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Purpose: To determine the effect of inspiratory muscle training (IMT) on respiratory and peripheral muscle strength, functional exercise capacity, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), fatigue, depression, and cardiac functions in patients with stable angina. Methods: A randomized, controlled, single-blinded study. Twenty patients (59.95 ± 7.35 y, LVEF - 58.77 ± 7.49) with stable angina received IMT at the lowest load (10 cmH2O), and 20 patients (55.85 ± 7.60 y, LVEF - 62.26 ± 7.75) received training at 30% of maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) seven days/8 weeks. Respiratory muscle strength (MIP; maximal expiratory pressure, MEP), peripheral muscle strength, pulmonary functions, functional exercise capacity (6-min walking test; exercise test), fatigue, HRQoL, depression, and cardiac functions were evaluated before and after. Results: A statistical difference was found between groups in terms of respiratory and peripheral muscle strength, pulmonary functions, functional exercise capacity (p<0.05). The results of fatigue, depression, HRQoL, and cardiac functions were similar between the groups (p>0.05). Conclusions: This study is the first to demonstrate the positive effects of IMT in patients with stable angina. IMT is a safe and effective method and is recommended to be added to cardiopulmonary rehabilitation programs and guidelines, as it results in increased peripheral muscle strength and functional exercise capacity in stable angina patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy metal accumulation in aquatic environments is a global problem as it affects the quality of sediments and aquatic life. Therefore, this study examines the geochemical composition of heavy metals and their relationships, as well as their sources by applying multivariate statistical techniques to the geochemical content of the soil in the Gumusler Dam in central Turkey. The area is dominated by Paleozoic to Quaternary-aged igneous and metamorphic rocks. Average concentrations of all the major elements in terms of their abundance in descending order are as follows: SiO2, CaO, Al2O3, Fe2O3, MgO, K2O, TiO2, MnO, and Na2O. This suggests that SiO2 is the dominant major element in the soils. The contents of heavy metals have been found to vary in the following order: Strong positive correlations have been found among the following major elements: SiO2, CaO, MgO, TiO2, Ni, Rb, Pb, Zn, and As. According to the result of the principal component analysis using the extraction criterion, six factors were found to have an eigenvalue > 1, and they were found to explain 81.854% of the total variance of the dataset. All these factors reveal that the lithogenic effect and base metal mineralization are the two main sources of heavy metals in the sediments. Also, the results of the factor analysis were confirmed by hierarchical cluster analysis, which also yielded four clusters with similar element clusters. Regression analysis also confirmed that the host rocks and base metal mineralization in the area directly affect the sediment geochemistry in the dam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates chemical properties, the statistical variation in elements, paleo-environmental properties and accumulation, density maps, degree of weathering and the classification of the beach sand. Forty-seven samples were collected along the sampled beach sand. Chemical analysis was done on fine grains of all 47 beach sand samples and coarse grains of 19 selected rock samples by X-ray fluorescence analysis. CaO, SiO2 and MgO were the most abundant major elements in the samples. CaO and MgO show high concentrations in the northern section of the study area, while SiO2 is more prevalent in the southern section of the study area. Relatively higher concentrations of CaO, Al2O3, Fe2O3, TiO2, K2O, P2O5 and SO3 were observed in the fine grains, due to their susceptibility to weathering, while relatively higher SiO2 and MgO were observed in the coarse grains due to their resistance to weathering. Calcite and dolomite are major sources for the high concentrations of Ca and Mg, especially in the northern sections of the study area, while augite, clinoenstatite, ankerite, clinopyroxene, cordierite, magnetite are likely sources of Si, Mg and Fe. The beach sand indicated a mixture of high-CaO source type and high-SiO2 source type, with the high-CaO type dominating. Investigations revealed the sand as marine carbonaceous to carbonaceous ferrites with magnesium association, deposited in an oxic environment where the marine skeleton could not be preserved due to high aerobic activity, and not far from their carbonate (neritic) parent source. The high-SiO2 resulted from the Tekirova ophiolite in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cities are also expanding with growth in construction rapidly, depending on the population growth. This development causes a lot of environmental problems. Pollution in water is one of the main problems and the aim of this paper is to evaluate water pollution in the study area. There are some statistical methods developed for the measurement and evaluation of water pollution; heavy metal pollution index (HPI) is one of them. Antalya is, one