24 research outputs found
The effect of motor learning-based telerehabilitation on quality of life of children with cerebral palsy during the COVID-19 pandemic
No full textBackground : Duringthepandemic, theaccessofchildrenwithcerebralpalsy(CP) torehabilitationserviceswasadverselyaffectedduetothesignificantriskofinfection. Aims: Weassessedwhethertheeffectofamotorlearning-basedtreatmentprovidedviaatelerehabilitationmethodonthequalityoflifeofchildrenwithcerebralpalsyduringtheCOVID- 19periodwasequivalenttofaceto-facetreatment. Methods: Distanceexerciseswereexplainedbyaphysiotherapisttothepatientsinthetelerehabilitationgroup, andmotorlearning-basedtreatmentwasappliedbytheirfamilies; thephysiotherapistfollowedthesessionswithvideoconferencing. Motorlearning-basedtreatmentwasofferedtotheface-to-facegroupbyaphysiotherapistintheclinic. Results: Inthecomparisonbetweenthegroups, therewasasignificantdifferenceintheparametersofplayactivities, pain-hurt, fatigue, eatingactivities, andspeechcommunicationactivitiesaftertreatment(p0.05). Conclusion: Motorlearning-basedtreatmentprovidedusingthetelerehabilitationmethodhasapositiveeffectonthequalityoflifeofchildrenwithCP, buttheresultsaresimilartoface-to-facetreatment.100/2000 Council of Higher Education (CoHE) PhD Scholarship in Physiotherapy and RehabilitationThis research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-pro fit sectors. Author Rabia Celikel and Engin Ramazanoglu have received a 100/2000 Council of Higher Education (CoHE) PhD Scholarship in Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation
Effects of Biochar Application as a Carbon Substrate on Cotton Plant Growth and Some Soil Enzymes
No full textBiochar is a soil amendment that can influence many biotic processes in the soil. When applied to soil with low organic matter content, it improves the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the soil, thereby enhancing soil quality. This study was conducted to examine the potential effects of different ratios of biochar applied to a calcareous soil on the growth of cotton plants and soil biology. The study comprised four treatments: a control group without biochar application and three different levels of biochar application (3%, 6%, 9%). As a result, biochar application increased the uptake of nitrogen, potassium, iron, and boron in cotton plants. It significantly increased the NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) and SPAD values used to assess the plant's nitrogen status. By triggering an increase in the activity of nitrate reductase enzymes in the plant leaves, biochar application notably hindered nitrate accumulation, particularly in the case of the 6% biochar application. Additionally, biochar significantly increased the soil enzymes dehydrogenase and urease, contributing positively to the C and N cycles in the soil. The study results demonstrate that biochar application can enhance the uptake of plant nutrient elements from the soil and increase soil enzyme activity in cotton plants
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GEOLOGIC PARENT MATERIAL AND GROWTH OF FOREST TREES IN THE GOLHISAR BASIN IN SW ANATOLIA, TURKEY
No full textGolhisar Basin which is located in the southern part of Lakes Region, in SW of Turkey contains four main geologic parent materials composed of serpentine-peridotite, Mesozoic limestone, Neogene marl deposit and Quaternary colluvial deposit on which Calabrian pine (Pinus brutia) and Anatolian black pine (Pinus nigra subsp. pallasiana) grow. Tree productivity and/or growth rate is considerably different on these parent materials. This is mainly related to the weathering degree of serpentine-peridotite, stratification and compactness of marl deposit and the crack structure of limestone. For example, the productive Calabrian pine (Pinus brutia) trees grow on the deeply weathered serpentineperidotite parent material in the Golhisar basin. Draft appearances of Calabrian pines are found on exposed peridotite-serpentine in sloping areas. Besides, tree biomass is low on compact marl deposit due to the fact that taproot development of trees is mostly prevented by the compact marl deposit and horizontal marl layers. The productivity of Calabrian pine and black pine (Pinus brutia) trees on the limestone is higher than on the marl deposit and low weathered serpentine in the study area, in general. The aim of this study is to illustrate the importance of parent materials containing serpentine-peridotite, limestone, marl and colluvial deposits on the growth of Pinus brutia and Pinus nigra trees in the Golhisar BasinMinistry of Agriculture and ForestWe would like to offer our gratitude to Forest Engineer Oktay Demirci for measurements of the height, diameter and age of the trees and Emrah Ramazanoglu for statistical evaluation of trees. We would like special thanks to Bekir Karacabey, General Director of Forest of the General Forest Directory, Ministry of Agriculture and Forest, Kenan Akduman, Isparta Regional Director of Forest and Celal Korkmaz Burdur Forest Operation Manager for their supports and helps the project named Ecology, ecosystem and Rehabilitation of Marble Quarries in the Burdur-Golhisar Basin, prepared by I. Atalay, S. Altunbas and M. Siler
The operation of biopower and biopolitics in the implementation process of reproductive health policies in Peru
No full textIn present-day societies, human life is often an arena of debate within which claims of morality, knowledge, and truth are contested. The meaning of human life, as well as the right to exert control over the bodies that create this life, are constructed by various discourses. In this process, special attention is paid to human bodies with particular capacities and needs, such as women’s bodies. The reproductive capacity of women’s bodies has long been considered central to defining the meaning of being a woman in Western societies. This gender essentialism related to the maternal role guides some reproductive health policies, which are implemented within a complex architecture of discourses, institutionalized social stratification, biopower and biopolitics. The Peruvian case offers clear examples of this situation.
