Consumption Dynamics Scales: Consumption Tendency of Individuals Trained with Institutional Education of Religion

Turkey has passed the import substitution economic model to a new model of the economy called open out since 1980. Along with the neoliberal policies implemented, the process of integration with the global economy has begun. The incomes of the religious people who cannot be excluded from the effects of this articulation also increased and their consumption behaviors has changed. On the other hand, some transport elements, especially the media, have enabled consumption codes to reach different segments. The new values emerged in this process also caused transformations in individual consumption trends. In this study, the "Scale of Consumption Dynamics" (SCD) was developed in order to identify the trends of consumption of devotees and to find out how they changed. Quantitative research approach was adopted in the study and the datas were collected by face-to-face survey technique. The individuals included in our sample were selected by quota sampling. In this study, an expression pool was created as a result of literature review, expert opinion consultation, brainstorming with academicians and observations. The validity and reliability analysis of the scale was made using different statistics through the SPSS program. As a result of these steps, the dimensions of the scale consisting of 16 items and 3 dimensions are called "showy consumption", "wasteful consumption" and "religious priority consumption"

It isn't over ‘till it’s over: A continuing concern of the SARS-CoV-2 variants, and miRNAs targeting the S protein as a probable absolute cure

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak which still continues to affect the general population, has mutated day by day and new variants have emerged. More than 40 variants, usually caused by mutations in the spike (S) protein, have been recorded. Observation of S protein mutations in the development of t herapeutic agents will increase success rates. As we identify the three-dimensional (3D) conformation of viruses, it is more and more possible to work on models for understanding molecular interactions. Development of agents for arrays and 3D sequencing of proteins paves the way for potential therapeutic studies against variants. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) seemingly act as a potentially important group of biomolecules in combating uncontrolled cytokine release. Besides antiviral response, miRNAs promise to be  powerful therapeutic agents against infections. Studies have shown that miRNAs are able to inhibit the genome directly by miRNA-based treatments as they are sprecific to the SARS-CoV-2 genome. In order to expose this potential, in silico studies before continuing with lab studies are helpful. In our bioinformatics analysis, we proposed to compare the S protein similarities of Delta and Omicron, two of the most common variants, and to detect miRNAs targeting the S protein. The S proteins and coding sequences were compared between the two variants, and differences were determined. Within our analysis, 105 and 109 miRNAs for the Delta and Omicron variants, respectively, were detected. We believe that our study will be a potential guide for deciding on the miRNAs that may most likely have an effect on the management of the infection caused by both variants

Vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy may affect fetal thymus development

Objectives: The aim of our study was to evaluate the association of vitamin D deficiency (VDD) during pregnancy with thymus size in full-term fetuses. Material and methods: In this prospective study, we evaluated mid-pregnancy serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25(OH)D3) concentrations. The fetal thymus size was measured by ultrasound in the third trimester. Neonatal 25(OH)D3 levels were evaluated by umbilical cord blood sampling. Correlation of maternal and neonatal vitamin D levels and association between thymus size and both, maternal and neonatal vitamin D concentrations were investigated. Results: Serum 25(OH) D3 concentrations were within the normal range in 48 (29.8%) mothers and 10 (13.1%) new­borns. A strong correlation between mid-pregnancy maternal and neonatal 25(OH)D3 concentration (r = 0.8, p < 0.001) was found. A significant linear correlation was observed between both, maternal and neonatal 25(OH)D3 concentrations and thymus perimeter length (r = 0.45, p = 0.04 and r = 0.43, p < 0.01, respectively). Both, maternal and fetal VDDs were associated with decreased thymus perimeter (p = 0.04, p = 0.03). Conclusions: Vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy may be associated with smaller fetal thymus. Our data suggest that VDD in pregnancy may lead to systemic inflammatory response in the fetus

