Optimization of extraction conditions for active components in equisetum arvense extract

Response surface methodology was applied to predict optimum conditions for equisetum arvense extraction. Central composite design was used to monitor the effects of temperature, stirring speed, ethanol percent, extraction time, solid-liquid ratio on dependent variables such as, extract yield percent, total phenol content, total antioxidant capacity, silicic acid amount. According to the mathematical models obtained from the analysis, the highest values for yield percent, total phenol content, total antioxidant capacity and silicic acid amount were found to be 18.67 %, 123 mg gallic acid gr-1 dry weight extract, 1608 μM TEAC mg-1 dry weight extract and 0.0049 mg silicic acid mg-1 dry weight extract, respectively. The plant extracts were analyzed with HPLC to determine the phenolic content and compositional differences of extracts obtained at different extraction conditions. Plant extracts were also analyzed for their cytotoxic and antimicrobial activities. The high total antioxidant capacity and total phenolic content resulted in an increased cytotoxic effect on fibroblast cells. Equisetum arvense extracts showed antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus epidermidis and Escherichia coli bacteria, however showed no effect against Candida albicans. © 2013 University of Bucharest

Assessment of Intra-Oral Repair Systems for Veneered Zirconia and Zirconia Only

The aim of this study was to compare bond strength resin composites to porcelain laminate veneers in the indirect repair method to composite resins used in the direct repair method for cases of porcelain veneer fracture of zirconia-based fixed dental prostheses. In the study, the groups were formed with different percentages of areas to be repaired to mimic porcelain fractures in the mouth. The experimental group of veneered zirconia were as follows: Group A = 100% Zr surface; Group B = 70% Zr, 30% porcelain surface; Group C = 50% Zr, 50% porcelain surface; Group D = 30% Zr, 70% porcelain surface; Group E = 100% porcelain surface. The repairs of the specimens were made using composite resin systems in half of the groups and using porcelain laminate veneers in the other half. Specimens were embedded in acrylic blocks before surface treatments and repairs were applied. After surface conditioning, laminate veneers were applied to the first half of the groups, and composite repair systems were applied to the second half of the groups. After all specimens were aged by thermal cycling, their bond strength values were measured using a Universal Testing Machine, and the obtained data were recorded. The specimens were examined with a stereomicroscope and classified according to failure types (adhesive/cohesive/mixed). Bond strength values were evaluated based on independent-samples t-test statistics. According to the comparisons among the groups, the bond strength of the indirect repairs made with the laminate material was higher than the bond strength of the repairs made with the composite. There was a statistically significant difference in favor of the indirect repair groups among all groups except for Group C. The highest bond strength was found in Group A in the indirect repair method, while the lowest bond was found in the direct repair method in Group E. Adhesive failure was mostly seen in the groups that were repaired with the composite

Assessment of intra-oral repair systems for veneered zirconia and zirconia only

The aim of this study was to compare bond strength resin composites to porcelain laminate veneers in the indirect repair method to composite resins used in the direct repair method for cases of porcelain veneer fracture of zirconia-based fixed dental prostheses. In the study, the groups were formed with different percentages of areas to be repaired to mimic porcelain fractures in the mouth. The experimental group of veneered zirconia were as follows: Group A = 100% Zr surface; Group B = 70% Zr, 30% porcelain surface; Group C = 50% Zr, 50% porcelain surface; Group D = 30% Zr, 70% porcelain surface; Group E = 100% porcelain surface. The repairs of the specimens were made using composite resin systems in half of the groups and using porcelain laminate veneers in the other half. Specimens were embedded in acrylic blocks before surface treatments and repairs were applied. After surface conditioning, laminate veneers were applied to the first half of the groups, and composite repair systems were applied to the second half of the groups. After all specimens were aged by thermal cycling, their bond strength values were measured using a Universal Testing Machine, and the obtained data were recorded. The specimens were examined with a stereomicroscope and classified according to failure types (adhesive/cohesive/mixed). Bond strength values were evaluated based on independent-samples t-test statistics. According to the comparisons among the groups, the bond strength of the indirect repairs made with the laminate material was higher than the bond strength of the repairs made with the composite. There was a statistically significant difference in favor of the indirect repair groups among all groups except for Group C. The highest bond strength was found in Group A in the indirect repair method, while the lowest bond was found in the direct repair method in Group E. Adhesive failure was mostly seen in the groups that were repaired with the composite

