Procjena utjecaja nekih značajki sliva obilježenih dominantno šumarstvom i poljoprivredom na otjecanje vode i produkciju suspendiranog erozijskog nanosa

Topography, geological structure and land use play a determinative role in the streamflow and total suspended sediment yield of watersheds having similar climate, soil and vegetation characteristics. In order to facilitate sustainable water resource management and effective land use planning, there is an increasing need for research investigating the effects of these factors. This study was carried out in forested and agricultural dominated subwatersheds of the Big Melen watershed in the Western Black Sea Region of Turkey. Hazelnut plantations are grown on most of the agricultural areas in both watersheds. The forested watershed has a steep topography and its geological structure consists of sandstone-mudstone and sedimentary rock. The agricultural watershed area is larger and unlike the forested watershed, there is argillaceous limestone in its geological structure. The precipitation, streamflow and total suspended sediment yield in the watersheds were measured for two years. The total precipitation of the study area over the two years was 2217.3 mm. The water yield of the forested watershed was 867.6 mm, while that of the agricultural watershed was 654.9 mm. In the two years, the total suspended sediment transported from the forested watershed was 19.51 t ha-1 and from the agricultural watershed 7.70 t ha-1. However, except for the high values measured after an extreme rainfall event, the unit surface suspended sediment yield of the agricultural watershed was found to be higher than that of the forested watershed. These findings showed that watershed characteristics such as slope, geological structure and rainfall intensity may be more effective on the streamflow and total suspended sediment yield of the watersheds than land use.U ovom smo radu istraživali utjecaj različitih značajki sliva na otjecanja vode i na produkciju suspendiranog erozijskog nanosa u slivovima obilježenih dominantno šumarstvom i poljoprivredom (lješnjak), te smo na taj način željeli doprinijeti održivom upravljanju vodnim resursima. Istraživanje je provedeno u podslivovima sliva rijeke Big Melen u zapadnoj crnomorskoj regiji Turske obilježenih dominantno šumarstvom i poljoprivredom. Istraživani slivovi imaju slične klimatske karakteristike. Tlo sliva uglavnom je plitko i ima visoki udio gline. Tipovi uporabe zemljišta u poljoprivrednom slivu sastoje se od 27% šume, 70 % poljoprivrednog zemljišta, i 3% naseljenih mjesta, dok se šumski sliv sastoji od 64 % šume i 36 % poljoprivrednog zemljišta. Topografija šumskog sliva je strma, a njezina geološka struktura sastoji se od pješčenjaka-muljnjaka i sedimentnih stijena. Područje poljoprivrednog sliva je veće i za razliku od šumskog sliva, u njegovoj strukturi nalazimo argilitni vapnenac. Oborine, otjecanje vode i produkcija suspendiranog erozivnog nanosa u slivovima mjereni su od siječnja 2014. do prosinca 2015. godine. Tijekom dvije godine ukupna količina oborina u području istraživanja iznosila je 2217,3 mm. Za određivanje otjecanja vode u slivovima kreirali smo regresijske jednadžbe koje pokazuju odnos između izmjerenog istjecanja i razina vode. Vrijednost R2 jednadžbe za oba sliva bila je iznad 0,98. Dvogodišnji izračunati prosječni koeficijent otjecanja u šumskim i poljoprivrednim slivovima bio je 0,39, odnosno 0,30. Otjecanje vode u šumskom slivu iznosilo je 867,6 mm, dok je u poljoprivrednom slivu iznosilo 654,9 mm. Glavni razlog za visoku stopu otjecanja vode po jedinici površine u šumskom slivu kako u vlažnim tako i u suhim razdobljima, u usporedbi s poljoprivrednim slivom, leži u činjenici da su vrijednosti za nagib sliva, nagib glavnog kanala, gustoću mreže vodotokova te frekvenciju vodotoka bile visoke. Tijekom dvije godine, produkcija suspendiranog erozivnog nanosa transportiranog iz šumskog sliva iznosila je 19,51 t ha-1, a iz poljoprivrednog sliva 7,70 t ha-1. Međutim, s izuzetkom visokih vrijednosti izmjerenih nakon ekstremnih oborinskih događaja, produkcija suspendiranog erozijskog nanosa po jedinici površine u poljoprivrednom slivu pokazala se višom od one u šumskom slivu. Ovi rezultati pokazuju da značajke sliva, kao što se nagib, geološka struktura i intenzitet oborina, mogu imati veći utjecaj na vodu i ukupnu produkciju suspendiranog erozijskog nanosa slivova nego što to ima način uporabe zemljišta. Ovo je istraživanje pokazalo da bi za bolje razumijevanje utjecaja različitih načina uporabe zemljišta na otjecanje vode i produkciju nanosa u uparenim slivovima značajke slivova trebale biti slične

