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Land use and land cover (LU/LC) detection has great significance in management of natural resources and protection of environment. Hence, monitoring LU/LC with the state-of-the-art approaches has gained importance during the recent years and free access satellite images have become valuable data source. The aim of this study is to compare classification abilities of Landsat-9 and PRISMA satellite images while applying Support Vector Machine (SVM) algorithm to distinguish different LU/LC classes. For this purpose, the study area was chosen to be of heterogeneous character that includes industrial area, roads, residential area, airport, sea, forest, vegetation and barren land. When the classification results were visually examined, it was seen that forest, industrial area and airport classes were distinguished more accurately than other classes. On the other hand, qualitative results were validated with quantitative accuracy assessment results. The overall accuracy (OA) and Kappa coefficient values were calculated as 89.33 and 0.88 for Landsat-9 satellite image and as 92.33 and 0.91 for the PRISMA satellite image, respectively. In the accuracy assessment results, although Landsat-9 and PRISMA satellite images showed similar classification performances, a slight improvement was observed by using the PRISMA satellite image. The findings indicated that although both of the Landsat-9 and PRISMA satellite images were proper data to assess the LU/LC of the complex region, a slightly more performance could be achieved by using the PRISMA satellite image.

Turkey has favorable agricultural conditions (i.e. fertile soils, climate and rainfall) and can grow almost any type of crop in many regions, making it one of the leading sectors of the economy. For sustainable agriculture management, all factors affecting the agricultural products should be analyzed on a spatial-temporal basis. Therefore, nowadays space technologies such as remote sensing are important tools in providing an accurate mapping of the agricultural fields with timely monitoring and higher repetition frequency and accuracy. In this study, object based classification method was applied to 2017 Sentinel 2 Level 2A satellite image in order to map crop types in the Adana, Çukurova region in Turkey. Support Vector Machine (SVM) was used as a classifier. Texture information were incorporated to spectral wavebands of Sentinel-2 image, to increase the classification accuracy. In this context, all of the textural features of Gray-Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM) were tested and Entropy, Standard deviation, and Mean textural features were found to be the most suitable among them. Multi-spectral and textural features were used as an input separately and/or in combination to evaluate the potential of texture in differentiating crop types and the accuracy of output thematic maps. As a result, with the addition of textural features, it was observed that the Overall Accuracy and Kappa coefficient increased by 7% and 8%, respectively.

Water is an essential natural source for human being and environment. To conserve water sources, monitoring them by using remote sensing data and technologies is an efficient way. In this study, water quality of the Sea of Marmara (Turkey), which has lots of currents, was examined. The main aim of the study was developing a common model to monitor chlorophyll-a concentration in time by using satellite data. After, the coefficients of the OC2 (ocean chlorophyll 2) model were detected by curve fitting, it was applied to Landsat images. The bias and RMSE (Root Mean Square Error) were found as 0.73 µg/l and 5.80 µg/l, respectively. The high RMSE was stemmed from dynamic structure of the sea. Thus, the temporal resolution has a profound impact on the accuracy of estimations. The developed model was applied to the HLS (Harmonized Landsat Sentinel-2) data, which has high temporal resolution. The results of the HLS and Landsat images were compared, and HLS is found as proper to monitor the water quality. The combined data (SST (Sea Surface Temperature) daily data from 1981 to present derived from satellite observations Level-4 product) was used for the secondary aim of the study which was monitoring SST. The bias and RMSE of the data, which was acquired on 19.07.2017, were found as 0.33 °C and 1.12 °C, respectively. The bias and RMSE of the data, which was acquired on 18.07.2018, were found as −0.02 °C and 1.03 °C, respectively. The combined data is found appropriate to monitor the SST.

The purpose of the study was to compare performance of the classification methods, that are Rule Based (RB) classifier and Support Vector Machine (SVM), of Planetscope and Worldview-3 satellite images in order to produce land use / cover thematic maps. Six classes, which are deep water, shallow water, vegetation, agricultural area, soil and saline soil, were considered. After performing the classification process, accuracy assessment was employed based on the error matrices. The results showed that, both of the classification methods and satellite data were adequate to classify the area. Besides, classification accuracy was improved when Worldview-3 satellite and SVM method were used. The classification accuracies of RB classification of Planetscope and Worldview-3 were %87 and %94 respectively and the classification accuracies of SVM classification of Planetscope and Worldview-3 were %93 and %96 respectively.

