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PurposeAtrial fibrillation (AF) causes structural, electrical, and cellular remodeling in the atrium. Evaluation of intra- and interatrial conduction time, which is measured by tissue doppler echocardiography, indicates structural and electrical remodeling in the atrium. In the meta-analysis of the studies investigating rhythm control treatment strategy in paroxysmal atrial fibrillation; radiofrequency (RF) ablation has been shown to be superior over antiarrhythmics in ensuring and protecting sinus rhythm. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of pulmonary vein isolation applied with RF ablation therapy on intra- and interatrial conduction time and to investigate the structural and electrically remodeling after treatment.MethodsFifty-two patients with symptomatic PAF despite at least one antiarrhythmic drug and without structural heart disease were included in the study. Two patients were excluded because of complications developed during and after the operation. Fifty patients (28 female; mean age: 51.68 ± 11.731; mean left atrial diameter: 36.79 ± 4.318) who underwent CARTO® 3D pulmonary vein isolation applied with the RF ablation system were followed-up. Intra- and the inter-atrial electromechanical delay was measured in all patients by tissue doppler echocardiography before and three months after RF ablation. ResultsAll intra- and interatrial conduction times were significantly decreased 3 months after RF ablation procedure (PA lateral p = 0.022; PA septum p = 0.002; PA tricuspid p = 0.019, interatrial conduction delay p= 0,012, intra-atrial conduction delay p = 0.029).ConclusionThe results of our study suggest that providing stable sinus rhythm by the elimination of the AF triggering mechanisms with RF ablation of pulmonary vein isolation may slow down, stop or even improve structural remodeling at substrate level secondary to AF even in patients who did not yet develop atrial fibrosis and permanent structural changes.

Molasses is one of the popular and traditional foods produced and consumed in Turkey for a long time. The present work aimed to evaluate the safety of molasses which is produced traditionally and industrially. Ames/Salmonella mutagenicity and the MTT cytotoxicity methods were used for the safety evaluation. The amounts of furan derivatives were comparatively determined. 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) content of some samples were above the legal limit of 70 mg/kg. Ames/Salmonella mutagenicity assay showed that molasses had no mutagenic effect. On the other hand, antimutagenic activity was observed after metabolic activation. The margins of exposure were above the value of 100, thus indicating the safety of samples regarding furan derivatives exposure. The higher HMF content and osmophilic yeast counts of traditionally produced molasses as compared to the industrially produced samples are alarming, and suggest that traditional and industrial food production may need a separate risk assessments by the national authority. (C) All Rights Reserved

In age-related macular degeneration (AMD), both systemic and local zinc levels decline. Elevation of zinc in clinical studies delayed the progression to end-stage AMD. However, the molecular pathways underpinning this beneficial effect are not yet identified. In this study, we used differentiated primary human fetal retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cultures and long-term zinc supplementation to carry out a combined transcriptome, proteome and secretome analysis from three genetically different human donors. After combining significant differences, we identified the complex molecular networks using Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA). The cell cultures from the three donors showed extensive pigmentation, development of microvilli and basal infoldings and responded to zinc supplementation with an increase in transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) (apical supplementation: 443.2 &plusmn, 79.3%, basal supplementation: 424.9 &plusmn, 116.8%, compared to control: 317.5 &plusmn, 98.2%). Significant changes were observed in the expression of 1044 genes, 151 cellular proteins and 124 secreted proteins. Gene set enrichment analysis revealed changes in specific molecular pathways related to cell adhesion/polarity, extracellular matrix organization, protein processing/transport, and oxidative stress response by zinc and identified a key upstream regulator effect similar to that of TGFB1.

