QUADRICEPS FEMORIS ANGLE OF ELITE AND NON-ELITE ATHLETES IN OLYMPIC STYLE WEIGHTLIFTING

OBJECTIVE: To find out the quadriceps femoris angle (Q-angle) values of elite and non-elite athletes in Olympic style weightlifting. METHODS: This study included 22 male elite athletes that won medals in international Olympic style weightlifting championships and 22 male non-elite athletes who won medals in national Olympic style weightlifting championships. A goniometer was used to determine the angle of the quadriceps femoris muscle while the athletes were in supine position and the muscle was inactivated.  Anthropometric measurements of right-left thigh and lower leg length, right-left thigh and calf girth, and pelvic width of athletes were obtained. One repetition maximum of snatch, clean and jerk and leg strength of the athletes was recorded. To study demographic characteristics and some anthropometric values of lower extremity of the athletes, t-Test was conducted for independent groups. To compare anthropometric measurements of right-left lower extremity and right-left Q-angle values, paired sample t-Test was used. Right-left Q-angle values and relations among other variables were studied by Pearson correlation analysis. SPSS was used for all analyses. RESULTS: Mean age was 19.73±2.97 years and 18.73±1.55 years for of elite and non-elite athletes respectively. No significant difference was observed in demographic characteristics and in some anthropometric values of lower extremity of elite and non-elite athletes (p>0.05). However, right-left Q-angle values of non-elite athletes (10.14±1.55o and 10.14±1.52o, respectively) were higher than the right-left Q-angle values of elite athletes (8.32±1.39o and 8.32±1.32o, respectively) [p<0.003]. CONCLUSIONS: Olympic style weightlifting, which is maintained in elite level, affects the quadriceps femoris angle

Comparison of salinity effects on grafted and non-grafted eggplants in terms of ion accumulation, MDA content and antioxidative enyzme activities

Grafting onto resistant/tolerant rootstocks is known to alleviate the negative effects of abiotic stress factors like salinity by enhancing their enzymatic antioxidant defense system and having more efficient nutrient uptake. This study was carried out under greenhouse conditions, different rootstock/scion eggplant combinations were grown under two salinity treatments 1.8-2 dS/m (control) and 6-7 dS/m (stress) with seven eggplant genotypes as rootstocks (commercial and Turkish genotypes). Two genotypes were used as the scion. Leaf MDA and ions (Na+, Cl-, K+ and Ca++) content, antioxidant enzymes activity were evaluated as indicators for plant tolerance level. It was found that the rootstock-grafted plants were more efficient in preventing Na+ ions to be transferred to the plants upper parts and had higher SOD, CAT, and APX activity levels compared to the self- and non-grafted plants which resulted in better tolerance and growth in these plants

The evaluation of doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity: Comparison of Doppler and tissue Doppler-derived myocardial performance index

Background: Doxorubicin is a chemotherapeutic agent used in a wide spectrum of cancers. However, cardiotoxic effects have limited its clinical use. The early detection of doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity is crucial. The purpose of our study was to assess values of Doppler and tissue Doppler imaging (TDI)-derived myocardial performance index (MPI) in adult cancer patients receiving doxorubicin treatment. Methods: A total of 45 patients underwent echocardiographic examinations before any doxorubicin had been administered and then after doxorubicin. Doppler and TDI-derived MPI of left ventricular (LV) were determined in the evaluation of cardiotoxicity. Additionally, TDI-derived MPI of right ventricular (RV) was determined. Results: All patients underwent control echocardiographic examination after mean 5 &#177; 1.7 months. The LV MPI obtained by both Doppler and TDI were increased after doxorubicin treatment (0.56 &#177; 0.11, 0.61 &#177; 0.10, p = 0,005 vs 0.51 &#177; 0.09, 0.59 &#177; 0.09, p = 0.001, respectively). There was no correlation between Doppler-derived MPI and cumulative doxorubicin dose (coefficient of correlation 0.11, p = 0.6). TDI-derived MPI was correlated with cumulative doxorubicin dose (coefficient of correlation 0.35, p = 0.015), but this correlation is weak (r = 0.38). The study population was divided into two groups according to doxorubicin dose (below and above 300 mg level). There was a moderate correlation between TDI-derived MPI and less than 300 mg of doxorubicin dose (coefficient of correlation 0.51, p = 0.028). However, Doppler-derived MPI was not correlated with less than 300 mg of doxorubicin dose (coefficient of correlation 0.38, p = 0.123). Also, there was no significant change in the TDI-derived RV-MPI (0.49 &#177; 0.14, 0.50 &#177; 0.12, p = 0.56). Conclusions: TDI-derived MPI is a useful parameter and an early indicator compared with Doppler-derived MPI in the detection of cardiotoxicity during the early stages. Also, doxorubicin administration does not affect RV function

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Macular Buckling Surgery for Retinal Detachment Associated with Macular Hole in High Myopia Eye

