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Validation and cross-cultural adaptation of the Turkish version of the revised Leeds Disability Questionnaire in patients with ankylosing spondylitis
No full textBackground/aim: The revised Leeds Disability Questionnaire (RLDQ) is a unique assessment tool for patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS); its comprehensive structure includes posture and neck flexibility parameters. The aim of the study was to determine the psychometric properties of the Turkish RLDQ in patients with AS. Materials and methods: A total of 100 AS patients were enrolled in the study. In the first evaluation, patients filled out the Dougados Functional Index (DFI) and Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI), Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) in addition to RLDQ. Then, patients were refilled the revised RLDQ in the second assessment. Results: The mean age of the patients (40 women, 60 men) was 48.3 ± 12.6 years. The test-retest reliability and internal consistency of the RLDQ total score were excellent. ICC score and Cronbach’s alpha score were calculated as 0.853 and 0.905, respectively. The SEM and MDC values calculated for the RLDQ total score were 2.74 and 7.60, respectively. RLDQ had degrees of correlation with DFI, HAQ, and BASFI of 0.814, 0.742, and 0.852, respectively. Construct validity was excellent (r > 0.50, p < 0.01). Conclusion: The Turkish version of the RLDQ was found to be valid and reliable in patients with AS. It should be emphasized that the RLDQ is a distinctive and valuable tool that focuses separately on neck, posture, or other mobility parameters in the clinical assessment of AS
Late Antique / Byzantine Architectural Sculpture from Mucuk Village, Silifke
No full textDuring explorations carried out as part of the "Goksu Archaeological Project" in 2006, numerous elements of architectural sculpture were recorded in the vicinity of the houses and mosque of Mucuk village and in the walls of the houses themselves. The sculpture, all of which is limestone, includes five flat pier capitals (one of which was embedded in a wall), three flat pier bases, one column base, one column shaft built into a wall, one column shaft fragment (likely belonging to a ciborium or templon given its size), and one flat pier for a window. Flat pier capitals were used in Constantinople, Anatolia, and other provinces throughout the late antique / Byzantine period, starting in the third or fourth century. Several flat pier capitals, two of Proconnesian marble, two of marble, and the rest of limestone, are on exhibition in museums (in modern Adana, Anamur, Mersin, Silifke, and Tarsus) located, like Mucuk, in the territory of ancient Cilicia and Isauria. The flat pier capitals and limestone bases, which form a group with those from Mucuk, are indicative of local production in regional workshops. The column / pier capitals, which were produced in Constantinople from the first half of the fifth century onwards were exported to various regions within the Eastern Roman Empire. Thus, different capital forms with varying leaf and motif styles began to be produced in regional workshops using local materials in the second half of the fifth century. This pattern is well demonstrated by the Cilician and Isaurian examples. The rendering of acanthus leaves on the flat pier capitals in Mucuk suggests that the style imported from the capital was adapted to reflect local tastes. It may be concluded that the architectural pieces recorded in Mucuk date to the second half of the fifth or sixth century, based on their motifs and style and by taking into account the general history of Cilicia and Isauria. Moreover, the late antique / Byzantine period architectural elements at Mucuk must be remnants of a church once located in or near the village
Forecasting share of renewables in primary energy consumption and CO2 emissions of China and the United States under Covid-19 pandemic using a novel fractional nonlinear grey model
