Turkish Monetary Policy and Components of Aggregate Demand: A VAR Analysis with Sign Restrictions Model

Cataloged from PDF version of article.This article estimates the effects of monetary policy on components of aggregate demand using quarterly data on Turkish economy from 1987-2008 by means of structural Vector Autoregression (VAR) methodology. This study adopts Uhlig's (2005) sign restrictions on the impulse responses of main macroeconomic variables to identify monetary shock. This study finds that expansionary monetary policy stimulates output through consumption and investment in the short-run. However, expansionary monetary policy is ineffective in the long-run

Učinak resveratrola na razinu ekspresije SIRT2, SIRT3 i oksidacijsko oštećenje DNK kod hepatotoksičnosti izazvane fumonizinom u BALB/c miševa

Oxidative stress, which is characterized by disruption of the oxidant/antioxidant balance, causes pathological processes, including toxicities induced by certain mycotoxins. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of resveratrol on sirtuin deacetylases (SIRT2 and SIRT3), nitric oxide (NO), reduced glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in fumonisin B1-induced hepatotoxicity. Regarding the experimental design, forty BALB/c mice were divided into four groups corresponding to the control, resveratrol (10 mg/kg, i.p), fumonisin B1 (2.25 mg/ kg, i.p) and resveratrol + fumonisin B1 (10 mg/kg + 2.25 mg/kg) groups. At the end of the 14 day-treatment, expression levels of SIRT2 and SIRT3 protein in the serum and liver were revealed by western blotting and antioxidant/oxidant activity analysis. SIRT2 and SIRT3 expression levels in the liver were significantly decreased by fumonisin B1 in comparison to the control. However, resveratrol supplementation coupled with fumonisin B1 increased the expression levels of SIRT2 and SIRT3, in relation to the fumonisin B1 treatments alone, but did not exhibit significant differences from those of the control group. As substantial indicators of stress and damage, the 8-OH-2-deoxyguanosine, NO and MDA levels of the liver tissue were assayed, and were higher in the fumonisin B1-treated groups, in relation to the control. As expected, resveratrol treatment significantly reduced the levels of NO and MDA in comparison to the fumonisin B1 treatments alone. Also, resveratrol attenuated the liver 8-OH-2- deoxyguanosine levels in the resveratrol + fumonisin B1 group. In conclusion, the findings revealed that resveratrol might possess protective effects against fumonisin-induced hepatotoxicity through modulation of the expression of sirtuin proteins, and by protecting the cell from oxidative/nitrosative stress.Oksidacijski stres, koji obilježava poremećaj ravnoteže oksidansa i antiksidansa, uzrokuje patološke procese, uključujući toksičnost potaknutu određenim mikotoksinima. U ovom je radu istražen učinak resveratrola na sirtuin-deacetilazu (SIRT2 i SIRT3), dušikov oksid (NO), sniženi glutation (GSH) i malondialdehid (MDA) kod hepatotoksičnosti izazvane fumonizinom B1. Istraživanje je postavljeno tako da je 40 BALB/c miševa podijeljeno u četiri skupine: kontrolnu, skupinu koja je dobivala resveratrol (10 mg/kg, ip.), skupinu koja je dobivala fumonizin B1 (2,25 mg/kg, ip) i skupinu koja je dobivala resveratrol i fumonizin B1 (10 mg/kg+2,25 mg/kg). Nakon 14 dana određena je razina ekspresije proteina SIRT2 i SIRT3 metodom western blotting te analiza aktivnosti antioksidansa i oksidansa u serumu i jetri. Razina ekspresije SIRT2 i SIRT3 u jetri bila znakovito smanjena u skupini s fumonizinom B1 u usporedbi s kontrolnom skupinom. U skupini s dodatkom resveratrola i fumonizina B1, međutim, povećana je razina ekspresije SIRT2 i SIRT3 u usporedbi sa skupinom koja je dobivala fumonizin B1, no bez znakovite razlike između tih skupina i kontrolne skupine. Analizirani su ključni pokazatelji stresa i oštećenja, razine OH-2-deoksigvanozin, NO i MDA u tkivu jetre, koje su bile veće u skupini s fumonizinom B1, u usporedbi s kontrolnom skupinom. Kao što se očekivalo, primjena resveratrola znakovito je smanjila razine NO i MDA u usporedbi sa skupinom kojoj je primijenjen samo fumonizin B1. Također, resveratrol je smanjio razinu 8-OH-2- deoksigvanozina u jetri u skupini kojoj su dani i resveratrol i fumonizin. Rezultati pokazuju da bi resveratrol mogao imati zaštitni učinak u slučaju hepatotoksičnosti uzrokovane fumonizinom putem modulacije ekspresije sirtuin proteina i zaštite stanice od oksidacijskog/nitrosativnog stresa

Adaptation of a Mice Doppler Echocardiography Platform to Measure Cardiac Flow Velocities for Embryonic Chicken and Adult Zebrafish.

