longer term consequences, and it is essential that caregivers’ psychological well-being is assessed and supported, to benefit both themselves and those for whom they care

EFFECT OF DIFFERENT SEGMENTATION METHODS USING OPTICAL SATELLITE IMAGERY TO ESTIMATE FUZZY CLUSTERING PARAMETERS FOR SENTINEL-1A SAR IMAGES

Optical and SAR data are efficient data sources for shoreline monitoring. The processing of SAR data such as feature extraction is not an easy task since the images have totally different structure than optical imagery. Determination of threshold value is a challenging task for SAR data. In this study, SENTINEL-2A optical data was used as ancillary data to predict fuzzy membership parameters for segmentation of SENTINEL-1A SAR data to extract shoreline. SENTINEL-2A and SENTINEL-1A satellite images used were taken in September 9, 2016 and September 13, 2016 respectively. Three different segmentation algorithms which are selected from object, learning and pixel-based methods. They have been exploited to obtain land and water classes which have been used as an input data for parameter estimation. Thus, the performance of different segmentation algorithm has been investigated and analysed. In the first step of the study, Mean-Shift, Random Forest and Whale Optimization algorithms have been employed to obtain water and land classes from the SENTINEL-2A image. Water and land classes derived from each algorithm – are used as input data, and then the required parameters for the fuzzy clustering of SENTINEL-1A SAR image, were calculated. Lake Constance, Germany has been chosen as the study area. In this study, additionally an interface plugin has been developed and integrated into the open source Quantum GIS software platform. The developed interface allows non-experts to process and extract the shorelines without using any parameters. But, this system requires pre-segmented data as input. Thus, the batch process calculates the required parameters

On staying grounded and avoiding Quixotic dead ends

The 15 articles in this special issue on The Representation of Concepts illustrate the rich variety of theoretical positions and supporting research that characterize the area. Although much agreement exists among contributors, much disagreement exists as well, especially about the roles of grounding and abstraction in conceptual processing. I first review theoretical approaches raised in these articles that I believe are Quixotic dead ends, namely, approaches that are principled and inspired but likely to fail. In the process, I review various theories of amodal symbols, their distortions of grounded theories, and fallacies in the evidence used to support them. Incorporating further contributions across articles, I then sketch a theoretical approach that I believe is likely to be successful, which includes grounding, abstraction, flexibility, explaining classic conceptual phenomena, and making contact with real-world situations. This account further proposes that (1) a key element of grounding is neural reuse, (2) abstraction takes the forms of multimodal compression, distilled abstraction, and distributed linguistic representation (but not amodal symbols), and (3) flexible context-dependent representations are a hallmark of conceptual processing

Functional bowel disorders with diarrhoea: Clinical guidelines of the United European Gastroenterology and European Society for Neurogastroenterology and Motility

Irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhoea (IBS-D) and functional diarrhoea (FDr) are the two major functional bowel disorders characterized by diarrhoea. In spite of their high prevalence, IBS-D and FDr are associated with major uncertainties, especially regarding their optimal diagnostic work-up and management. A Delphi consensus was performed with experts from 10 European countries who conducted a literature summary and voting process on 31 statements. Quality of evidence was evaluated using the grading of recommendations, assessment, development, and evaluation criteria. Consensus (defined as >80% agreement) was reached for all the statements. The panel agreed with the potential overlapping of IBS-D and FDr. In terms of diagnosis, the consensus supports a symptom-based approach also with the exclusion of alarm symptoms, recommending the evaluation of full blood count, C-reactive protein, serology for coeliac disease, and faecal calprotectin, and consideration of diagnosing bile acid diarrhoea. Colonoscopy with random biopsies in both the right and left colon is recommended in patients older than 50 years and in presence of alarm features. Regarding treatment, a strong consensus was achieved for the use of a diet low fermentable oligo-, di-, monosaccharides and polyols, gut-directed psychological therapies, rifaximin, loperamide, and eluxadoline. A weak or conditional recommendation was achieved for antispasmodics, probiotics, tryciclic antidepressants, bile acid sequestrants, 5-hydroxytryptamine-3 antagonists (i.e. alosetron, ondansetron, or ramosetron). A multinational group of European experts summarized the current state of consensus on the definition, diagnosis, and management of IBS-D and FDr