GIS Integration into Geography Curriculum in Türkiye: A Case Study Evaluation

The integration of technology into education is a complex process with many dimensions, and there are many steps that need to be taken for this integration to be successful. One of the most important of these is the integration of information and communication technologies into the curriculum. The aim of this study is to shed light on the updates that can be made in the curriculum by examining the geography curriculum implemented in Türkiye and last revised in 2018 in terms of GIS integration, which is the first technology that comes to mind when the words geography and technology come side by side, and to present the steps of creating a GIS application for this learning outcome by restructuring a learning outcome within the scope of a case study. In the light of the findings obtained in this study, which was designed with the case study method, one of the qualitative research designs, it was concluded that GIS is included in only a few chapters in the geography curriculum, and there is only one learning outcome for which the use of GIS technology is recommended. According to this result, the restructured version of the learning outcome 10.4.1, which is the only learning outcome that is foreseen to be given GIS support in the geography curriculum, according to the understanding of learning with technology and a sample GIS application, is presented

Effect of diode laser decontamination as an adjunct to nonsurgical periodontal therapy on the clinical and biochemical parameters in smokers and non-smokers with chronic periodontitis

Aim The aim of this study is to investigate the effecets of diode laser decontamination as an adjunct to non-surgical periodontal treatment on the clinical periodontal and biochemical parameters in smokers and non-smokers with chronic periodontitis. Material and Methods The study group was consisted of 15 smokers and 15 non-smokers systemically healthy 30 volunteers who had been diagnosed with chronic periodontitis. Prior to periodontal treatment, probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL), plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI) and bleeding on probing (BOP) were recorded. After GCF sampled in split mouth design, scaling and root planing was performed and then diode laser was applied. After the treatment, clinical periodontal measurements and GCF samplings were repeated on the 1st and 3rd months. The GCF levels of IL-8 and TNF-α were determined by ELISA. Results Statistical analysis of data revealed that clinical parameters showed statistically significant reduction in all treatment groups at the end of 3rd mounth (p< 0.05). The reduction in PD, CAL and GI parameters were found to be more statistically significant in laser group than the control group in smokers and non-smokers (p 0.05). Conclusions It was concluded that pocket decontamination with diode laser adjunct to non-surgical periodontal treatment has additional benefits on clinical periodontal parameters; but have no additional benefit in terms of the reductions in biochemical parameters in smokers and non-smokers with chronic periodontitis patients

What does the water inside the brain tell us? Diffusion tensor imaging

The humanbrain consists of about 75 percent water. Diffusion tensorimaging (DTI) is an advanced magnetic resonance (MR) technique imaging that hasbeen developed for diagnostic and research in medicine. It can be use DTItractography to better understand degenerating axons of white matter lesions insome neurological diseases such as MS, AD, trauma, cerebral ischemia, epilepsy,brain tumors and metabolic disorders.</p

What does the water inside the brain tell us? Diffusion tensor imaging

The humanbrain consists of about 75 percent water. Diffusion tensorimaging (DTI) is an advanced magnetic resonance (MR) technique imaging that hasbeen developed for diagnostic and research in medicine. It can be use DTItractography to better understand degenerating axons of white matter lesions insome neurological diseases such as MS, AD, trauma, cerebral ischemia, epilepsy,brain tumors and metabolic disorders.</p

Dental implantların anatomik lokasyonlarının (mandibula ile maxilla) osseointegrasyon süresince peri-implant oluğu sıvısındaki BMP-2, BMP-7, sRANKL ve OPG seviyeleri üzerine herhangi bir etkisi yoktur. Pilot bir çalışma

Background:The aim of this study was to investigate levels of bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2), BMP-7, soluble receptor activator of nuclear factor-kB ligand (sRANKL) and osteoprotegerin (OPG) in the peri-implant crevicular fluid (PICF) of  implants placed in both maxilla and mandible during the osseointegration period.Methods:Thirty-three patients (17 females and 16 males; mean age 47.03±11.23 years) were included in this study. A total of 33 implants were placed in both of maxilla (Group 1/n=18) and mandible (group 2/n=15). Peri-implant crevicular fluid (PICF) samples, modified plaque index (MPI), gingival index (GI) and probing depth (PD) measurements were obtained at 1 and 3 months after surgery. PICF levels of BMP-2/-7, sRANKL and OPG were analyzed by ELISA.Results:No complications were observed during the healing period. No significant differences were observed in the PICF levels of sRANKL, OPG, BMP-2 and BMP-7 and evaluated clinical parameters between groups at any time point (p&gt;0.05). While PICF volume of group 2 was greater than group 1 at first month, PICF volume of group 1 was greater than group 2 at 3 months (p&lt;0.05). There was a positive correlation between sRANKL levels and PICF volume (p&lt;0.05) and a strong correlation between BMP-2 and BMP-7 (p&lt;0.01).Conclusions:The results of this pilot study didn’t show any significant difference in PICF levels of BMP-2, BMP-7, sRANKL, and OPG in terms of anatomic location of dental implants. Further well-designed studies should be carried out to evaluate the relationship between bone related biomarkers and anatomic location of dental implants