No full textChina and the United States (U.S.) are in the first two places among the countries that consume the most primary energy and emit CO2 emissions in the world. Considering the Sustainable Development Goal 7.2 and Paris Agreement's goals, forecasting of CO2 emissions and the share of renewables in primary energy consumption for China and the United States in the coming years will be a guide for energy policies. In this context, this study aims to forecast the share of renewables in primary energy consumption and CO2 emissions of China and the U.S. using a novel optimized fractional nonlinear grey Bernoulli model with rolling mechanism, briefly as ROFANGBM(1,1), under pandemic and non-pandemic scenarios. This study also analyzed the gap in the energy consumption and CO2 emissions for the year 2020 caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The results showed that ROFANGBM(1,1) gave the highest prediction performance with having the lowest mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) value for all cases and the share of renewables in primary energy consumption in 2025 is forecasted as 12.3% for the U.S. and 16.6% for China by using ROFANGBM(1,1). Additionally, CO2 emissions of China and the U.S. are forecasted by using ROFANGBM(1,1) as 10112 Mt and 4583 Mt in 2025, respectively. It is believed that this study will provide new avenues for researchers to make more accurate predictions by addressing the fluctuations due to the Covid-19 pandemic thanks to the proposed novel grey prediction model
Leptin Accelerates Endothelial Wound Healing: Role of Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase Expression
No full textBackground: The endothelium is crucial for the control of vascular homeostasis and plays a role in angiogenesis. Leptin, a protein released mainly by adipose tissue, plays a key role in the regulation of energy balance and angiogenesis. We aimed to investigate the changes of endothelial nitric oxide synthetase expression on human umbilical vein endothelial cells wound healing model after leptin treatment. Methods: In this study, 5 groups were planned as Group 1: control (untreated), Group 2: treated with 0.1 ng/mL leptin, Group 3: treated with 1 ng/mL leptin, Group 4: treated with 10 ng/mL leptin, and Group 5: treated with 100 ng/mL leptin. Closure rates of wound areas were calculated by the Image J program after 24 hours of leptin treatment. The WST-1 assay was used to calculate the cell viability. Immunocytochemical analysis was performed for endothelial nitric oxide synthase expression and H-Score was calculated. Results: The closure rates of wound areas were calculated as 80.24%, 89.73%, 87.40%, 90.73%, and 93.70%, respectively. When all groups treated with leptin were compared with the control group, there was a statistically significant difference (P < .05). The WST-1 results showed that the most increasing levels of viable cells were found in the groups treated with 0.1 ng/mL leptin and 100 ng/mL leptin when compared to the control group. H-Score values of each group were calculated as 284.8 ± 15.22, 288.6 ± 8.41, 291 ± 8.16, 295.2 ± 11.60, and 308.8 ± 4.32, respectively. The difference between the control group and the group treated with 100 ng/mL leptin was statistically significant (P < .05). Conclusions: Endothelial nitric oxide synthase expression in human umbilical vein endothelial cells increased depending on the leptin dose and the highest increase was in the group treated with 100 ng/mL leptin
Pre-school Teachers’ Change of Perceptions of Engineering Through a Professional Development Experience
No full textIn this study, an instructional programme was designed and implemented with pre-school teachers to teach them about integrated STEM education. This paper focused on how this instruction changed teachers’ perceptions of engineering. The study aimed at exploring what the teachers learned about engineering, one of the STEM disciplines, throughout their exposure to this programme. Thirty teachers participated in the study. Data was gathered via a drawing test and participants’ diaries. For the analysis of the drawing test, a numerical coding system developed by Thompson and Lyons (2008) was used. Thematic content analysis was used for the qualitative analysis of the drawing test and the analysis of participant diaries. It was indicated that professional development experience enhanced pre-school teachers’ perceptions of engineering. It was found that this programme helped teachers realise their deficiencies in relation to their engineering perceptions of engineering and rectify them. It was found that this professional development experience had positive effects on learning content knowledge in a specific engineering discipline and supporting positive feelings towards engineering
Mineralogical and geochemical signatures of weathering on carbonate rocks and dynamic young land surfaces in Muğla Polje (SW Turkey)