Clinical course and signs in patients with uveitis associated with ankylosing spondylitis

Aim: To evaluate clinical course and signs in patients withuveitis associated ankylosing spondylitis (AS).Methods: In this retrospective study we evaluated thepatients who were diagnosed as uveitis related to AS andfollowed up at the Ophthalmology Department of NecmettinErbakan University Hospital between May 2009 andJune 2012. Demographical features and clinical courseswere assessed.Results: Seventeen eyes of 13 patients were includedin the study. Nine patients (69.2%) were male and four(30.8%) were female. The mean age at presentation was38.54±9.61 years (range 28-63). Bilateral involvementwas observed in four (30.8%) patients. The mean followuptime was 17.46±11.86 months (range 3-36). The meannumber of attacks was 1.15±0.37 (range 1-2). Posteriorsegment manifestation accompanied anterior uveitis inthree eyes (17.6%). Posterior synechia developed in one(7.7%) and cataract in one patient (7.7%), cystoid macularedema in two patients (15.4%), and epiretinal membranein one patient (%7.7). The mean final visual acuitywas 0.975±0.07 (range 0.2-1.0).Conclusion: The prognosis of anterior uveitis associatedwith AS is good if the treatment is administered at theappropriate time. However, the posterior segment complicationsmay develop in these patients, treatment andfollow-up should be done in co-operation with the departmentof rheumatology.Key words: Ankylosing spondylitis, uveitis, rheumatology,clinical cours

Prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility of Mycoplasma hominis and Ureaplasma urealyticum in pregnant women

SummaryBackgroundMycoplasma hominis and Ureaplasma urealyticum are important opportunistic pathogens implicated in urogenital infections and complicated pregnancy. We aimed to study the role of these pathogens in symptomatic and asymptomatic pregnant women and determine their clinical significance and antibiotic susceptibility.MethodsOne hundred pregnant women were included in the study, 50 symptomatic patients and 50 asymptomatic controls. Duplicate endocervical samples were taken from each individual and analyzed using the Mycoplasma IST-2 kit and A7 agar medium. Antimicrobial susceptibility was tested against doxycycline, josamycin, ofloxacin, erythromycin, tetracycline, ciprofloxacin, azithromycin, clarithromycin, and pristinamycin using the Mycoplasma IST-2 kit.ResultsTwelve symptomatic pregnant women had spontaneous abortions. Of these, eight (66.7%) cases had been colonized with M. hominis and/or U. urealyticum. Of the pregnant women infected with M. hominis and/or U. urealyticum, 40.7% delivered a low birth weight infant. M. hominis was successfully cultured in five women (5%) and U. urealyticum in 27 (27%). Among positive cultures, 15.6% and 84.4% of isolates were M. hominis and U. urealyticum, respectively. M. hominis and U. urealyticum were uniformly susceptible to doxycycline, tetracycline, and pristinamycin, which may be successfully used in the empirical therapy of infected individuals.ConclusionsIt can be concluded that genital colonization with M. hominis and U. urealyticum may predispose to spontaneous abortion and low birth weight

Serum Proinflammatory Mediators at Different Periods of Therapy in Patients With Multiple Myeloma

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a malignant disease characterized by the clonal proliferation of plasma cells within the bone marrow. Several cytokines have been demonstrated to be involved in the control of growth, progression, and dissemination of MM. We determined serum levels of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and C-reactive protein (CRP) in 14 newly diagnosed MM patients. The median age of the patients was 63.4 ± 10.8 years and all of the patients were stage III (classified according to the Durie-Salmon classification). The same parameters were measured in 15 healthy controls. In addition, we also examined the effects of vincristine-adriamycin-dexamethasone (VAD) therapy on the same parameters and mediators as well as the relationship among the parameters in the same patient groups. The serum concentrations of TNF-α, IL-1β, sIL-2R, IL-6, IL-8, and CRP (18.6 ± 3.7 pg/mL, 10.1 ± 2.8 pg/mL, 730 ± 220 U/mL, 11.4 ± 3.3 pg/mL, 23.9 ± 8.3 pg/mL, and 49.9 ± 19.5 mg/dL, resp) were significantly higher in newly diagnosed MM patients than in healthy controls (P < .0001). All of the parameters were found to be significantly reduced after chemotherapy. In conclusion, we found that after the VAD therapy, the level of these cytokines which are thought to play an important role in the pathogenesis of MM was significantly suppressed. This is the first study demonstrating strong impact of VAD treatment on circulating mediators of sIL-2R and IL-8 levels parameters

