The Introduction of a Marine Species Atherina boyeri into Bayramiç Reservoir, Çanakkale

This study reports the first recorded instance of Atherina boyeri (Risso, 1810) in the Bayramiç Reservoir, located on the Karamenderes Stream. Since 2005, ichthyological researches have been carried out in the Bayramiç Reservoir by various researchers, but none of them have noted the existence of A. boyeri in this reservoir. In the field studies conducted between May 2016 and July 2017, a total of 98 A. boyeri specimens was caught. In these samplings, a 70 m long and 2 m wide beach seine net with 10 mm a mesh size was used. Although a small number of A. boyeri was caught during the first observation in October 2016, more individuals were observed in July 2017. The fork length of the A. boyeri observed was between 2.7-8.8 cm and the weight ranged between 0.06-4.31 g. The bimodal length distribution of the specimens indicates that there have been multiple incidents of adult specimens entering the reservoir and that these individuals have given birth to new offspring. The translocation of A. boyeri into the Bayramiç Reservoir might have been due to unauthorized introduction by fishermen or through illegal release by anglers as fish bait. However, the distribution map of A. boyeri in inland waters in Turkey shows significant overlap with the migration routes of big waterfowl. The waterfowl might partially be responsible for the spread of the adult specimens across short distances

Nieinwazyjny pomiar ilości tkanki tłuszczowej trzewnej metodą ultrasonograficzną — potencjalne zastosowanie w ocenie zaawansowania subklinicznej miażdżycy u mężczyzn z niedoczynnością przysadki i niedoborem hormonu wzrostu

Introduction: Growth hormone (GH) deficiency, either isolated or combined with other pituitary hormone deficiencies, is associated with increased mortality and abnormal body composition, particularly visceral adiposity. We aimed to investigate the effects of GH deficiency with or without sex steroid deficiencies on ultrasonographic visceral fat (VF) and cardiovascular risk markers in patients with hypopituitarism on conventional hormone replacement therapy.Material and methods: Forty hypopituitarism patients (24 women, 16 men; mean age 48 ± 16.1 years) with GH deficiency and 15 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were included in this cross-sectional study. The patients were stable on conventional hormone replacement but they were not on GH therapy. Patients who had sex steroid replacement were classified as Group 1 (n = 19), and patients who did not use sex steroids were classified as Group 2 (n = 21). Anthropometric measurements were performed. VF in three regions, subcutaneous fat, and carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) were measured. VF volume was calculated by using a formula.Results: Visceral fat volume and mean CIMT were significantly higher in patients than healthy controls (p = 0.001 and 0.019 respectively). Homocysteine and hs-CRP were higher in patients (p < 0.05). In males, VF volume and VF thickness measured between abdominal muscle and splenic vein were significantly correlated with CIMT (r = 0.54, p = 0.047 and r = 0.66, p = 0.010 respectively). Furthermore, there was a strong positive correlation between VF thickness in pararenal region and homocysteine (r = 0.74, p = 0.001) in males.Conclusions: VF volume evaluated by ultrasound can be accepted as a cause of subclinical atherosclerosis in GH deficient hypopituitary patients, particularly males.Wstęp: Niedobór hormonu wzrostu (GH, growth hormone) może występować jako zaburzenie izolowane lub współistnieć z niedoborami innych hormonów przysadki. Wszyscy pacjenci z niedoborem GH są jednak obarczeni większym ryzykiem zgonu i mają nieprawidłowy skład tkanek ciała, z tendencją do otyłości brzusznej. Celem pracy była ocena zależności pomiędzy niedoborem GH, niezależnie od ewentualnego współistnienia niedoborów hormonów płciowych a grubością tkanki tłuszczowej trzewnej (VF, visceral fat) mierzoną metodą ultrasonograficzną oraz czynnikami ryzyka sercowo-naczyniowego u pacjentów z niedoczynnością przysadki, leczonych konwencjonalnymi preparatami hormonalnymi.Materiał i metody: Badanie miało charakter przekrojowy i zakwalifikowano do niego 40 pacjentów z niedoczynnością przysadki i niedoborem GH, w tym 24 kobiety, 16 mężczyzn; średni wiek badanych wynosił 48 ± 16,1 lat. Do badania włączono też 15 osób w grupie kontrolnej, dobranych pod względem płci i wieku do osób z grupy badanej. Pacjenci w grupie badanej leczeni byli konwencjonalnie preparatami hormonalnymi, ale nie otrzymywali hormonu wzrostu. Pacjenci leczeni hormonami płciowymi zostali włączeni do grupy 1 (n = 19), a pacjenci nie otrzymujący takich preparatów do grupy 2 (n = 21). U wszystkich wykonano badania antropometryczne. Wykonywano pomiar grubości VF w trzech miejscach, badano grubość podskórnej tkanki tłuszczowej oraz grubość warstwy wewnętrznej i środkowej ściany tętnicy szyjnej (CIMT, carotid intima-media thickness). Objętość VF wyliczano według wzoru.Wyniki: U pacjentów w grupie badanej stwierdzono znamiennie większą objętość trzewnej tkanki tłuszczowej i średnią wartość CIMT w porównaniu z osobami zdrowymi (odpowiednio p = 0,001 i p = 0,019). Stężenie homocysteiny i hs-CRP były również większe w grupie badanej (p < 0,05). U mężczyzn stwierdzono istotną korelację pomiędzy objętością VF i grubością VF mierzoną pomiędzy mięśniami brzucha a żyłą śledzionową a wartością CIMT (odpowiednio r = 0,54 i p = 0,047 oraz r = 0,66 i p = 0,010). Ponadto, u mężczyzn stwierdzono wyraźną zależność pomiędzy grubością VF w okolicy nerek a stężeniem homocysteiny (r = 0,74 i p = 0,001).Wnioski: Objętość VF mierzona ultrasonograficznie może być wykładnikiem subklinicznie toczącej się miażdżycy u pacjentów z niedoborem hormonu wzrostu na skutek niedoczynności przysadki, w szczególności u mężczyzn

