Bee Products as Functional Food

The studies that reveal the impact of the bee products on overall health are accompanied by new researches every year, and the importance of these researches are gradually on the rise. Bee products that are used as food and food supplements and drug concentrations in the historic process are drawing the attention with their marvellous characteristic features. The search for nourishment of the body on behalf of healthy living is currently being searched by many people. Therefore, the consumption of products that protect the health appears as the primary preference of people. In the light of this recent tendency, food sector is now offering well-supported products that are suitable for this preference. At this point, bee products such as honey, pollen, bee bread, royal jelly and propolis gain importance as functional food with their nutritious features that help in protecting the health. In this article, within the consideration of the researches that evaluate bee products as functional food, we aim to introduce the prominence of bee products in our nourishment and overall health

Development of a Software for Design and Design Comparison of Prestressed I-Beam for Highway and Railway Bridges Based on International Standards

New computer software is being developed within Bridgewiz R&D Co. for the aim of rapidly comparing design solutions for a prestressed I-beam (highway or railway bridge) according to different international specifications. The software will perform a series of beam designs based on user inputs and then make a comparison in terms of dimensions, material quantities, and total costs (using either user-defined or autoacquired unit prices). The design and comparison results will be presented to the user in the form of a PDF report (as well as an on-screen window) which includes tables and charts for easy visualization. The initial specifications that are planned to be included in the software are AASHTO-LRFD, EUROCODE, and Turkish Highway Bridge Specifications for highway bridges and AREMA, EUROCODE, and Turkish Railway Bridge Specifications for railway bridges. Fresh engineers will be able to use the program for verifying their designs and experienced engineers can utilize the program for staying up-to-date with requirements of contemporary specifications. The parameters that will be designed by the software are the optimum number of girders, their geometry, girder lateral spacing, number of prestressing tendons and jacking forces (taking the losses into account), prestressing tendon distribution, deck reinforcement area, and deck section stresses. The development is supported by KOSGEB - a Turkish government organization for supporting micro and small companies on research and development projects

Democracy and trade: a gentle trade-off

Regime characteristics and their evolution have always been of interest of several disciplines. The difficulties that arise in measuring regime characteristics have been resolved to a large extent during the past three decades. In that, the POLITY IV project has generated a valuable source of knowledge where characteristics of world regimes from 1800 to 2007 were documented well. In this study, I elaborate the simple trade-weighted versions of the main indicators of POLITY IV for the year 2007. The results indicate that measurements of countries’ regime characteristics may be open to some criticisms once trade linkages are considered

Essential oil composition of Salvia sclarea L. aerial parts and its AChE inhibitory properties

Previously, the hydrodistilled essential oils of the aerial parts of wild-growing S. sclarea, originating from two localities in Greece, were analyzed by GC-MS and it was found that the oils were rich in linalyl acetate, linalool and geranyl acetate [1]. The current study aims to provide information on the essential-oil composition of the aerial parts of S. sclarea from Turkey. The essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation from air-dried aerial parts of the plant, collected in Turkey, using a Clevenger-type apparatus in the duration of 3 h. The essential oil yield was 0.23 mL per 100 g of plant material. The essential oil was diluted with n-hexane 1:10 (v/v) and used as such for GC-MS analysis. The essential oil was analyzed with an Agilent 5977 MSD GC-MS system operating in EI mode; injector and MS transfer line temperatures were set at 250 °C. Splitless injection was used in the analysis. Innowax FSC column (60 m x 0.25 mm, 0.25 µm film thickness) and helium as the carrier gas (1 mL/min) were used in GC-MS analyses. The oven temperature program was: 60 °C for 10 min and then raised to 220 °C at a rate of 4 °C/min, afterward the temperature was kept constant at 220 °C for 10 min and then raised to 240 °C at a rate of 1 °C/min. Mass spectra were recorded at 70 eV with the mass range m/z 35-425. Relative amounts of the separated compounds were calculated from the integration of the peaks in MS chromatograms. Identification of essential-oil components was carried out by comparison of their retention indices (RI), relative to a series of n-alkanes (C5 to C30), with the literature values, as well as by mass spectral comparison. The aerial parts essential oil of S. sclarea was found to contain linalyl acetate (9.8%), linalool (7.4%), germacrene D (6.0%), caryophyllene oxide (6.0%), β-caryophyllene (5.6%), α-terpineol (4.3%), and spathulenol (3.4%). The obtained results were in general accordance with the results given in the literature. Additionally, AChE-inhibitory property of the essential oil was investigated and the oil was found to inhibit AChE activity by 11.23 ± 0.003% (n = 3) at a concentration of 1 mg/mL

