A Viral Pathogen from Pine Processionary Moth, Thaumetopoea pityocampa (Denis & Schiffermuller, 1775) (Lepidoptera: Notodontidae)

Pine processionary moth, Thaumetopoea pityocampa (Den. & Schiff.) is a serious defoliator in pine forests. Its larvae cause defoliation by eating leaves mainly on coniferous species, Pinus brutia, P. nigra, P. pinaster, and P. pinea in Turkey. Cypovirus is the most common entomopathogen in T. pityocampa populations. In this study, the ultrastructure of the cypovirus of T. pityocampa was observed in the intestine lumen of the predatory beetle, Calasoma sycophanta L. (Coleoptera: Carabidae), which supports the hypothesis of possible transmission of the virus to T. pityocampa populations by the predatory beetle. Polyhedral occlusion bodies (OBs) and virions were examined by electron microscopy. OBs of the virus were of irregular shape and 2.1 µm (1.2-3) in diameter, and each of them included up to 50 virions in a cross-section. Virions were icosahedral and 78.3 (65-90) nm in size and each virion had surface spikes. Smaller OBs, larger virions and a high number of virions per cross-section were the main features of the cypovirus in T. pityocampa. Our observations make us conclude that the predator beetle, C. sycophanta, may disseminate OBs of cypovirus when preying upon infected T. pityocampa larvae

Breastfeeding Practices of Health Professionals and Care Workers in Turkey

Breastfeeding has a significant positive impact on the health of infants and is the best nutrition source. Health professionals/care workers play a considerable role in the promotion of breast-feeding. The knowledge and attitude level of health professionals/care workers and its influence on their own breastfeeding behaviour was investigated. Two hundred sixty three of 345 health care workers (response rate=76.2%) working in Children and Birth Hospitals and primary health care centres in a rural city (Isparta) in south Turkey participated in this study. A questionnaire was administered. Descriptive statistics and x2 test have been used (alpha=0.05) to analyse the data. Seventy four (41.1%) of the respondents with children (n=180) exclusively nursed their children for less than 4 months; 62 (34.4%) nursed beyond 6 months. Physicians with children (n=14, 53.8%) were used to exclusively breastfeed less than 4 months (x2 (4)=9.76, p= 0.045). This study showed a difference between health professionals/care workers attitudes and knowledge level and their or their spouses breastfeeding behaviour. The reason why knowledge level of health professionals did not translate into their own or their spouses’ breastfeeding practices needs to be evaluated in further studies

Sealing ability of lateral compaction and tapered single cone gutta-percha techniques in root canals prepared with stainless steel and rotary nickel titanium instruments

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the sealing ability of lateral compaction and tapered single cone gutta-percha techniques in root canals prepared with stainless steel and rotary nickel titanium root canal instruments by fluid filtration method. Study design: The root canals were prepared with stainless steel (SS) and nickel titanium (NiTi) instruments. The canals prepared with SS were obturated with lateral compaction technique using .02 tapered cones and the canals prepared with NiTi instruments were obturated with lateral compaction technique using .02 tapered cones or 06 tapered single cones. The amount of leakage was evaluated by fluid filtration model. The results were statistically analyzed with one-way ANOVA. Results: The group prepared with NiTi instruments and filled with lateral compaction technique showed significantly less coronal leakage than the group prepared with SS instruments and filled with lateral compaction technique (p0.05). Conclusions: Obturation with lateral compaction of gutta-percha provides a superior coronal seal whilst canal instrumentation with engine-driven NiTi files reduces the extent of microleakage in root canals when compared with stainless steel hand instruments. Tapered single cone technique was comparable with lateral compaction technique because of easier application

Morphological, ultrastructural, and molecular identification of a new microsporidian pathogen isolated from Crepidodera aurata (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae)

A new microsporidian pathogen isolated from Crepidodera aurata was identified based on morphological and ultrastructural characteristics, coupled with a molecular phylogenetic analysis. The spores of the microsporidian pathogen were slightly curved in shape, and measured 2.44–3.55 μm in length and 1.25–1.55 μm in width (n = 50). Its ultrastructure is characteristic of monokaryotic groups. All lifecycle stages of the pathogen, including meronts, sporonts, sporoblasts, and mature spores, are monokaryotic. The spore has 6–8 windings of the polar filament. Morphological and ultrastructural characteristics of the lifecycle stages place it within the family Unikaryonidae. However, the phylogenetic tree constructed on the 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicates that the pathogen is closely related to the Nosema/Vairimorpha clade of microsporidia. Therefore, we have classified the microsporidian of C. aurata in the tentative group Microsporidium in order to avoid creating an unnecessary or incorrect new genus/species

Akdeniz un güvesi Ephestia kuehniella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)’nın biyolojik kontrolünde entomopatojenler