Genetic Modification of Plant Hormones Induced by Parasitic Nematodes, Virus, Viroid, Bacteria, and Phytoplasma in Plant Growing

Plant hormones, such as auxin, play crucial roles in many plant developmental processes, which is crosstalk with gibberellin and strigolactone. The roles of hormones may vary in the biosynthesis of metabolisms. During the pathogen attack, including plant-parasitic nematodes, viroid, phytoplasma, virus, and bacteria, plant hormones are involved in several plant processes. Ethylene (ET), salicylate (SA), jasmonate (JA), and abscisic acid (ABA) primarily regulate synergistically or antagonistically against pathogens. Those pathogens—nematodes, bacteria, viroid, phytoplasma, and viruses regulate several plant hormones for successful parasitism, influencing the phytohormone structure and modifying plant development. Several genes are related to plant hormones that are involved in pathogens parasitism. In this chapter, how pathogens affect plant hormones in plants growing are discussed

Clinical Study Comparison of Efficiencies of Michigan Neuropathy Screening Instrument, Neurothesiometer, and Electromyography for Diagnosis of Diabetic Neuropathy

Aim. This study compares the effectiveness of Michigan Neuropathy Screening Instrument (MNSI), neurothesiometer, and electromyography (EMG) in detecting diabetic peripheral neuropathy in patients with diabetes type 2. Materials and Methods. 106 patients with diabetes type 2 treated at the outpatient clinic of Ankara Numune Education and Research Hospital Department of Endocrinology between September 2008 and May 2009 were included in this study. Patients were evaluated by glycemic regulation tests, MNSI (questionnaire and physical examination), EMG (for detecting sensorial and motor defects in right median, ulnar, posterior tibial, and bilateral sural nerves), and neurothesiometer (for detecting alterations in cold and warm sensations as well as vibratory sensations). Results. According to the MNSI score, there was diabetic peripheral neuropathy in 34 (32.1%) patients (score ≥2.5). However, when the patients were evaluated by EMG and neurothesiometer, neurological impairments were detected in 49 (46.2%) and 79 (74.5%) patients, respectively. Conclusion. According to our findings, questionnaires and physical examination often present lower diabetic peripheral neuropathy prevalence. Hence, we recommend that in the evaluation of diabetic patients neurological tests should be used for more accurate results and thus early treatment options to prevent neuropathic complications

Host-Pathogen and Pest Interactions: Virus, Nematode, Viroid, Bacteria, and Pests in Tomato Cultivation

Several pathogens and pests damage tomato plants, and only one and/or more pathogens and pests can coexist in the same plant at the same time. As several numerous pathogens are found in the same plant, the damage to the tomato plants is higher. Pathogens such as nematodes, viruses, viroids, bacteria, and insects adversely affect the growth and development of tomato plants. They may infect roots or upper part of the plant and can cause not only slow down the growth of plants, but also crop losses and their death. Damaging of plant caused by pathogens and pests reduces the market value of plant products. Those pathogens and pests are also called biotic stress agents. The damage, mode of infection, and the mechanism of infection in each tomato plant and pathogens might be different. This situation is crucially important to understand plant pathogen relationship in detail in terms of controlling pests and pathogen. The effect of each pest/pathogen on tomato plants during the cultivation, the type of damage, and new developments and perspectives on morphological and molecular aspects in tomato-pathogen interactions will be discussed in this chapter

Optimasi Portofolio Resiko Menggunakan Model Markowitz MVO Dikaitkan dengan Keterbatasan Manusia dalam Memprediksi Masa Depan dalam Perspektif Al-Qur`an

Risk portfolio on modern finance has become increasingly technical, requiring the use of sophisticated mathematical tools in both research and practice. Since companies cannot insure themselves completely against risk, as human incompetence in predicting the future precisely that written in Al-Quran surah Luqman verse 34, they have to manage it to yield an optimal portfolio. The objective here is to minimize the variance among all portfolios, or alternatively, to maximize expected return among all portfolios that has at least a certain expected return. Furthermore, this study focuses on optimizing risk portfolio so called Markowitz MVO (Mean-Variance Optimization). Some theoretical frameworks for analysis are arithmetic mean, geometric mean, variance, covariance, linear programming, and quadratic programming. Moreover, finding a minimum variance portfolio produces a convex quadratic programming, that is minimizing the objective function ðð¥with constraintsð ð 𥠥 ðandð´ð¥ = ð. The outcome of this research is the solution of optimal risk portofolio in some investments that could be finished smoothly using MATLAB R2007b software together with its graphic analysis