A Theory of Political Participation

This paper lays down a mathematical model of political participation where participatory behavior functions as insurance against redistribution of resources. Abstracting a broad notion of political participation to its tangible bene�fits and costs, we elaborate the participatory behavior from the perspectives of Expected Utility and Cumulative Prospect Theory. Our elaboration reveals that the relative degrees of risk aversion and loss aversion yield a multiplicity of equilibria, sheds light on the recently observed absenteeism in political participation and suggest that participation would not increase unless the material domain of politics itself is altered

The Rare Malignancy of the Hepatobiliary System: Ampullary Carcinoid Tumor

Introduction. Carcinoid tumors are low-grade tumors originating from endoderm and mostly involving the gastrointestinal system. However; they may be seen in any site within the gastrointestinal system. Case Presentation. A 69-year-old female patient. The results of blood tests were observed to be consistent with obstructive jaundice. A mass appearance was not encountered on tomographic examination. Papilla that was tumor-like macroscopically was seen in the second part of the duodenum in diagnostic endoscopy. Pylorus—preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy surgical procedure was applied. On pathological examination of the mass, a tumoral mass was detected in ampulla vateri localization, 1.5 × 1 × 0.8 cm in size, which, in immunohistochemical staining, was evaluated as a neuroendocrine tumor. Also, Metastasis was observed. Conclusion. The rarest type of carcinoid tumor is ampullary located carcinoid tumor, and tumor size is not a reliable indicator for tumor aggressivity in ampullary carcinoid tumors

Effect of maintenance hemodialysis on diastolic left ventricular function in end‐stage renal disease

PURPOSE: To analyze the effect of maintenance hemodialysis on left ventricular diastolic function in patients with end-stage renal disease. METHODS: Study population consisted of 42 patients with end-stage renal disease. Before an arteriovenous fistula was surgically created, the patients were evaluated by conventional and Doppler echocardiography and Doppler tissue imaging. Then, the patients undergoing hemodialysis treatment when the arteriovenous fistula was compleated. After the first hemodialysis session (mean 76.14 ± 11.37 days) the second echocardiographic evaluations were performed. RESULTS: Mean age was 58 ± 13 years and 21 (%50) of the patients were female. After maintenance hemodialysis treatment; peak early (E) and peak late (A) diastolic mitral inflow velocities and E/A ratio were not significantly change however the deceleration time of E wave and left atrial diameter were significantly increased. Also there was no change in the early (Em) and late (Am) diastolic myocardial velocities and Em/Am ratios of lateral and septal walls of left ventricular. E/Em ratio was decreased insignificantly. Pulmonary vein velocities and right ventricular functions are remained almost unchanged after hemodialysis treatment. DISCUSSION: The acute and long-term effect of hemodialysis on left ventricular diastolic function is unclearly. Patients with end-stage renal disease treatment with hemodialysis via arteriovenous fistula experience a variety of hemodynamic and metabolic abnormalities that predispose to alterations in left and right ventricular functions. The present study showed that left ventricular diastolic function except left atrial diameter and right ventricular functions were not significantly change, however left ventricular systolic functions were impaired after maintenance hemodialysis treatment in patients with end-stage renal disease. CONCLUSION: It has been suggested that echocardiographic parameters are useful markers for evaluation of left ventricular and right ventricular functions in patients with end-stage renal disease. However, in patients with endstage renal disease treated with hemodialysis, repeated assessment of echocardiographic examinations to observe serial changes in left and right ventricular functions are not yet well established. In this study, we showed that acute changes of volume status and electrolytes and autonomic regulation by hemodialysis session did not affect left ventricular diastolic and right ventricular functions in a relatively long term