of the big cities in Turkey, also growing fast; population and settlement in this city are increasing quickly. That is why two streams, Duden and Goksu, are selected to measure the heavy metal pollution. The 24 water samples from Duden Stream and 18 water samples from Goksu Stream were taken systematically in June 2018 and were analyzed by using HPI. The heavy metals, from the highest value to the lowest one, were Sr > Fe > Al > Mn > As > Ni > Cu > Pb > Cr > Se in Duden Stream; and Sr > Fe > Al > Ni > As > Cu > Mn > Pb > Cr > Se in Goksu Stream. The Sr and Al values have exceeded the standard permissible values in both of the streams. The heavy metal pollution index (HPI) was used to evaluate the potential risk. Regarding quality the water samples have been classified as “good” and “poor”, generally. On the other hand, some water samples had heavy metal pollution above standards. Especially, the water of D15 - D19 - D20 and G13 samples were determined as “very poor” according to the standards. As a conclusion, the anthropogenic factors and urbanization may be the cause of the pollution. Living creatures that use water may have health problems and ecological equilibrium may be hampered in these stations. Groundwater may be contaminated in these areas. So, the urbanization needs to be done more carefully. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

System signature is a useful tool to analyze coherent systems. In reliability theory, a large number of systems is actually the composition of disjoint subsystems (modules). However, in real life, there are situations in which the subsystems have common components. In this article, we consider the problem of obtaining signatures as well as minimal signatures of series and parallel systems that are composed of subsystems sharing a component. That is, these subsystems are no longer disjoint. Computational results are also presented to illustrate our findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the aortic elastic properties and the left ventricular diastolic function measured by tissue Doppler echocardiography (TDE) in asymptomatic type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods: Fifty-seven asymptomatic patients with type 2 diabetes (33 women, mean age: 49 +/- 6 years) and 25 healthy control subjects (19 women, mean age: 46 +/- 7 years) were included in the present study. Diastolic filling indices were measured by conventional (CE) and tissue Doppler echocardiography. The aortic elastic properties [Aortic stiffness index (ASI), aortic distensibility and strain] were measured as previous definition. Results: Compared with control subjects, the ratio of LV diastolic abnormalities measured by CE and TDE were found higher in patients with type 2 diabetes (36% and 73.6%, p = 0.001, respectively, and 52% and 89.4%, p < 0.001, for septal annulus; 48% and 89.4%, p < 0.001 for septal basal respectively). The ASI was significantly higher (p < 0.001), aortic distensibility and aortic strain were also significantly lower in patients with type 2 diabetes than control subjects (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001 respectively). In the regression analysis, Ao distensibility was correlated to age (beta = -0.299, p = 0.004), septal basal Em/Am ratio (beta =0.543, p < 0.001) and HDL-cholesterol (beta = 0.192, p = 0.039). ASI was also correlated only to age (beta = 0.255, p = 0.044), the presence of diabetes mellitus (beta = 0.304, p = 0.009), mitral A wave (beta = 0.322, p = 0.013) and mitral annulus Em wave (beta = -0.505, p < 0.001). Conclusion: The aortic elastic function is impaired in asymptomatic patients with type 2 diabetes. Increased ASI and decreased Ao distensibility are closely associated with diastolic filling indices measured by CE and TDE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study tries to reveal the levels of three distinct PAHs (naphthalene, benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) and anthracene on honey samples. They were taken from several different stations from the Nigde City (Central Anatolia, Turkey). The Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry results revealed that twenty-four honey samples having naphthalene residues (for GC-MS limit of detection is 1 ppb and the upper limit 100 ppb in the European Union MRLs). In addition six samples have BaP residues (1.51 ± 0.47 ng/g) and eight examples have anthracene residues (1.59 ± 0.85 ng/g). Heavy metals in the honey samples were studied on Pb, Ni, Cr and Cd elements. To get simple and multivariate statistics, the SPSS Statistics 21 software has been used for this work. According to simple statistics, maximum-minimum values for Pb are 4286-1998; Ni 9987-5457; Cr 9654-2335 and Cd 3229-1090. However, we get higher statistics values from Cr and Cd. These results could decrease the quality of honey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relation between coronary artery ectasia (CAE) and erectile dysfunction (ED) has not been studied so far. Hence, we decided to investigate the erectile function score in patients with CAE. We investigated the international index of erectile function (IIEF)-5 score in 34 men with CAE, 38 men with coronary artery disease (CAD), and 30 male controls with normal coronary arteries whose mean