Sakarya İli SARS-CoV-2 Olgularında İnme Sıklığının Araştırılması

Aim: The aim of this study is to identify the frequency of stroke among severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) cases in Sakarya city, to find out the clinical characteristics of patients diagnosed with stroke and to contribute to the national database. Material and Methods: This retrospective study was carried out with 783 cases diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 between April-June 2020 at the pandemic hospital in Sakarya city. Patients were compared in terms of age, National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), risk factors, radiological findings, inpatient treatment, intubation, and mortality rates. Results: Out of 26 cases of ischemic stroke, 11 (42.3%) were male and 15 (57.7%) were female. In terms of infarction localization, the cause was medial cerebral artery (MCA) in 4 (15.4%) patients, top of the basilar in 2 (7.7%) patients, basilar artery in 1 (3.8%) patient, lacunar in 9 (34.6%) patients and anterior system in 10 (38.5%) patients. There was no significant difference in terms of D-dimer and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels according to disease severity (both p=0.262). Three (0.38%) patients presented with stroke findings and were diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2. Cryptogenic stroke was detected in 8 (30.8%) of the SARS-CoV-2 cases. Stroke frequency was calculated as 3.3% among the SARS-CoV-2 cases in Sakarya city. Conclusion: This is the first study to identify the frequency of stroke among SARS-CoV-2 patients in Sakarya city and Turkey. Our study is important as it shows that preventing or treating ischemic stroke in SARS-CoV-2 cases contributes greatly to the reduction of mortality.Amaç: Bu çalışmanın amacı Sakarya ilindeki şiddetli akut solunum yolu sendromu koronavirüsü 2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, SARS-CoV-2) olgularında inme sıklığını tespit etmek, inme tanısı almış olan hastaların klinik özelliklerini ortaya koyabilmek ve ulusal veri tabanına katkıda bulunmaktır. Gereç ve Yöntemler: Bu çalışma, Sakarya ilindeki pandemi hastanesinde Nisan-Haziran 2020 tarihleri arasında SARS-CoV-2 tanısı alan 783 olgu ile geriye dönük olarak yürütüldü. Hastalar, yaş, Ulusal Sağlık Enstitüleri İnme Skalası (National Institute of Health Stroke Scale, NIHSS), risk faktörleri, radyolojik bulgular, yatarak tedavi, entübe olma durumları ve mortalite oranları bakımından karşılaştırıldı. Bulgular: Yirmi altı iskemik inmeli olgunun 11 (%42,3)’i erkek ve 15 (%57,7)’i kadın idi. Enfarkt lokalizasyonu bakımından 26 hastanın 4 (%15,4)’ü orta serebral arter (medial cerebral artery, MCA), 2 (%7,7)’si baziller tepe, 1 (%3,8)’i baziller arter, 9 (%34,6)’u laküner, 10 (%38,5)’u arka sistemden kaynaklanmaktaydı. D-Dimer ve C-reaktif protein (C-reactive protein, CRP) düzeyleri bakımından hastalık şiddetine göre anlamlı bir farklılık yoktu (her iki p=0,262). Üç (%0,38) hasta inme bulgusuyla gelip SARS-CoV-2 tanısı almıştı. SARS-CoV-2 olgularının 8 (%30,8)’inde kriptojenik inme tespit edildi. Sakarya ilinde SARS-CoV-2 olgularında inme sıklığı %3,3 olarak hesaplandı. Sonuç: Bu çalışma SARS-CoV-2 hastalarında inme sıklığını tespit etmeye yönelik Sakarya ilinde ve Türkiye’de yapılmış ilk çalışmadır. Çalışmamız, SARS-CoV-2 olgularında iskemik inmenin önlenebilmesi ve tedavi edilebilmesinin mortalitenin azalmasına belirgin katkı sunduğunu göstermesi bakımından önemlidir