In Peru, reproductive healthcare policy has been irregularly implemented throughout the last twenty years, mostly due to the strong influence that conservative Catholic groups have been able to exert on the Peruvian Government. The discourse articulated by these groups asserts that human life begins at the moment of conception and is a gift from God; therefore, no one should be permitted to interfere in the processes of human life from conception until death. This sacralisation of human life has been progressively constructed within Catholic doctrine, which today incorporates selective interpretations of scientific knowledge in support of its claims. This discourse about human life directly and adversely affects Peruvian women’s bodies and lives. Due to their reproductive capacity, the conservative Catholic discourse considers women as bearers of human life. However, their decision-making power about the creation of this life is not taken into account in this discourse, especially when this decision-making power is linked to the exertion of sexual and reproductive rights. The influence of conservative Catholic discourse on the implementation process of Peru’s reproductive health policy is thus the central focus of this thesis.
The analysis offered in this thesis is informed by a feminist critical discourse analysis of Peruvian politics, policy and law relating to three key issues: coercive sterilisation of indigenous Peruvian women during the regime of Fujimori (1996-2000), the ongoing lack of access to safe and legal abortion, and the 2009 Constitutional Court ban on the distribution of free emergency contraception within the public health sector. My analysis reveals that the Catholic interest in, and influence on, reproductive health policy was largely stimulated by Fujimori’s policy of coercive sterilization, which was in turn prompted by a eugenic discourse that conservative Catholic groups, among others within Peruvian civil society, actively denounced. This opposition consolidated the influence of conservative Catholic discourse within the political domain. Further, I suggest that the actions of the State, increasingly influenced by Catholic interests, can best be understood in terms of Foucault’s concept of biopower, with reproductive health policy being the primary tool used to effect the State’s biopolitical agenda. As I illustrate, the influence of Catholic discourse on reproductive policy and practice is most clearly evident in the ongoing impediments placed in the way of women trying to access therapeutic abortions, and the prohibition of the free distribution of the emergency contraceptive pill via the public health system. Even in the face of local and international condemnation, the State persists in its non-compliance with the provisions of international human rights agreements, a failure which I suggest can only be understood by acknowledging the defining influence of Catholic discourse and interests within Peru’s political domain.