No full textRed soils as the weathering products in Muğla Polje (SW Turkey) show different occurrences either on hard and permeable limestone (terra rossa (TRs)) or within the matrix of transported sediments (alluvium-derived soils (ALs), alluvium-derived soils specifically from clastics (ALsc), paleosol (Pls), and colluvium-derived soils (CLs)). The purpose of this study is to unlock the effect of weathering on hard carbonate rocks and dynamic young land surfaces (alluvium and colluvium) in Muğla Polje for the first time in terms of mineralogical and geochemical compositions. TRs, the soils of more stable environments are clayey while ALs and CLs as being the soils of dynamic environments have variable textures from silty clay loam to sandy loam. All soils share low CEC property (13–16.8 meq/100 g for TRs; 2–11.6 meq/100g for ALs and CLs). Nonclay components of the samples include quartz, feldspars, calcite, dolomite, and mica minerals. Hematite is observed as the main reddening agent for all samples. Illite, kaolinite, chlorite, and vermiculite are the clay minerals of the fine fractions. TRs are characterized by low intensity of salinization (2), low salinization (80%, >90%) under very high MAP (>1260 mm year–1). Therefore, this study suggests that TRs are the results of intense weathering on carbonate rocks of more stable environments while ALs and CLs are the products of weathering of much lower intensity on alluvium and colluvium. As more mature soils of the polje, TRs also contribute to the matrix of the transported sediments in the lowlands of the polj
A FIELD STUDY ON FERTILITY TRAITS OF HOLSTEIN HEIFER AND COWS ARTIFICIALLY INSEMINATED WITH SEXED BELGIAN BLUE SPERM AND GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS OF CROSSBREED BELGIAN BLUE _ HOLSTEIN (F1) MALE CALVES
No full textThe study was conducted to investigate some reproductive traits of Holstein cattle inseminated with imported sexed male Belgian Blue semen and the growth characteristics of calves in Aydin province of Turkey. Totally 82 Holstein cattle including 29 heifers and 53 cows were inseminated. After the inseminations, some reproductive (the number of insemination per conception, conception rate, the dystocia rate, the rate of stillbirth) values were determined in the enterprises. The birth weights of the male calves were determined and in the following periods, the chest girth and body length values were determined for 6 months of age. In the study, it was observed that the average age of the first insemination was 14.05 months for heifers and 38.11 months for cows (P < 0:05). While more than half of the cows (52.08%) became pregnant in the first insemination, a great majority of the pregnancies (69.03%) of heifers occurred in the second inseminations (P < 0:05). The number of inseminations per conception were 2.13 and 1.79 for heifers and cows, respectively. While the conception rate was determined as 47.76% and 55.62% for heifers and cows respectively, dystocia rate were 43.10% and 25.75%, respectively. The average birth weight of the male calves were found as 42.75 kg and the 90th and 180th day live weights were 106.22 kg and 154.16 kg, respectively. While, the height at withers, body length and chest girth values were detected as 80.60 cm, 78.28 cm, 81.04 cm at birth, the same measurements were 94.45 cm, 94.22 cm and 109.79 cm; 108.46 cm, 110.88 cm and 129.45 cm for the 90th and 180th day, respectively. The corresponding study has clearly shown that the application in the project can create a dramatical meaning in dairy farms. This application can be used in dairy farms in a certain period to whole herd or a part of it
Anzer menşeli propolis örneklerinin sıçanların bağırsak kesisi üzerindeki yara iyileştirici etkisi
No full textThis study was investigated the wound healing effect of Anzer origin propolis specimens on rats' experimental intestinal incisions. Thirty-four male Wistar albino rats have been divided into five groups, weighing 250-300 gr. Water solution of Anzer propolis (PW3 [n=6], PW7 [n=6]) or ethanolic solution of Anzer propolis (PE3 [n=6], PE7 [n=6]) were administered. Control groups (K3 [n=5], K7 [n=5]) received no treatment. The surgical procedure (day 0) consisted of a laparotomy under general anesthesia, during which the colon was incised and repaired with sutures. The Anzer propolis specimen diluted with physiologic saline was administered by gavage (100 mg/kg/day) for 3 and 7 days before and after surgery to PW3 and PW7 groups. Ethanol