RSS-based wireless LAN indoor localization and tracking using deep architectures

Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) positioning is a challenging task indoors due to environmental constraints and the unpredictable behavior of signal propagation, even at a fixed location. The aim of this work is to develop deep learning-based approaches for indoor localization and tracking by utilizing Received Signal Strength (RSS). The study proposes Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP), One and Two Dimensional Convolutional Neural Networks (1D CNN and 2D CNN), and Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) deep networks architectures for WLAN indoor positioning based on the data obtained by actual RSS measurements from an existing WLAN infrastructure in a mobile user scenario. The results, using different types of deep architectures including MLP, CNNs, and LSTMs with existing WLAN algorithms, are presented. The Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) is used as the assessment criterion. The proposed LSTM Model 2 achieved a dynamic positioning RMSE error of 1.73 m, which outperforms probabilistic WLAN algorithms such as Memoryless Positioning (RMSE: 10.35 m) and Nonparametric Information (NI) filter with variable acceleration (RMSE: 5.2 m) under the same experiment environment.ECSEL Joint Undertaking ; European Union's H2020 Framework Programme (H2020/2014-2020) Grant ; National Authority TUBITA

Efficient spectrum occupancy prediction exploiting multidimensional correlations through composite 2D-LSTM models

In cognitive radio systems, identifying spectrum opportunities is fundamental to efficiently use the spectrum. Spectrum occupancy prediction is a convenient way of revealing opportunities based on previous occupancies. Studies have demonstrated that usage of the spectrum has a high correlation over multidimensions, which includes time, frequency, and space. Accordingly, recent literature uses tensor-based methods to exploit the multidimensional spectrum correlation. However, these methods share two main drawbacks. First, they are computationally complex. Second, they need to re-train the overall model when no information is received from any base station for any reason. Different than the existing works, this paper proposes a method for dividing the multidimensional correlation exploitation problem into a set of smaller sub-problems. This division is achieved through composite two-dimensional (2D)-long short-term memory (LSTM) models. Extensive experimental results reveal a high detection performance with more robustness and less complexity attained by the proposed method. The real-world measurements provided by one of the leading mobile network operators in Turkey validate these results

Some quality characteristics of selected durum wheat (Triticum durum) landraces

Durum wheat (Triticum durum) is primarily used for the production of high-quality pasta products because of its certain superior characteristics. Wheat landraces are locally adapted diverse populations evolved through natural selection and are invaluable genetic resources for breeding programs. The search for new genetic resources all around the world has been underway to develop high-quality durum wheats. The purpose of this study was therefore to determine the pasta quality-associated characteristics of 12 durum wheat landraces (Bağacak, Beyaziye, İskenderiye, Sorgül, Karakılçık, Beyaz Buğday, Ağ Buğdayı, Bintepe, Havrani, Çalıbasan, Hacı Halil, and Akçakale) compared to 2 wellestablished high-quality durum wheat cultivars, Kyle and Zenit. Protein content and quality, pigment content, activities of oxidative enzymes (lipoxygenase, polyphenol oxidase, and peroxidase), kernel size, and endosperm vitreousness were measured as the major quality parameters. The landraces had significant differences (P < 0.05) in their quality characteristics. Of the landraces, Akçakale, Havrani, and Çalıbasan were found to be quite promising for the processing of so-called al dente cooking pasta products, as judged by their elevated protein quantity and gluten quality. With respect to pigment content and oxidative enzymes that are central to the bright yellow color of pasta products, however, the landraces Havrani, Hacı Halil, and Sorgül were found to have great potential. In brief, several landraces have potential for high-quality pasta processing, while a few others can be used for breeding purposes

Large-scale proteomic analysis of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and atherosclerosis using a label-free LC-MS/MS approach