With the development of garment manufacturing, huge amounts of garment production in short time has been possible; which led to an increase in the profitability of companies and meeting customer expectations. But in due course, with the increase of household income, customers started to ask for dressing different than other individuals instead of wearing same clothes with everyone. Therefore, in order to maintain the variety of styles in manufacturing, the production quantities have decreased and the production methods have been evolved in this direction. Accordingly, due to meet these new expectations, customized clothing production concept has been born. The main fact which differentiates this production method from the old style tailoring is that; the design is also personally customized. The fabric, color, design, pattern details of the cloths can be customized according to customer choice. All of above points naturally increase the cost of the product. However in this method, the main importance is the customers who aspire their dream cloth instead of the product price. With this research, the systems which is needed to meet the new high level customer expectations have been analyzed; the production lead time and the effect of this method on the labour has been investigated in a facility which is making customized production. © 2020 Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava. All rights reserved.

We introduce Differentiable Reasoning (DR), a novel semi-supervised learning technique which uses relational background knowledge to benefit from unlabeled data. We apply it to the Semantic Image Interpretation (SII) task and show that background knowledge provides significant improvement. We find that there is a strong but interesting imbalance between the contributions of updates from Modus Ponens (MP) and its logical equivalent Modus Tollens (MT) to the learning process, suggesting that our approach is very sensitive to a phenomenon called the Raven Paradox. We propose a solution to overcome this situation.

Objectives: A new HPLC method was developed and validated for the determination of some phenolic compounds; gallic acid, chlorogenic acid, epigallocatechin, caffeic acid, vanillin, p-coumaric acid, rutin, and quercetin in some local wine and fruit wine samples. Materials and Methods: Analyses were performed on a Zorbax Eclipse C18 column (4.6 x 150 mm, 3.5-µm particle size) using a gradient system. Mobile phase A was a 10-mM phosphoric acid solution and mobile phase B was methanol using a flow rate of 1 mL/min. Phenolic components were monitored using a DAD at three different wavelengths. Results: The developed and validated method was generally linear between the 1-100 ppm concentration range. Recovery values were obtained in the range of 95-105% and repetitive. The method was successfully applied to investigate the phenolic profiles of different wine samples. Conclusion: As a result of the study, an accurate, sensitive and reliable HPLC-DAD method was developed. The method was successfully used to determine the concentrations of antioxidant phenolic constituents from some local wine extracts. © Turk J Pharm Sci, Published by Galenos Publishing House.

The majority of scorpion stings are generally seen with a set of simple clinical findings, such as pain, oedema, numbness, and tenderness in the area of the sting. However, occasionally events, such as toxic myocarditis, acute heart failure, acute pulmonary oedema, and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), which occur in scorpion sting cases are a significant problem which determine mortality and morbidity. The case presented here was a 38-year-old man who developed acute toxic myocarditis, acute heart failure, and acute pulmonary oedema following a scorpion sting on the 3rd finger of his right hand.

Encapsulation of active agents in solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) is an alternative to other controlled release systems for topical delivery. In this study, caffeine was encapsulated in SLNs to produce a delivery system with controlled release. Caffeine-loaded SLNs (Caf-SLNs) were prepared using the double emulsion method with homogenization and ultrasonication. The characterization studies were performed using dynamic light scattering (DLS), zeta potential, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analyses. The encapsulation effi ciency tests were performed using UV spectrophotometry. In vitro release studies were conducted using a dialysis bag technique and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for the quantifi cation of caffeine (Caf ). The results from the DLS analysis showed that all formulations had a polydispersity index

NiTiHf-based shape memory alloys have been receiving considerable attention for high temperature, high strength and two-way shape memory applications since they could have transformation temperatures above 100°C, shape memory effect under high stress (above 500 MPa) and superelasticity above 100°C. Moreover, their shape memory properties can be tailored by microstructural engineering. However, NiTiHf-based alloys have some drawbacks such as low ductility and high slope in stress induced martensite transformation region. In order to overcome these limitations, studies have been focused on microstructural engineering by aging, alloying and processing. It has been revealed that microstructural control is crucial to govern the shape memory properties (e.g. transformation temperatures, matrix strength, shape recovery strain, twinning type, etc.) of NiTiHf-based alloys. A summary of the most recent improvements on selected NiTiHf-based systems is presented to point out their significant shape memory pro...