BRCA Variations Risk Assessment in Breast Cancers Using Different Artificial Intelligence Models

Artificial intelligence provides modelling on machines by simulating the human brain using learning and decision-making abilities. Early diagnosis is highly effective in reducing mortality in cancer. This study aimed to combine cancer-associated risk factors including genetic variations and design an artificial intelligence system for risk assessment. Data from a total of 268 breast cancer patients have been analysed for 16 different risk factors including genetic variant classifications. In total, 61 BRCA1, 128 BRCA2 and 11 both BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes associated breast cancer patients' data were used to train the system using Mamdani's Fuzzy Inference Method and Feed-Forward Neural Network Method as the model softwares on MATLAB. Sixteen different tests were performed on twelve different subjects who had not been introduced to the system before. The rates for neural network were 99.9% for training success, 99.6% for validation success and 99.7% for test success. Despite neural network's overall success was slightly higher than fuzzy logic accuracy, the results from developed systems were similar (99.9% and 95.5%, respectively). The developed models make predictions from a wider perspective using more risk factors including genetic variation data compared with similar studies in the literature. Overall, this artificial intelligence models present promising results for BRCA variations' risk assessment in breast cancers as well as a unique tool for personalized medicine software

Analysis of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 coding variants as a risk factor for SARS-CoV-2 from 946 whole-exome sequencing data in the Turkish population

Heterogeneity in symptoms associated with COVID-19 in infected patients remains unclear. ACE2 and TMPRSS2 gene variants are considered possible risk factors for COVID-19. In this study, a retrospective comparative genome analysis of the ACE2 and TMPRSS2 variants from 946 whole-exome sequencing data was conducted. Allele frequencies of all variants were calculated and filtered to remove variants with allele frequencies lower than 0.003 and to prioritize functional coding variants. The majority of detected variants were intronic, only two ACE2 and three TMPRSS2 nonsynonymous variants were detected in the analyzed cohort. The main ACE2 variants that putatively have a protective or susceptibility effect on SARS-CoV-2 have not yet been determined in the Turkish population. The Turkish genetic makeup likely lacks any ACE2 variant that increases susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection. TMPRSS2 rs75603675 and rs12329760 variants that were previously defined as common variants that have different allele frequencies among populations and may have a role in SARS-CoV-2 attachment to host cells were determined in the population. Overall, these data will contribute to the formation of a national variation database and may also contribute to further studies of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 in the Turkish population and differences in SARS-CoV-2 infection among other populations

Nonsurgical periodontal therapy with/without diode laser modulates metabolic control of type 2 diabetics with periodontitis: a randomized clinical trial

In order to evaluate whether nonsurgical periodontal treatment with/without diode laser (DL) decontamination improves clinical parameters, the levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM), and vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM) in gingival crevicular fluid and metabolic control (HbA1c) in chronic periodontitis (CP) patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM2). Sixty patients with DM2 and CP were randomly assigned into two groups to receive scaling and root planing (SRP, n = 30) or SRP followed by diode laser application (SRP + DL, n = 30). Clinical periodontal and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) parameters were assessed at baseline, 1, and 3 months after periodontal treatment. HbA1c levels were evaluated at baseline and 3 months post-therapy. Total amounts of cytokines and molecules were analyzed by ELISA. Nonsurgical periodontal treatment with/without DL appeared to improve clinical, biochemical parameters, and glycemic control in DM2 patients (BMI < 25 kg/m2) with CP. The SRP + DL group provided better reductions in probing depth (PD) and clinical attachment level (CAL) parameters compared to the SRP group (P < 0.05). Significant reductions were found in the total amounts of GCF levels of IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, ICAM, and VCAM after treatment (P < 0.05). HbA1c levels decreased significantly at 3 months after treatment (P < 0.05). SRP + DL reduced HbA1c levels more significantly compared to SRP alone (0.41 vs. 0.22 %, P < 0.05). SRP, especially in combination with DL, shows improvement of glycemic control for DM2 patients with CP