Objective: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) is a metabolic disease whose molecular events have not yet been fully clarified. However, next-generation powerful molecular approaches such as mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics holds promise. In this study, we aimed to reveal the protein profile of serum samples obtained from patients with T2D and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease using the high-resolution liquid chromatography (LC)-MS/MS system. Materials and Methods: Immune depletion was performed for the top 12 abundant proteins in 10 μl serum samples taken from individuals. Then, tryptic peptides were obtained from total proteins by applying a digestion protocol. Accordingly, reduction, alkylation, and digestion with trypsin enzyme were carried out, respectively. Tryptic peptides were analyzed in an ultra-high-pressure LC-MS/MS system with a label-free proteomic approach. The raw data were processed using the software program. Results: LC-MS/MS analyses revealed 120 proteins with significant expression changes. Some of these proteins were associated with inflammation, lipid transport, and oxidative stress, which are known to play an important role in T2D and its complications. Conclusion: As a result, LC-MS/MS analyses highlighted the proteins that will provide predictions in the treatment and course of T2D. We believe that validation of these proteins with targeted proteomic approaches in a larger sample in further studies will contribute to the development of clinically usable panels

Quantitative liver magnetic resonance imaging: correlation between conventional magnetic resonance imaging, laboratory values, and prognostic indices in Budd–Chiari syndrome

PURPOSEIn Budd–Chiari syndrome (BCS), unevenly distributed parenchymal changes and perfusion abnormalities occur due to hepatic venous outflow obstruction. This study aimed to evaluate the changes in the liver parenchyma in BCS using the quantitative magnetic resonance (MR) techniques of MR elastography, T1 and T2 mapping, and diffusion imaging and correlate the quantitative MR parameters through biochemical results and prognostic indices.METHODSFourteen patients with BCS (seven men and seven women) were examined retrospectively. Liver stiffness (kPa), T1 relaxation times (ms) were achieved using the modified Look–Locker inversion recovery (MOLLI) 3(2)3(2)5 sequence and B1-corrected variable flip angle methods, T2 relaxation times (ms), and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values (mm2/s) were measured using regions of interest placed in the same region in all quantitative methods. Measurements were repeated at the precontrast and postcontrast hepatobiliary phases. The reduction rate (RR; %) and adjusted postcontrast T1 (%) were calculated. The values obtained from different liver parenchyma areas (whole liver, caudate lobe, pathological T2 hyperintense tissue, and relatively preserved normal-appearing tissue) were compared using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Spearman’s correlation coefficient was used to investigate the correlation between quantitative MR parameters and biochemical parameters/ prognostic scores (Child–Pugh score, Clichy score, and Rotterdam index).RESULTSThe parenchymal stiffness and precontrast T1 values of the caudate lobe were significantly lower than those of the remainder of the parenchyma, whereas the adjusted postcontrast T1 percentages (MOLLI) were significantly higher (P ≤ 0.027). The parenchymal stiffness value, T1 and T2 values, percentages of RR (MOLLI), and adjusted postcontrast T1 values for the pathological tissue and relatively normal tissue were significantly different (P < 0.028). No significant difference was found in terms of ADC values between any of the distinct regions of the liver.A strong correlation was detected between the Child–Pugh score, Clichy score, and precontrast T1 values obtained through the MOLLI sequence (r = 0.867, P = 0.012, r = 0.821, P = 0.023, respectively). No correlation was found between the whole liver stiffness values and the laboratory parameters, fibrosis markers, prognostic indices, or MR parameters. A significant correlation was identified between creatinine levels and several T1 parameters and the T2 relaxation time (r ≥ 0.661, P ≤ 0.052).CONCLUSIONTissue stiffness and T1 relaxation values are high in the areas identified as fibrosis compared with those in the relatively preserved parenchyma. The T1 relaxation time can offer quantitative information for assessing segmental functional changes and prognosis in BCS.ion for assessing segmental functional changes and prognosis in BCS