A 68-year-old woman presented to our clinic with a 1-month history of central scotoma and visual loss in her right eye. The best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was hand motion in her right eye. Fundus examination showed myopic chorioretinal degeneration in association with posterior staphyloma and the retina was slightly elevated throughout the macula. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) revealed retinal detachment involving the posterior pole with a macular hole and staphyloma. The patient underwent pars plana vitrectomy, internal limiting membrane peeling, macular buckling, and perfluoropropane gas tamponade. At 3-month follow-up, her BCVA was improved to counting fingers at 1 meter and flattened retina with closed macular hole was observed by OCT. Myopic macular hole with retinal detachment associated with posterior staphyloma represent a challenge regarding their management and several surgical techniques have been described. Although satisfactory anatomical improvement is achieved in these eyes after surgery, the visual acuity outcomes may be poorer than expected due to the chorioretinal atrophy at the posterior pole

Performance Analysis of Error Correction Codes for Digital Interval Pulse Modulation Technique

Nowadays, Radio Frequency (RF) bands in wireless communication have been rapidly filled and reached the upper limits of the frequency band due to the high data rate and developing technologies. This situation increases the interest on new alternative communication technologies. Hence, the VLC (Visible Light Communication) comes into play to mitigate data traffic over RF for short distances. The design of modulator and demodulator design in VLC is one of the most important issues because it affects features such as error performance, bandwidth efficiency, power efficiency. Therefore, the performance analysis of DPIM (Digital Pulse Interval Modulation) technique used for VLC systems was performed in this paper. The analyzes were carried out in MATLAB environment. In the study, error correction codes are integrated into DPIM technique. By achieving the mathematical infrastructure of the integrated error correction codes, a comparison of the conventional system with SER (Slot Error Ratio) and PER (Packet Error Ratio) was obtained in the simulation. The proposed receiver structure has been shown to perform better than traditional DPIM receiver structure. Therefore, it can be seen from the simulation results that the error correction codes can be transmitted to the traditional structure for higher tranmission distance. Especially, it is seen that the error correction structure considerably improves the error performance for constant threshold value application

A research related with tomato, carotenoids and factors effecting them

Due to rapid increase of human population, the requirement for foodstuff also increases and new species with high yield are tried to be regenerated in order to fulfill this increasing demand. Apart from the regeneration studies aiming to increase efficiency, increase in demand of healthy, natural nutrition, additive free and higher quality products increase the regeneration studies in this field. Environmental pollution, urban living conditions and high amount of prepared foodstuffs, increased the interest of people towards natural and nutritive foodstuff in recent years. Today, fruits and vegetables are consumed not only for nutrition purpose but also in order to prevent from diseases and considering their therapeutic properties. Therefore fruits and vegetables are preferred due to their content. Functional foodstuff term entered our life as a result of these developments. Almost all of vegetables have protective and therapeutic effects on human health due to the materials in their content. Tomato is one of them. It is widely consumed as fresh in our country just like in other parts of the world as well as in sauce, ketchup and tomato paste forms. Finding high quality tomato in every season has become a normal standard for Turkey

Enhancement of demagnetization control for low-voltage ride-through capability in DFIG-based wind farm

GUVENC, Ugur/0000-0002-5193-7990; sonmez, yusuf/0000-0002-9775-9835WOS: 000432411800012Low voltage ride through (LVRT) is one of the most popular methods to protect doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) against balanced and unbalanced voltage dips. In this study, a novel LVRT capability strategy is enhanced using forcing demagnetization controller (FDC) in DFIG-based wind farm. Moreover, not only stator circuit but also rotor circuit were developed by electromotor force (EMF) for LVRT in DFIG-based wind farm. The transient stability performances of the DFIG with and without the FDC and EMF were compared for three- and two-phase faults. In addition to variations such as 34.5 kV bus voltage and terminal voltage of DFIG, speed of DFIG, electrical torque of DFIG and d-q axis rotor-stator current variations of DFIG were also evaluated. It was seen that the system became stable within a short time using the FDC and EMF

Analysing the Progression Rates of Macular Lesions with Autofluorescence Imaging Modes in Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Objectives: In this study we aimed to compare the sensitivity of blue-light fundus autofluorescence (FAF) and near-infrared autofluorescence (NI-AF) imaging for determining the progression rates of macular lesions in dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Materials and Methods: The study was designed retrospectively and included patients diagnosed with intermediate and advanced stage dry AMD. Best corrected visual acuities and FAF and NI-AF images were recorded in 46 eyes of 33 patients. Lesion borders were drawn manually on the images using Heidelberg Eye Explorer software and lesion areas were calculated by using Microsoft Excel software. BCVA and lesion areas were compared with each other. Results: Patients’ mean follow-up time was 30.98±13.30 months. The lesion area progression rates were 0.85±0.93 mm2/y in FAF and 0.93±1.01 mm2/y in NI-AF, showing statistically significant correlation with each other (r=0.883; p<0.01). Both imaging methods are moderately correlated with visual acuity impairment (r=0.362; p<0.05 and r=0.311; p<0.05, respectively). In addition, larger lesions showed higher progression rates than smaller ones in both imaging methods. Conclusion: NI-AF imaging is as important and effective as FAF imaging for follow-up of dry AMD patients