ages were 53.2±5.6, 51.4±7.8, and 49.6±8.6 years, respectively. Erectile function was evaluated by the five-item version of the IIEF-5. Each question is scored from 0 to 5. CAE was defined as being without any stenotic lesions with a visual assessment of the coronary arteries showing a luminal dilatation 1.5-fold or more of the adjacent normal coronary segments. IIEF-5 scores in CAE group were found statistically significantly lower than the control group (P<0.001). There were no statistically significant differences in IIEF-5 scores between CAE and CAD groups (P=0.13). We have shown for the first time that patients with CAE have lower IIEF-5 scores compared with controls with normal coronary angiograms. Many studies reported that endothelial dysfunction in patients with CAE was more dominant than those with CAD. This study suggests that ED and CAE may be different manifestations of a common underlying vascular pathology and vasculogenic ED is frequently seen in CAE at least as much as in CAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Psoriasis is associated with a premature atherosclerosis due to the chronic inflammatory process. To evaluate the effect of disease process on myocardial perfusion, we planned to perform 99mTc-MIBI myocardial perfusion single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in patients with psoriasis. Methods The study group consisted of 28 psoriasis patients (17 men, 11 women), aged 18-76 years, and mean age 41.2 ± 14.1 years. The patients were selected among those who were older than 18 years and longer than 10 years of disease duration with more than two times of systemic treatment. All patients underwent 99mTc-MIBI myocardial perfusion SPECT with the same day protocol. Results We detected various risk factors including smoking habits in 7, family history of cardiovascular disease in 4, hypertension in 1, hyperlipidemia in 9 patients. We completed myocardial perfusion SPECT for each patient and found normal perfusion pattern in SPECT images. Conclusion We detected that myocardial perfusion is preserved in the patients with psoriasis. The majority of acute heart attacks are caused by noncritical coronary stenosis and this may be an explanation for increased cardiovascular risk in these patients despite normal coronary perfusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Several studies have demonstrated the presence of an association between androgenetic alopecia (AGA) and cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with AGA and healthy controls by the incorporation of carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) along with echocardiography (ECHO) and exercise electrocardiography (ExECG). Methods We performed a case–control study in 50 male patients with AGA and 31 age-matched healthy male controls with normal hair status. Both the AGA patients and controls with a history of diabetes mellitus, cigarette smoking, hypertension, cardiovascular or cerebrovascular disease, and renal failure were excluded. AGA was classified according to the Hamilton–Norwood scale. Serum lipids, serum hs-CRP, total testosterone, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate were examined in all study subjects. Carotid ultrasonography was used to measure the IMT of the common carotid arteries (CCA). ECHO and ExECG were performed in all subjects. Results IMT of the CCA was found to be significantly higher in patients with severe vertex pattern AGA when compared to patients with other patterns of AGA and healthy controls ( P < 0.05). Hs-CRP in patients with any group of AGA was not significantly different from those healthy controls ( P > 0.05). ECHO showed that cardiac structural and functional measures were in normal ranges. ExECG was also normal in all subjects. Conclusion Severe vertex pattern AGA should be considered to have an increased risk of subclinical atherosclerosis. For this reason, CCA IMT measurement can be recommended as a non-invasive and early diagnostic method. Conflicts of interest None declared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Psoriasis is associated with an increased risk of atherosclerosis. This study compared subclinical atherosclerosis of the carotid and brachial arteries in psoriasis vulgaris patients and healthy controls using high-resolution ultrasonography. Methods We studied 43 psoriasis patients and 43 healthy controls matched for age and sex. Flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) and nitroglycerin-induced dilatation (NTD) of the brachial artery and intima-media thickness (IMT) of the common carotid arteries (CCA) were measured ultrasonographically. Diabetes mellitus, hypertension, renal failure, a history of cardiovascular or cerebrovascular disease were exclusion criteria. Subjects who were receiving lipid-lowering therapy, antihypertensive or anti-aggregant drugs, nitrates or long-term systemic steroids were also excluded. Results The mean IMT values of the right, left and averaged CCA of the psoriasis patients were significantly higher, compared with the controls (0.607 ± 0.144 mm vs. 0.532 ± 0.101 mm, 0.611 ± 0.157 mm vs. 0.521 ± 0.117 mm, and 0.609 ± 0.146 mm vs. 0.526 ± 0.104 mm; P = 0.006, P = 0.003 and P = 0.003, respectively). The mean FMD and NTD values of the psoriasis patients were significantly lower, compared with the controls (13.36 ± 6.39 mm vs. 19.60 ± 11.23 mm and 21.08 ± 8.38 mm vs. 26.85 ± 12.38 mm; P = 0.002 and P = 0.013, respectively). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed a significant association between psoriasis and the IMT, FMD and NTD. Moreover, the FMD in psoriasis patients was associated with disease duration. Conclusion Psoriasis patients had impaired endothelial function and thicker IMT of the CCA, compared with the healthy control subjects. The presence of psoriasis was an independent risk factor for subclinical atherosclerosis. Conflicts of interest None declared [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the aortic elastic properties and the left ventricular diastolic function measured by tissue Doppler echocardiography (TDE) in asymptomatic type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods: Fifty-seven asymptomatic patients with type 2 diabetes (33 women, mean age: 49 ± 6 years) and 25 healthy control subjects (19 women, mean age: 46 ± 7 years) were included in the present study. Diastolic filling indices were measured by conventional (CE) and tissue Doppler echocardiography. The aortic elastic properties [Aortic stiffness index (ASI), aortic distensibility and strain] were measured as previous definition. Results: Compared with control subjects, the ratio of LV diastolic abnormalities measured by CE and TDE were found higher in patients with type 2 diabetes (36% and 73.6%, p = 0.001, respectively, and 52% and 89.4%, p < 0.001, for septal annulus; 48% and 89.4%, p < 0.001 for septal basal respectively). The ASI was significantly higher (p < 0.001), aortic distensibility and aortic strain were also significantly lower in patients with type 2 diabetes than control subjects (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001 respectively). In the regression analysis, Ao distensibility was correlated to age ( β = −0.299, p = 0.004), septal basal Em/Am ratio ( β =0.543, p < 0.001) and HDL-cholesterol ( β = 0.192, p = 0.039). ASI was also correlated only to age ( β = 0.255, p = 0.044), the presence of diabetes mellitus ( β = 0.304, p = 0.009), mitral A wave ( β = 0.322, p = 0.013) and mitral annulus Em wave ( β = −0.505, p < 0.001). Conclusion: The aortic elastic function is impaired in asymptomatic patients with type 2 diabetes. Increased ASI and decreased Ao distensibility are closely associated with diastolic filling indices measured by CE and TDE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective:The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of obesity on dispersion of P-wave duration and QTc interval in obese women.Methods:Forty-two obese women (Body mass index (BMI)=40±3 kg/m2, mean age 45±9 years) and compared age-matched (BMI=22±1 kg/m2, mean age 41±6 years) twenty-five non-obese women were included in our study. Maximum and minimum P-wave duration, P-wave dispersion (difference between the maximum and the minimum P-wave duration), maximum and minimum QTc interval, and QTc dispersion (the difference between the maximum and the minimum QTc interval) were measured from 12-lead ECG. ECG's were transferred to a personal computer via a scanner and then used for magnification of 400 times by Adobe Photoshop software.Results:There was significant difference in BMI (40±3 vs 22±1 kg/m2, P<0.001, respectively) between obese and non-obese women. Obese women had higher Max. P-wave duration (116±11 vs 94±14 ms, P<0.001), P-wave dispersion (51±15 vs 26±11 ms, P<0.001), Max. QTc interval (449±38 vs 419±30 ms, P<0.001) and QTc dispersion (57±23 vs 38±15 ms, P<0.001) compared to non-obese women. A significant correlation was found between BMI and Max. P-wave duration (r=0.584, P<0.001), P-wave dispersion (r=0.621, P<0.001), Max. QTc interval (r=0.410, P<0.001), and QTc dispersion (r=0.429, P<0.001). In the linear regression analysis, compared to co-morbidity factors such as age, hypertension, diabetes mellitus and smoking, there was significant association between only BMI and electrocardiographic values (P-wave and QTc dispersion).Conclusion:We concluded that obesity caused significant increase in P-wave and QTc dispersion. Therefore, obese women may not only be under the risk of ventricular arrhythmias, but also they may under the risk of atrial arrhythmias.International Journal of Obesity (2006) 30, 957–961. doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0803233; published online 24 January 2006 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence and risk factors of silent CAD in asymptomatic type 2 diabetic patients aged over 40 years. A total of 172 asymptomatic type 2 diabetic patients, mean age 54.42 years, with normal resting electrocardiogram were included in the study. Technetium-99m (Tc-99m) tetrofosmin cardiac single photon emission computed tomography myocardial scintigraphy with exercise testing or dipyridamole injection was performed on all patients. If this test was positive, coronary angiography was carried out and was considered to be positive with a stenosis of ≥70%. Abnormal perfusion pattern was found in 14 patients (8.14%). Significant coronary artery stenosis was found in 13 subjects (7.56%), confirming a high positive predictive value (92.86%) of this diagnostic procedure. A significant