Ultrasonography is the most widely used imaging technique in cardiovascular medicine. In this technique, a piezoelectric crystal produces, sends, and receives high frequency ultrasound waves to the body to create an image of internal organs. It enables practical real time visualization in a non-invasive manner, making the modality especially useful to image dynamic cardiac structures. In the last few decades, echocardiography has been applied to cardiac disease models, mainly to rodents. While clinical echocardiography platforms can be used for relatively large animals such as pigs and rats, specialized systems are needed for smaller species. Theoretically, as the size of the imaged sample decreases, the frequency of the ultrasound transducer needed to image the sample increases. There are multiple modes of echocardiography imaging. In Doppler mode, erythrocytes blood flow velocities are measured from the frequency shift of the sent ultrasound waves compared to received echoes. Recorded data are then used to calculate cardiac function parameters such as cardiac output, as well as the hemodynamic shear stress levels in the heart and blood vessels. The multi-mode (i.e., b-mode, m-mode, Pulsed Doppler, Tissue Doppler, etc.) small animal ultrasound systems in the market can be used for most cardiac disease models including mice, embryonic chick and zebrafish. These systems are also associated with significant costs. Alternatively, there are more economical single-mode echocardiography platforms. However, these are originally built for mice studies and they need to be tested and evaluated for smaller experimental models. We recently adapted a mice Doppler echocardiography system to measure cardiac flow velocities for adult zebrafish and embryonic chicken. We successfully assessed cardiac function and hemodynamic shear stress for normal as well as for diseased embryonic chicken and zebrafish. In this paper, we will present our detailed protocols for Doppler flow measurements and further cardiac function analysis on these models using the setup. The protocols will involve detailed steps for animal stabilization, probe orientation for specific measurements, data acquisition, and data analysis. We believe this information will help cardiac researchers to establish similar echocardiography platforms in their labs in a practical and economical manner.Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF), National Priority Research Program NPRP 10-0123-170222. The publication of this article was funded by the Qatar National Library

Investigation of 74As decay branching ratio dependence on the host material

The branching ratio between the beta- and beta+/electron capture decay of 74As has been measured in different host materials such as Ta, Al, Ge and mylar. No significant dependence of the branching ratio on the host material has been observed. The half-life of 74As has also been measured in metallic Ta and in semiconductor Ge, no difference has been found and the results are in agreement with the literature value. The obtained results provide an upper limit for the possible host material dependence of the decay rate in 74As.Comment: Accepted for publication in Europhysics Letter

Cd110,116(α,α)Cd110,116 elastic scattering and systematic investigation of elastic α scattering cross sections along the Z=48 isotopic and N=62 isotonic chains

The elastic scattering cross sections for the reactions Cd110,116(α,α)Cd110,116 at energies above and below the Coulomb barrier are presented to provide a sensitive test for the α-nucleus optical potential parameter sets. Additional constraints for the optical potential are taken from the analysis of elastic scattering excitation functions at backward angles which are available in literature. Moreover, the variation of the elastic α scattering cross sections along the Z=48 isotopic and N=62 isotonic chain is investigated by the study of the ratios of the Cd106,110,116(α,α)Cd106,110,116 scattering cross sections at E cm15.6and18.8 MeV and the ratio of the Cd110(α,α)Cd110 and Sn112(α,α)Sn112 reaction cross sections at Ecm18.8 MeV, respectively. These ratios are sensitive probes for the α-nucleus optical potential parametrizations. The potentials under study are a basic prerequisite for the prediction of α-induced reaction cross sections (e.g., for the calculation of stellar reaction rates in the astrophysical p or γ process). © 2011 American Physical Society.This work was supported by the EUROGENESIS research program, by the Hungarian Office of the National Scientific Research Fund (OTKA), Grants No. NN83261 and No. K068801, by the European Research Council, Grant No. 203175, and by the Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics (NSF Grant No. PHY0822648). G.G.K. and D.G. acknowledge the support of the Spanish Interministerial Commission of Science and Technology, under Project No. FPA2005-02379, and the Ministry of Education and Science (MEC) Consolider, Project No. CSD2007-00042. G.G. acknowledges support from the Bolyai grant. D.G. acknowledges support from the Spanish Ministry of Science Juan de la Cierva grant. This work was also supported by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK), Grants No. 108T508 (TBAG1001) and No. 109T585 (under the EUROGENESIS research program). Fruitful discussions with M. Avrigeanu are gratefully acknowledged.Peer Reviewe