The significance of this thesis thus lies in its analysis of the discourses and political machinations that restrict the exertion of Peruvian women’s sexual and reproductive rights. These constraints are achieved through the operation of biopower enacted through the implementation of various reproductive health policies. This situation, I suggest, confines women via a constructed “naturalness” that reproduces essentialist notions of gender. As the case studies presented in this thesis demonstrate, a vital component of this discursive essentialisation of the maternal role is the identification of women as reproductive bodies that can be regulated and managed in accordance with the interests and discursive affiliations of the State, as opposed to individual citizens with autonomous decision-making power over their bodies and their own lives
Effects of farmyard manure and chemical fertilizer application rates on soil biology, cotton and fiber yield
No full textOrganic and inorganic fertilizers have significant effect on plant physiology, yield per unit area, available plant nutrient contents and extracellular enzyme activities of soils. This study was carried out in field conditions in arid and semi-arid regions between 2020-2021 years, May 01. The effects of farmyard manure (FM) (20, 40, 60 Mg ha-1) and chemical (CF) (350 kg urea ha-1, 100, 200, 300 kg DAP ha-1) fertilizers applied at different rates on plant nutrient (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu, Zn and Mn) contents, SPAD value and NDVI of cotton plants, seed cotton yield and soil enzymes (urease, catalase, dehydrogenase, alkaline phosphatase) were investigated. The results showed that FM applications significantly (p<0.01) increased the plant macro and micronutrients compared to CF applications, except for N (200 + 150 kg urea ha-1), Zn and Cu (300 kg DAP + 200 + 150 kg urea ha-1) in the 2021 cotton growing season. Mineralization of FM is slow under natural conditions; therefore, the use of FM alone is not sufficient to meet the nutrient needs of high yielding varieties. Urease and dehydrogenase activities increased significantly in FM treated soils compared to CF, while no significant (p<0.01) increase was recorded in alkaline phosphatase and catalase activities. Farmyard manure is a useful management practice for increasing soil biological activity. Physiological parameters of NDVI, SPAD and seed cotton yield significantly increased in FM treated soils compared to CF applications. The increase in cotton yield was 29.15%, in NDVI value was 22.38% and in SPAD value was 121.7%. The main issues with cotton in the area are the low organic carbon content of the soils, high clay content, arid and semi-arid soils, and their detrimental impact on the uptake of particular nutrients (N, P and B)
Zinc outperforms other foliar fertilisers in enhancing lentil yield and harvest index in semi-arid regions
No full textLentil yield in semi-arid regions is limited by heat, drought stress and nutrient deficiencies induced by high soil pH and water scarcity. In this study, we investigated the effect of foliar fertiliser treatments on lentil yield and yield components in a semi-arid region of South-East Anatolia, Türkiye. The control treatment and six foliar treatments were as follows: (i) Control: non-amended control, (ii) Zn: zinc sulphate, (iii) K: potassium sulphate, (iv) Zn + K (zinc sulphate + potassium sulphate), (v) Flo: Florea-UPL (containing boron and molybdenum), (vi) Mac: Macarena-UPL, an organomineral foliar fertiliser and (vii) Flo + Mac. Foliar fertilisers were applied at the first blooming stage of field-grown lentils. Total biomass yield was largely unaffected across treatments except in the K treatment. However, foliar Zn supply was the only treatment that significantly increased grain yield (55% higher), harvest index and total grain N uptake compared to the control, likely due to enhanced translocation of nitrogen-containing assimilates. SPAD values and total N analysis showed that stover N content depleted more rapidly in the Zn treatment than in other treatments during the grain-filling phase. The tested commercial products slightly increased SPAD values, biomass and grain yield. Among the treatments, Zn, as a foliar fertiliser, was the most cost-effective solution for improving grain yield in this region
Remote Screening of Nitrogen Uptake and Biomass Formation in Irrigated and Rainfed Wheat
No full textSustainable nitrogen (N) management in arable crops requires the real-time assessment of crop growth and N uptake, particularly in water-limited environments. In the present study, we conducted two large-scale field experiments with rainfed and irrigated wheat in South-East Turkey to evaluate the effectiveness of drone- and satellite-based spectral indices, in combination with neural network models, for estimating biomass and nitrogen uptake. Four N fertilizer rates in the irrigated fields (N0: 0, N6: 60, N12: 120, and N16: 160 kg N ha−1) and five N rates in the rainfed fields (N0: 0, N2: 20, N4: 40, N5: 50, and N6: 60 kg N ha−1) were tested. Highest fresh biomass was 57.7 ± 1.1 and 15.9 ± 1.0 t/ha−1 for irrigated and rainfed treatments, respectively, with 2.5-fold higher grain yield in irrigated (8.2 ± 1.2 t/ha−1) compared to rainfed (2.9 ± 0.9 t/ha−1) wheat. Drone-based spectral indices, especially those based on the red-edge region (CLRed_edge), correlated strongly with biomass (R2 > 0.9 in irrigated wheat) but failed to explain crop N concentration throughout the vegetation period. This limitation was attributed to the nitrogen dilution effect, where increasing biomass