correlation was observed between silent CAD and male sex, retinopathy, hypertension, post-prandial blood glucose level, and low HDL-cholesterol level. Sex (OR=4.026; 95% CI, 1.187–13.659), hypertension (OR=5.564; 95% CI, 1.446–21.400) and retinopathy (OR=3.766; 95% CI, 1.096–12.948) were risk factors for CAD. Overall, 14.06% of asymptomatic male patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus presented silent CAD with significant angiographically documented coronary stenosis. This finding, along with the high positive predictive value of a noninvasive technique, indicates that routine screening for silent CAD would be useful in this patient subgroup especially when they have retinopathy or hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of the present study was to investigate the usefulness of insulin sensitivity check indices in our hospital population. Methods: Both HOMA (insulin X glucose in mmol/l/22.5) and QUICKI (1/log insulin in μu/ml + log glucose in mg/dl) indices were calculated from fasting values in 1774 subjects from the medical records of Baskent University Adana Hospital. Results: Subjects with diabetes, hyperlipidaemia and central obesity were characterized by significantly higher HOMA and lower QUICKI indices than those of healthy subjects. A fall in the QUICKI index (0.3469 ± 0.028 in healthy subjects and 0.3247 ± 0.025 in non-obese diabetics) as well as an increase in HOMA index (2.24 ± 1.26 in healthy subjects and 3.59 ± 2.08 in non-obese diabetics) corresponded to metabolic and clinical manifestations of insulin resistance in various groups of subjects. Age, low HDL cholesterol, male sex, type 2 DM and hypertension were independent risk factors for CAD. Age, male sex, waist circumference and CAD were found to be risk factors for hypertension. Fasting insulin and glucose levels contain sufficient information to assess insulin sensitivity over a wide range in a diverse population. The following can be accepted as mean values to assess insulin resistance in our hospital population: 0.3469 ± 0.028 for the QUICKI index and 2.24 ± 1.26 for the HOMA index Conclusions: HOMA and QUICKI indices are simple and reproducible methods for determining insulin sensitivity in humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies the biologically treated effluents from the pulp and paper and fermentation industry. Use of two stage membrane treatment and reverse osmosis; Color removal; Chemical oxygen demand.

Estimation of left ventricular (LV) mass has both prognostic and therapeutic value independent of traditional risk factors. Unfortunately, LV mass evaluation has been underestimated in clinical practice. Assessment of LV mass can be performed by a number of imaging modalities. Despite inherent limitations, conventional echocardiography has fundamentally been established as most widely used diagnostic tool. 3-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) is now feasible, fast and accurate for LV mass evaluation. 3DE is also superior to conventional echocardiography in terms of LV mass assessment, especially in patients with abnormal LV geometry. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) and cardiovascular computed tomography (CCT) are currently performed for LV mass assessment and also do not depend on cardiac geometry and display 3-dimensional data, as well. Therefore, CMR is being increasingly employed and is at the present standard of reference in the clinical setting. Although each method demonstrates advantages over another, there are also disadvantages to receive attention. Diagnostic accuracy of methods will also be increased with the introduction of more advanced systems. It is also likely that in the coming years new and more accurate diagnostic tests will become available. In particular, CMR and CCT have been intersecting hot topic between cardiology and radiology clinics. Thus, good communication and collaboration between two specialties is required for selection of an appropriate test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abstract of the article "Assessment of aortic elastic properties in patients with erectile dysfunction by conventional and colour tissue Doppler echocardiography," by E. Seyfeli and colleagues is presented.

An abstract of the article "Left ventricular diastolic functional abnormalities in asymptomatic patients with type II diabetes mellitus. Its relation with aortic elastic properties," by E. Seyfeli and colleagues is presented.

An abstract of the article "Right ventricular diastolic abnormalities in rheumatoid arthritis and its relationship with left ventricular and pulmonary involvement. A tissue Doppler imaging study," by E. Seyfeli and colleagues is presented.

An abstract of the article "The change of cardiac troponins in patients with chronic renal failure overtime and its relationship with left ventricular mass index. The results of two years follow-up," by E. Seyfeli and colleagues is presented.

An abstract of the article "P Wave duration and dispersion in mitral valve prolapse," by F. Akgul and colleagues is presented.

An abstract of the article "Importance of dobutamine Doppler tissue imaging on the evaluation of revascularization in patients with hypoperfused myocardium" by H. Yalcin and colleagues is presented.