dissolved Anzer propolis was administered by gavage (100 mg/kg/day) for 3 and 7 days before and after surgery to PE3 and PE7. Experimental animals have been humanly euthanized on the 3rd and 7th days for biochemical and histopathological evaluations. Serum total oxidant status, total antioxidant status, interleukin-1, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, myeloperoxidase, hydroxyproline and nitric oxide, levels were measured by ELISA. The incision line sampled to evaluate inflammatory cells, fibroblastic activity, neovascularization, and collagen level. The study indicates that the ethanolic Anzer propolis solution's oral administration has a beneficial effect on intestinal wound healing for seven days pre-and postoperatively (PE7).Bu çalışmada, Anzer menşeli propolis örneklerinin sıçanların deneysel bağırsak kesisi üzerindeki yara iyileştirici etkisinin araştırılması amaçlanmıştır. 250-300 gr ağırlığındaki toplam 34 erkek Wistar Albino sıçan beş gruba ayrıldı. Anzer propolis su solüsyonu (PW3 [n=6], PW7 [n=6]) ve Anzer propolisin etonolik solüsyonu (PE3 [n=6], PE7 [n=6]) uygulandı. Kontrol gruplarına (K3 [n=5], K7 [n=5]) tedavi uygulanmadı. Cerrahi prosedür (0. gün) genel anestezi altında laparotomi ile kolon enzize edildi ve dikiş uygulanarak kapatıldı. Fizyolojik tuzlu su ile seyreltilmiş Anzer propolis örneği PW3 ve PW7 gruplarına ameliyat öncesi ve sonrası 3 ve 7 gün süreyle gavaj (100 mg/kg/gün) ile uygulandı. Etanolde çözdürülmüş Anzer propolisi, PE3 ve PE7 gruplarına ameliyat öncesi ve sonrası 3 ve 7 gün sonda ile (100 mg /kg/gün) uygulandı. Deney hayvanlarına biyokimyasal ve histopatolojik değerlendirmeler için 3. ve 7. günlerde ötenazi yapılmıştır. Serum total oksidan seviye, total antioksidan seviye, interlökin-1, interlökin-6, tümör nekroz
faktör-alfa, miyeloperoksidaz, hidroksiprolin ve nitrik oksit seviyeleri ELİSA yöntemi ile ölçüldü. Ensizyon hattı, yangı hücreleri, fibroblastik aktivite, neovaskülarizasyonu ve kollajen seviyesini değerlendirmek için örneklendi. Bu çalışma, etanolik Anzer propolis solüsyonunun oral uygulamasının, operasyon öncesi ve sonrası yedi gün boyunca bağırsak yara iyileşmesi üzerinde faydalı bir etkiye sahip olduğunu göstermektedir (PE7)
Time Series Modeling with Deep Neural Networks
No full textDeep neural networks are the latest among powerful artificial intelligence tools. As advanced forms of artificial neural networks, deep nets can be used in various fields and also time series forecasting. Time series forecasting is a major domain which extends to almost all problem-wise applications. Because of this reason, powerful tools as deep networks have become the perfect tools with their modular structure for time series forecasting. In this study, starting from shallow neural networks to advanced deep networks, including convolutional nets and long short-term memories, in-depth analytics are investigated and their results are given with applications and Python codes
Linking Regenerative Travel and Residents' Support for Tourism Development in Kaua'i Island (Hawaii): Moderating-Mediating Effects of Travel-Shaming and Foreign Tourist Attractiveness
No full text"Leaving the place behind, better than before" is the regenerative state-of-mind approach to reset, rethink and move forward, beyond sustainable tourism. Despite growing global attention, empirical evidence supporting tourism developments through regenerative travel remains extremely rare. Moreover, rampant incidents of travel-shaming across tourism destinations undermine foreign tourist attractiveness, ultimately affecting residents' support for tourism developments. To address this overlooked and potential research gap, the present study develops and tests a holistic moderated-mediation model of resident's support for tourism development, involving regenerative travel, travel-shaming and foreign tourist attractiveness. Drawing on study data from 463 islanders in Kauai (Hawaii) and the use of structural equation modeling via Mplus, the study provides pioneering evidence on the effects of regenerative travel on residents' support for tourism development, under moderating-mediating influence of travel-shaming and foreign tourist attractiveness. The present study implications extend to the development and validation of a new scale for regenerative travel. The study findings offer strategic insights and directions for imagining new business models, resources, and relationships within regenerative tourism in the post-pandemic world