The electrochemical behavior of valproic acid (VAL) was investigated using square wave voltammetry, cyclic voltammetry, and sampled direct current polarography and a new square wave voltammetric method was developed for determination of VAL in pharmaceutical preparations. VAL showed two reduction peaks at about -0.2 V and -0.8 V vs. Ag/AgCl 3 M KCl with a hanging mercury drop electrode in 0.05 M pH 3.3 Britton-Robinson (BR) buffer. These peaks were named peak I and peak II, respectively. The types of limiting current of both peaks were determined as diffusion controlled based on cyclic voltammetry studies. A linear calibration graph was obtained in the range 1.46 × 10-4 -1.0 × 10-3 M. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were 1.09 × 10-4 M (21.05 µg/mL) and 1.10 × 10-4 M (144.20 µg/mL), respectively. Recovery studies for the accuracy of the method were performed by adding known amounts of VAL and it was found to be 109.67 ± 4.85%. The proposed method was successfully applied to pharmaceutical products on the market. © 2016 TÜB¯TAK.

Stock price prediction is on the agenda of most researchers based on the uncertainty of its nature. In past two decades, the literature on the development of prediction models for stock prices has extended dramatically. These studies mostly focused on spe Business; Economics; Regional & Urban Planning Business & Economics; Public Administration

Benzalkonium chloride (BAC), which is a mixture of C8 and C18 alkylbenzyldimethylammonium chlorides, has an important biocide character and is used in many cosmetics, especially wet wipes, as a preservative and/ or antibacterial agent. The concentration range of BAC is 0.005-0.5 % and it is an irritant substance when used at high concentrations. Thus, the concentration of BAC should be carefully monitored in commercial products intended for skin use. In this study, a capillary electrophoresis (CE) analysis method for BAC quantification was developed. The quantitative analysis was carried out by the external standard method. The electrophoretic separation was performed by using 75 mM (pH 6.0) phosphate buffer solution containing 30% acetonitrile as the electrolyte. The separation voltage was 10 kV and the temperature was held at 18°C. Samples were introduced into the capillary column hydrodynamically using 50.0-mbar pressure over a 3-s period. The developed method was validated and applied on samples prepared by wringing out antibacterial wet wipes containing BAC without any further extraction. The linearity of the method was controlled by applying the Mandel test. The limit of detection (LOD) values for the developed method were 0.313 and 0.309 µg/ml and the limit of quantification (LOQ) values were 1.042 and 1.029 µg/ml for C10 and C12 derivatives, respectively. © 2017 Society of Cosmetic Chemists. All rights reserved.

PubMed ID: 26266395 Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death among children. Previous research has shown that most of the injuries occur in and around the home. Therefore, parents have a key role in the occurrence and prevention of injuries. In this study, we examined the relationship among home injuries to children and parental attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, parental attitudes, and children's behavioral problems. Forty children who were admitted to the emergency department because of home injuries constitute the study group. The control group also consisted of 40 children, who were admitted for mild throat infections. The parents filled out questionnaires assessing parental ADHD, child behavioral problems, and parenting attitudes. Scores were significantly higher for both internalizing disorders and externalizing disorders in study groups. We also found that ADHD symptoms were significantly higher among fathers of injured children compared with fathers of control groups. Democratic parenting was also found to correlate with higher numbers of injuries. Parenting style, as well as the psychopathology of both the parents and children, is important factors in children's injuries. A child psychiatrist visit following an emergency procedure may help to prevent further unintentional injuries to the child. Copyright © 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

The acid ionization constant (pK(a)) values of 2-(3H)-benzoxazolinone and its 17 derivatives were determined in buffered solutions by UV-vis spectrophotometry, potentiometry, and capillary zone electrophoresis techniques. The pK(a) values of the studied compounds are found to be in the range of 9.01 to 7.15. The advantages and limitations of each technique are discussed. The results suggest that the removal of a proton from the molecule occurred on the nitrogen atom of the 2-(3H)-benzoxazolinone ring and the analgesic/anti-inflammatory activities of the benzoxazolinone derivatives decrease when the pK(a) values of the compounds increase. Yeditepe UniversityYeditepe University We thank Yeditepe University for financial support.