Common variable immunodeficiency syndrome with right aortic arch: a case report

BACKGROUND: Common variable immunodificiency syndrome predominantly affects adults. It is characterized by low production of all the major classes of immunoglobulins. We report a case of common variable immunodeficiency syndrome with right aortic arch. An association of right-sided arch and common variable immunodificiency syndrome has not been previously reported. CASE PRESENTATION: A 41-year-old female patient presented with a history of recurrent pneumonia, sinusitis, otitis media, diarrhoea, cystitis since childhood. Biochemical and immunocytochemical analysis revealed common variable immunodeficiency syndrome and radiological evaluation confirmed right aortic arch and aberrant left subclavian artery. CONCLUSION: Common variable immunodeficiency syndrome syndrome is a clinical entity that should be kept in mind in patients with recurrent infections of different sites

Using Zebrafish for Investigating the Molecular Mechanisms of Drug-Induced Cardiotoxicity

Over the last decade, the zebrafish (Danio rerio) has emerged as amodel organismfor cardiovascular research.Zebrafish have several advantages over mammalian models. For instance, the experimental cost of using zebrafish is comparatively low; the embryos are transparent, develop externally, and have high fecundity making them suitable for large-scale genetic screening. More recently, zebrafish embryos have been used for the screening of a variety of toxic agents, particularly for cardiotoxicity testing. Zebrafish has been shown to exhibit physiological responses that are similar to mammals after exposure to medicinal drugs including xenobiotics, hormones, cancer drugs, and also environmental pollutants, including pesticides and heavy metals. In this review, we provided a summary for recent studies that have used zebrafish to investigate themolecularmechanisms of drug-induced cardiotoxicity. More specifically, we focused on the techniques that were exploited by us and others for cardiovascular toxicity assessment and described several microscopic imaging and analysis protocols that are being used for the estimation of a variety of cardiac hemodynamic parameters.Huseyin C. Yalcin is supported by Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF), National Priority Research Program NPRP 10-0123-170222,and Qatar University internal funds,QUUGBRC-2017-3 and QUST-BRC-SPR\2017-1. The publication of this article was partially funded by the Qatar National Library

Ion responsive near-IR BODIPY dyes: Two isomers, two different signals

Tetrastyryl-substituted BODIPY dyes are likely to evolve into a new class of near IR fluorophores. In this work we demonstrate that 1,7 and 3,5-positions show marked differences in charge transfer characteristics. Using a Hg(ii) selective ligand, the signal transduction potentials were explored: one isomer shows a large blue shift in electronic absorption spectrum, while the other just shows an intensity increase in the emission spectrum. Electronic structure calculations were undertaken to elucidate the reasons for different signals on metal ion binding in relation to core BODIPY properties. This journal is © the Partner Organisations 2014

Processing of ultrafine-size particulate metal matrix composites by advanced shear technology

Copyright @ 2009 ASM International. This paper was published in Metallurgical & Materials Transactions A 40A(3) and is made available as an electronic reprint with the permission of ASM International. One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic or multiple reproduction, distribution to multiple locations via electronic or other means, duplications of any material in this paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modification of the content of this paper are prohibited.Lack of efficient mixing technology to achieve a uniform distribution of fine-size reinforcement within the matrix and the high cost of producing components have hindered the widespread adaptation of particulate metal matrix composites (PMMCs) for engineering applications. A new rheo-processing method, the melt-conditioning high-pressure die-cast (MC-HPDC) process, has been developed for manufacturing near-net-shape components of high integrity. The MC-HPDC process adapts the well-established high shear dispersive mixing action of a twin-screw mechanism to the task of overcoming the cohesive force of the agglomerates under a high shear rate and high intensity of turbulence. This is followed by direct shaping of the slurry into near-net-shape components using an existing cold-chamber die-casting process. The results indicate that the MC-HPDC samples have a uniform distribution of ultrafine-sized SiC particles throughout the entire sample in the as-cast condition. Compared to those produced by conventional high-pressure die casting (HPDC), MC-HPDC samples have a much improved tensile strength and ductility.EP-SR