KONYA/SELÇUKLU İLÇESİ KARBON AYAK İZİNİN BELİRLENMESİ

Bu çalışmada, bir ürün, hizmet veya etkinlik için karbon ayak izinin göstergesi olarak atmosfere verilen karbondioksit gazının Konya/Selçuklu ilçesi için değerlendirilmesi yapılmıştır. Emisyon hesapları sırasında, IPCC tarafından önerilen ve Tier yaklaşımlarıyla belirlenmiş olan metodoloji kullanılmıştır. Hesaplamalar soncunda Selçuklu ilçesinin 2015 yılı Karbon Ayak İzi; 0,94 milyon ton CO2 olarak bulunmuştur. Selçuklu ilçesinin Karbon Ayak İzi’ni oluşturan emisyonlar içerisinde, %56’lık oranla barınmadan kaynaklı emisyonlar başı çekmektedir. Ardından en büyük katkıyı %41 oranla ulaşım amaçlı enerji kullanımı vermektedir. En düşük emisyon kaynağı %3’lük oranla katı atıklardır. İlçede kişi başına 1,55 ton CO2, birim alan (km2) başına ise 457 ton CO2 emisyonu düşmektedir. Sonuçlar değerlendirildiğinde ilçenin Karbon Ayak İzi, dünya ortalamasına çok alındadır. Ayrıca, ilçede gerçekleştirilen yoğun ağaçlandırma çalışmaları ile yaklaşık olarak 612360 ton CO2'in tutularak ilçenin karbon ayak izinin düşmesine önemli katkıda bulunduğu ortaya çıkmıştır

A CFD study : influence of biofouling on a full-scale submarine

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of biofouling related hull roughness on a full-scale submarine by taking into consideration the resistance components, effective power, and nominal wakefield using a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) solver. The validation study was first performed for the model scale submarine form in hydraulically smooth (reference) condition with the available experimental data. Following that, roughness functions, representing the different biofouling conditions, were obtained from the literature and then employed in the wall function of a RANS solver. Later on, the full-scale submarine form was investigated both in the smooth and different grades of biofouling related roughness conditions. The scale effects were examined between the model and full-scale submarine forms through the total resistance components and nominal wake fraction in the smooth reference condition. In rough cases, the frictional resistance values of the full-scale submarine form obtained by RANS solver were compared with those of predicted using Granville‘s similarity law analysis based on the flat plate approach. The numerical results showed that the roughness causes a substantial increase in effective power, ranging from ∼36% to ∼112% depending on the roughness height and submarine speed. Furthermore, with an increasing boundary layer thickness (due to the impact of increasing roughness heights), the mean nominal wake fraction values increase ranging from ∼25% to ∼68 compared to the reference wake fraction values in the axial direction at the stern

Effect of biofouling roughness on a marine propeller's performance including cavitation and underwater radiated noise (URN)

This study aims to investigate the effects of biofouling-related roughness on a propeller’s hydrodynamic and underwater radiated noise (URN) performance. Selected benchmark INSEAN E779A propeller operated in uniform & open water flow under non-cavitating and cavitating conditions. The hydrodynamic flow field around the propeller was first solved using RANS (Reynolds-averaged Navier Stokes) solver. The Schnerr-Sauer cavitation model, based on reduced Rayleigh-Plesset equation, was used to model the sheet cavitation on the propeller blades and tip vortex cavitation (TVC) in the propeller’s slipstream. A vorticity-based Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) technique was employed for the observation of TVC. The porous form of the Ffowcs-Williams Hawkings (P-FWH) equation, which is coupled with the RANS solver, was used to predict the URN (or hydroacoustic performance) of the propeller. The propeller performance characteristics, including cavitation, were validated with the available experimental data. Following that, the roughness functions representing the different roughness configurations obtained from the literature were employed using wall function model of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) solver. The results showed that roughness has detrimental impacts on the propeller’s performance characteristics. That is to say that the propeller’s thrust decreases while the torque increases with increasing severity of the roughness. Hence, the efficiency loss of the propeller at the most severe roughness condition can be as high as 30% and 25% at J=0.795 and J=0.71 & σ=1.763, respectively. Unlike its detrimental effects on the hydrodynamic performance, the roughness had some positive effects by reducing the cavitation volume, especially for the TVC and hence on the propeller underwater radiated noise (URN). The results also indicated that the URN levels might be reduced up to 10dB between 1kHz and 2khz. Besides, 2nd and 3rd BPF values decrease between 1 and 7dB under varying roughness configurations in comparison to the smooth case. The study reported the effect of a particular biofouling roughness on the URN levels of a propeller for the first time in model-scale and using the CFD simulations