Mediterranean flour moth Ephestia kuehniella (Zeller, Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) is one of the most important insect pests that invade the stored grain of many grains around the world. Chemical control is a very preferred method in the fight of this pest. However, due to the economic, social and environmental damages of chemicals, the interest in biological control, which is an alternative method, is gradually increasing. Entomopathogens have very important in biological control and that cause desired infections in pests. Entomopathogens include many species such as viruses, bacteria, protists, fungi and nematodes. In recent years, entomopathogeic nematodes; Steinernema feltiae, Steinernema carpocapsae, Steinernema riobrave, Heterorhabditis bacteriophora, Heterorhabditis sp., Steinernema sp., and Xenorhabdus nematophila, entomopathogenic fungi; Paecilomyces fumosoroseus (=Isaria fumosorosea), Beuveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae, entomopathogenic bacteria; Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki, Photorhabdus temperata and Bacillus subtilis, entomopathogenic protists; Vairimorpha ephestiae, Leidyana ephestiae, Mattesia dispora and Mattesia oryzaephili, and virus; Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus (NPV) were reported from E.kuehniella. In this review, it is aimed to evaluate the recent status of these entomopathogenic organisms found or tested for E. kuehniella.Akdeniz un güvesi Ephestia kuehniella (Zeller, Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), dünyada birçok depolanmış tahılı istila eden en önemli böcek zararlılarından biridir. Zararlıyla mücadelede kimyasal mücadele çok tercih edilen bir yöntemdir. Bununla birlikte, kimyasalların ekonomik, sosyal ve çevresel zararlarından dolayı, alternatif bir yöntem olan biyolojik kontrole olan ilgi giderek artmaktadır. Entomopatojenler biyolojik kontrolde çok önemlidir ve zararlılarda istenen enfeksiyonlara neden olurlar. Entomopatojenlerin virüsler, bakteriler, protistler, mantarlar ve nematodlar gibi birçok türü vardır. Son yıllarda, entomopatojenik nematodlar; Steinernema feltiae, Steinernema carpocapsae, Steinernema riobrave, Heterorhabditis bacteriophora, Heterorhabditis sp., Steinernema sp. ve Xenorhabdus nematophila, entomopatojenik mantarlar; Paecilomyces fumosoroseus (=Isaria fumosorosea), Beuveria bassiana, Metarhizium anisopliae, entomopatojenik bakteriler; Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki, Photorhabdus temperata, Bacillus thuringiensis ve Bacillus subtilis, entomopatojenik protistler; Vairimorpha ephestiae, Leidyana ephestiae, Mattesia dispora ve Mattesia oryzaephili ve son olarak Nükleer Polihedrozis Virüs (NPV) E. kuehniella’da bulunmuş yada ona karşı test edilmiştir. Bu derlemede, E. kuehniella popülasyonlarında bulunan veya test edilen bu entomopatojenik organizmaların değerlendirilmesi amaçlanmıştır

Can auditory and vestibular findings differentiate vestibular migraine and meniere’s disease?

Background and Objectives: Besides evaluating the auditory and vestibular systems of patients with vestibular migraine (VM) and Meniere's disease (MD), this study aimed to examine the clinical overlaps between these two conditions by detailed evaluation of the patient's symptoms. Subjects and Methods: The ears of the patients with VM and MD were evaluated and patients' vestibular and auditory complaints were questioned particularly. Pure tone audiometry, vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) responses, and caloric test results were evaluated for objective measurements. Results: The VM group had better air-conduction and bone conduction threshold and speech reception threshold and speech discrimination score test values (p<0.05). Regarding the interaural N1-P1 asymmetry ratio, the cervical VEMP between the groups had significant differences (p=0.019). The MD group had more unilateral tinnitus and ear fullness complaints and canal paresis results (p<0.01). The VM group had more motion sickness complaints (p<0.01). Conclusions: If only ears with hearing loss are evaluated; there was no significant difference between VM and MD, but regardless of hearing level or only the patients with normal hearing were evaluated, the VM group had better hearing levels. It should be considered that patients with VM may have VM-independent hearing loss, and patient complaints should be sufficiently detailed to make an accurate distinction from MD.J Audiol Otol

Analysis of Turkish Prospective Science Teachers’ Perceptions on Technology in Education

Purpose of this study was to determine and analyze Turkish pre-service science teachers\u27 perceptions on technology in terms of learning style, computer competency level, possession of a computer, and gender. The study involved 264 Turkish pre-service science teachers. Analyses were conducted through four-way ANOVA, t-tests, Mann Whitney U test and one-way ANOVAs and the results showed there were one main effect for gender and one interaction effect between gender and computer competency level. The interaction effect pointed out that the male pre-service science teachers who were weak in computer competency held more positive perceptions toward instructional technology than their counterparts

Multi objective optimization of water jet guided laser micro drilling on Inconel 718 using Taguchi Method

© 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.Water jet guided laser overcomes the adverse effects of conventional laser cutting and drilling processes, such as heat-affected-zone, spatter, burr formation, etc. Pressurized water in this novel process provides focusing, cooling and cleaning on the cut region, eliminating undesired side effects of the laser. The process is nowadays used in energy and aerospace industries for drilling micro cooling holes on turbine blades made of super alloys. However, more research on the process is required to understand the effects of the variables on cutting time and quality. Optimum conditions differ for various materials and geometries. In this study, a multi objective optimization is performed in terms of process time and taper of the micro holes drilled on Inconel 718, a commonly used material in gas turbines. Taguchi design of experiment and statistical analysis is used to perform the experiments and evaluate the results

Distribution and occurrence of microsporidian pathogens of the willow flea beetle, Crepidodera aurata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in North Turkey

In this study, microsporidian pathogens in Crepidodera aurata populations were investigated. Totally 1,728 C. aurata adults were examined for microsporidian pathogens and 78 of them were found to be infected. Two species of microsporidia; Microsporidium sp.1 and Microsporidium sp.2 were observed in the C. aurata populations from ten localities in North Turkey. They show considerable difference from each other in the spore morphology and dimension, infection rate and host locality. The spores of Microsporidium sp.1 were oval in shape and measured from 3.66 to 5.66 µm in length and from 1.35 to 2.22 µm in width (n=50). The spores of Microsporidium sp. 2 were slightly curled and measured from 2.44 to 3.55 µm in length and from 1.25 to 1.55 µm in width (n=50). These microsporidia were recorded from C. aurata for the first time. Here we present occurrence and distribution of two microsporidia in C. aurata populations as natural potentially suppressing factors