Relation between the frequency of CD34+ bone marrow derived circulating progenitor cells and the number of diseased coronary arteries in patients with myocardial ischemia and diabetes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Bone marrow-derived circulating progenitor cells (BM-CPCs) in patients with coronary heart disease are impaired with respect to number and mobilization. However, it is unknown whether the mobilization of BM-CPCs depends on the number of diseased coronary arteries. Therefore, in our study, we analysed the correlation between the diseased coronary arteries and the frequency of CD34/45+ BM-CPCs in peripheral blood (PB) in patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The frequency of CD34/45⁺BM-CPCs was measured by flow cytometry in 120 patients with coronary 1 vessel (IHD1, n = 40), coronary 2 vessel (IHD2, n = 40), coronary 3 vessel disease (IHD3, n = 40) and in a control group of healthy subjects (n = 40). There was no significant difference of the total number of cardiovascular risk factors between IHD groups, beside diabetes mellitus (DM), which was significantly higher in IHD3 group compared to IHD2 and IHD1 groups.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The frequency of CD34/45⁺BM-CPCs was significantly reduced in patients with IHD compared to the control group (CD34/45⁺; p < 0.001). The frequency of BM-CPCs was impaired in patients with IHD3 compared to IHD1 (CD34/45⁺; p < 0.001) and to IHD2 (CD34/45⁺; p = 0.001). But there was no significant difference in frequency of BM-CPCs between the patients with IHD2 and IHD1 (CD34/45⁺; p = 0.28). In a subgroup we observed a significant negative correlation between levels of hemoglobin AIc (HbAIc) and the frequency of BM-CPCs (CD34/45⁺; p < 0.001, r = -0.8).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The frequency of CD34/45⁺BM-CPCs in PB is impaired in patients with IHD. This impairment may augment with an increased number of diseased coronary arteries. Moreover, the frequency of CD34/45⁺BM-CPCs in ischemic tissue is further impaired by diabetes in patients with IHD.</p

Ethnic Differences in Analgesic Efficacy and Safety of Liposomal Bupivacaine Among Asian and Caucasian Surgical Patients: A Retrospective Matched-Cohort Analysis

BACKGROUND: Extended-release local anesthetics allow for prolonged analgesia after a single administration. Although Asians demonstrate different pain thresholds than Caucasians, whether they have different postoperative local anesthetic analgesic effects has not been elucidated. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to compare the postoperative analgesic efficacy of liposomal bupivacaine on Asian and Caucasian adults, and the incidence of local anesthetic systemic toxicity (LAST) syndrome. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective, assessor-blinded cohort study of adult patients who received liposomal bupivacaine for surgery between 2012 and 2018. Asians and Caucasians were matched in a 1:1 ratio by clinical characteristics and surgery type. The primary outcome was pain management, defined as average pain score and opioid consumption during the initial 72 postoperative hours. The secondary outcome was the incidence of LAST syndrome. Reviewers were blinded to the ethnicity of the patient. RESULTS: After 1:1 propensity score matching, 130 Asians and 129 Caucasians were analyzed. All confounding variables were balanced, except for higher body mass index in the Asian group. Pain scores were lower (adjusted mean difference of -0.50 [97.5% CI, -0.98, -0.01]; superiority p = 0.011) and opioid consumption was not greater (geometric means ratio, 0.61 [97.5% CI, 0.36, 1.04]; non-inferiority p ＜ 0.001) in Asian patients compared to Caucasian patients. Only one Caucasian patient was judged as having a potential case of LAST syndrome. The length of hospital stay and the incidence of additional complications were not different between the groups. CONCLUSION: Asian adults receiving liposomal bupivacaine as part of multimodal perioperative analgesia demonstrated lower pain scores compared to matching Caucasians, despite not having greater opioid consumption

Synthesis and Structural Characterization of Y-doped Pyramidal ZnO Powders

The present study focuses on the structural changes in ZnO powder induced by doping of a rare earth metal of Y. For this aim, we synthesized four ZnO samples with different Y-content using the combustion reaction method. X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) technique and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results confirm that the as-investigated structural parameters and morphology of the ZnO structure were affected directly by the concentration of Y dopant. For each Y-doped sample, randomly-oriented pyramidal morphology and the formation of a minority phase of Y2O3 were observed. A gradual increase in both lattice parameters and unit cell volume was detected with increasing Y content. All samples were found to be thermally stable in the temperature interval of 25-950 °C

Quantitative collision risk assessment of a fixed-type offshore platform with an offshore supply vessel

Offshore installations are designed to withstand against potential collisions from offshore supply vessels (OSV). Quantitative risk assessment (QRA) provides an overall picture of expected collision frequencies and consequences for the design life of a platform and subsequently estimates the damage repair cost. However, the main challenge of the QRA study is how well various uncertainties are implemented into the model. This study aimed to introduce and demonstrate an advanced and efficient QRA model for the collision between an OSV and a jacket type offshore platform. A set of fifty collision scenarios were selected using probabilistic sampling techniques, and vessel motion analyses were performed to determine collision load characteristics. Extensive nonlinear structural crashworthiness analyses were conducted using advanced computational modelling techniques , and the repair cost of the damaged brace and column members were calculated. Probability exceedance diagrams were established for different consequence parameters, and asset risks were calculated. A comparison study of the design values of damage parameters and repair costs were carried out in association with the NORSOK and HSE risk acceptance criteria. A sensitivity study was carried out to study the effects of various collision load parameters on the structural consequences. The methods and insights developed in this study could be applied to both new and existing offshore platforms and practically useful for the platform owners to aid in their decision-making process towards the risk-based safety analysis of offshore platforms

Erratum to: 36th International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s13054-016-1208-6.]