Off-pump versus on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting in acute coronary syndrome: a clinical analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) surgery has many beneficial effects compared with on-pump surgery, switch to on-pump surgery has significantly higher risks of operative mortality. Benefits of OPCAB over on-pump surgery strategies concerning myocardial revascularization are still debatable. We have aimed to develop an "algorithm of off-pump surgical strategy" on preventing conversion to on-pump. This clinical study reports our clinical outcome of OPCAB in patients with acute coronary syndrome.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Between January 2006 and December 2008, 198 patients with acute coronary syndrome were enrolled in the study. Decision of OPCAB (142 patients) or on-pump surgery (56 patients) was made according to patients' present clinical status and our surgical background. Cardiac enzymes, duration of the surgery, graft numbers, stay in intensive care unit were recorded.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>OPCAP group has shorter operation time (82.78 min versus 164.22 min, p < 0.001), lesser necessity for intra-aortic balloon pumping (3.5% versus 12.5%, p = 0.053), shorter duration of intensive care unit stay (p < 0.05) and hospital stay (p < 0.001) compared to on-pump patients. EuroSCORE level was lower in OPCAP group (p < 0.001). None of the patients of OPCAB group required conversion to on-pump technique.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The patients who admitted to the hospital with acute coronary syndrome within "golden hours" (within 6 hours after onset) had a greater chance for OPCAB surgery. This study proves that EuroSCORE is likely to be an important factor in deciding which surgical technique to use, but a further investigation is needed to verify. According to our findings, a careful evaluation of coronary angiography, hemodynamic status, quality of target coronary vessel and timing of surgery are important for OPCAB surgery to avoid conversion to on-pump. By a careful systematic evaluation of the patients as explained with this article, it can be prevent or reduce conversion to on-pump surgery during OPCAB surgery.</p

Correction: The effect of activated protein C on experimental acute necrotizing pancreatitis

PubMe

The effect of activated protein C on experimental acute necrotizing pancreatitis

INTRODUCTION: Acute pancreatitis is a local inflammatory process that leads to a systemic inflammatory response in the majority of cases. Bacterial contamination has been estimated to occur in 30–40% of patients with necrotizing pancreatitis. Development of pancreatic necrosis depends mainly on the degree of inflammation and on the microvascular circulation of the pancreatic tissue. Activated protein C (APC) is known to inhibit coagulation and inflammation, and to promote fibrinolysis in patients with severe sepsis. We investigated the effects of APC on histopathology, bacterial translocation, and systemic inflammation in experimental acute necrotizing pancreatitis. MATERIALS AND METHOD: Forty-five male Sprague-Dawley rats were studied. Rats were randomly allocated to three groups. Acute pancreatitis was induced in group II (positive control; n = 15) and group III (treatment; n = 15) rats by retrograde injection of taurocholate into the common biliopancreatic duct. Group I rats (sham; n = 15) received an injection of normal saline into the common biliopancreatic duct to mimic a pressure effect. Group III rats were treated with intravenous APC 6 hours after induction of pancreatitis. Pancreatic tissue and blood samples were obtained from all animals for histopathological examination and assessment of amylase, tumor necrosis factor-α, and IL-6 levels in serum. Bacterial translocation to pancreas and mesenteric lymph nodes was measured. RESULTS: Acute pancreatitis developed in all groups apart from group I (sham), as indicated by microscopic parenchymal necrosis, fat necrosis and abundant turbid peritoneal fluid. Histopathological pancreatitis scores in the APC-treated group were lower than in positive controls (10.31 ± 0.47 versus 14.00 ± 0.52; P < 0.001). Bacterial translocation to mesenteric lymph nodes and to pancreas in the APC-treated group was significantly decreased compared with controls (P < 0.02 and P < 0.007, respectively). Serum amylase, tumor necrosis factor--α, and IL-6 levels were also significantly decreased in comparison with positive controls (P < 0.001, P < 0.04 and P < 0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION: APC improved the severity of pancreatic tissue histology, superinfection rates and serum markers of inflammation during the course of acute necrotizing pancreatitis