during crop growth leads to a decline in the concentration of nitrogen, complicating its accurate estimation via remote sensing. To address this, we employed a two-layer feed-forward neural network model and used SPAD and plant height values as supplementary input parameters to enhance estimations based on vegetation indices. This approach substantially enhanced the predictions of N uptake (R2 up to 0.95), while even simplified model version using only NDVI and plant height parameters achieved significant performance (R2 = 0.84). Overall, our results showed that spectral indices are reliable predictors of biomass but insufficient for estimating nitrogen concentration or uptake. Integrating indices with complementary crop traits in nonlinear models provides acceptable estimates of N uptake, supporting more precise fertilizer management and sustainable wheat production under water-limited conditions
Interactive effects of soil salinity and nitrogen fertilizer types on nitrous oxide and ammonia fluxes
No full textThe effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on biological activity and biochemical properties of soil under vetch growing conditions in calcareous soils
No full textDue to soils from arid regions with high lime and low organic matter content, farmers receive low yields along with high costs of agricultural inputs, which causes them to look for a solution. In this context, Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have great potential to reduce fertilizer use by mediating soil nutrient cycles. However, little is known about studies of AMF inoculum on microbial biomass carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) cycling during vetch plant vegetation in calcareous areas. In this study, changes in soil biogeochemical properties related to soil C, N, and P cycling were investigated with five different AMF inoculations under vetch (common Vetch (CV; Vicia sativa L.) and Narbonne Vetch (NV; Vicia narbonensis L.) growing conditions. For the field study, a total of five different mycorrhizae were used in the experiment with the random plots design. AMF inoculation decreased the lime content of the soil, and the highest decrease was observed in NV with Glomus (G.) intraradices + G. constrictum + G. microcarpum inoculation (24.41 %). The highest MBC content was recorded in CV vetch G. intraradices (1176.3 mg C kg 1 1 ) and the highest MBN content in NV vetch G. intraradices + G. constrictum + G. microcarpum (1356.9 mg C kg ). CAT activity of soils was highest in CV vetch G. intraradices (31.43 %) and lowest in NV vetch G. intraradices + G. constrictum + G. microcarpum (72.88 %), urease enzyme activity decreased in all treatments except G. constrictum + Gigaspora sp. and G. mosseae inoculations in CV. The highest DHG activity was detected in GF (15.72 %) AMFs in CV and GI (21.99 %) in NV. APA activity was highest in Glomus constrictum + Gigaspora sp. (23.33 %) in CV and Glomus fasciculatum (10.08 %) in NV. In CV plots, G. intraradices + G. constrictum + G. microcarpum (91.67 %) isolates had the highest and G. intraradices community had the lowest RC% (97.33 %) in mixed mycorrhiza species, while in NV plots G. fasciculatum inoculum had the highest and G. intraradices community had the lowest RC%. This study has important implications for the application of AMF for sustainable agriculture. When the results of the study were evaluated, the most effective AMF isolates in terms of C, N, and P cycles were G. constrictum +
Investigating performance-based hand functions in patients with systemic sclerosis Untersuchung der leistungsbasierten Handfunktion bei Patienten mit systemischer Sklerose
No full text© 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Medizin Verlag GmbH, ein Teil von Springer Nature.Objective: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a connective tissue disorder characterized by collagen deposits in various organs. Skin involvement is one of the most common symptoms and along with vascular damage, may deteriorate hand functions. However, the status of hand functions has generally been investigated using patient-reported measures in patients with SSc. The aim of the present study was to investigate performance-based hand functions in patients with SSc using the Sollerman Hand Function Test (SHFT). Methods: A total of 39 patients with SSc (33 females) were included in the study. Twenty-four patients were classified as limited cutaneous SSc (lcSSc), while 15 patients were classified as diffuse cutaneous SSc (dcSSc). Hand-related physical characteristics were evaluated using the Modified Hand Mobility in Scleroderma Test, grip strength, and pinch strengths. The Duruoz Hand Index (Cochin Hand Functional Disability Scale), Disability of Arm, Shoulder, and Hand Questionnaire, Health Assessment Questionnaire, and Scleroderma Health Assessment Questionnaire were used as patient-reported measures. Performance-based hand functions were evaluated using SHFT. Results: No significant differences were observed between lcSSc and dcSSc subtypes regarding performance-based and patient-reported hand functions (p > 0.05). SHFT scores significantly correlated with hand-related physical characteristics and patient-reported hand functions (p < 0.05). The highest correlation was determined between SHFT and the Duruoz Hand Index (rho: −0.652, p < 0.001). Conclusion: According to our results, performance-based hand functions seem not to be affected by disease subtype. Performance-based hand functions may partially be captured by the patient-reported outcomes, especially the Duruoz Hand Index, in patients with SSc