Abstract There are limited data on the effects of a high-fructose diet on the female reproductive system. Although metformin has some functional effects on female fertility, its reproductive outcome on high fructose diet-induced metabolic syndrome is unclear. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the impact of a high fructose diet on histomorphological and molecular parameters of the reproductive organs and vaginal microbiota as well as the treatment potential of metformin. Wistar albino rats were used in the study. The metabolic syndrome model was induced by a high-fructose diet in rats for 15 weeks. Metformin was orally administered once a day for the last 6 weeks. The high-fructose diet increased blood glucose, triglycerides, insulin, and ovarian testosterone levels; however, it reduced ovarian aromatase levels and follicle numbers and caused uterine inflammation. The high-fructose diet-induced molecular abnormalities on ovarian tissue were demonstrated by the downregulation of ovarian insulin signaling pathway proteins and dysregulation of ovarian mitogenic and apoptotic pathway proteins. A high-fructose diet caused vaginal dysbiosis, metformin increased probiotic bacteria in the vaginal microbiota. Our results revealed that metformin improves ovarian impairments by modulating hormonal balance, insulin level, mapk, and apoptotic signaling molecules, as well as regulating the vaginal microbiota.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the treatment efficacy of Platelet–Rich Plasma (PRP), silver sulfadiazine, and Wharton Jelly Mesenchymal Stem Cell–Derived Conditioned Medium (WJ–MSC–CM) on burn wounds using a rat model. The study included four groups, each with 16 rats, and the groups were further divided into two subgroups (n=8) for the 7th and 14th days of the treatment process. Group 1 received no treatment after the burn. Group 2 received PRP (Platelet–Rich Plasma) treatment on the first day after the burn. Group 3 was treated with silver sulfadiazine on the first day after the burn. Group 4 received WJ–MSC–CM on the first day after the burn. In the current study, the expression of Caspase–3, Bcl–2, TNF–α, p21, and Beclin–1 genes among the groups was evaluated by Real–time PCR. The silver sulfadiazine and WJ–MSC–CM treatment groups exhibited lower Bcl–2 expression and higher Caspase–3 and Beclin–1 expression compared to the other groups. TNF–α and p21 expression was high in the burn control group and showed lower expression in the treated groups. The current findings demonstrate that WJ–MSC–CM exhibits healing efficacy on burn wounds comparable to the reference drug (silver sulfadiazine) by inducing apoptosis and autophagy and reducing necroptosis and DNA damage. Additionally, PRP provided some positive benefits compared to the control group but was less effective than the other treatments.

Background: Cardiac tamponade is a rare but potentially lethal complication of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). There is paucity of evidence assessing the incidence and outcomes of patients with cardiac tamponade after TAVR. Methods: A retrospective review was performed of all patients who underwent TAVR at our institution from January 2013 to January 2019. The clinical characteristics of patients who developed cardiac tamponade in the periprocedural period were compared to the patients who did not develop tamponade. Qualitative and quantitative assessment of aortic annular calcium distribution on cardiac computerized tomography was analyzed. Results: Twenty out of 2030 patients (0.9%) developed cardiac tamponade post-TAVR. The mean age of the cohort developing cardiac tamponade was 81.7 years, and 50% of them were men. Most of these were intraprocedural (70%) while the remaining were identified in the postprocedural period. The site of injury resulting in pericardial tamponade was thought to be from the injury to aortic annulus (50%), right ventricle (40%), and left ventricle (10%). Tamponade due to annular or left ventricular trauma was mostly identified intraprocedurally (91%; n ​= ​10 of 11), while patients with tamponade due to presumed right ventricular injury were mostly identified in the postprocedural period (62.5%; n ​= ​5 of 8) (p ​= ​0.009). Conservative management with supportive therapies was employed in 90% of patients with cardiac tamponade, while two patients had cardiac surgery. There was one in-hospital mortality, and another patient died within 30 days of the TAVR procedure. Conclusion: The incidence of cardiac tamponade after TAVR (0.9%) was low, and this serious complication can be managed successfully in the majority of patients with streamlined processes in high-volume centers.

INTRODUCTION: Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) refers to the use of portable ultrasound machines to perform quick and focused ultrasound examinations at a patient’s bedside or point-of-care. POCUS can be performed by all health workers with specific training to use POCUS. The aim of this study was to investigate the radiological performance and feasibility of POCUS using a handheld ultrasound device (HHUSD) in children for examining the thyroid gland. METHODS: A pediatric endocrinologist performed thyroid imaging in children referred to our hospital with suspected thyroid disease using an HHUSD. The same children underwent ultrasonography (US) imaging using the same device by the first radiologist, and a second radiologist performed thyroid US using an advanced high-range ultrasound device (AHUSD) (defined as the gold-standard method) within two hours. The data obtained by the three researchers were compared with each other. RESULTS: This study included 105 patients [68.6% girls (n=72)] with a mean age 12.8±3.6 years. When the thyroid volume was evaluated, a strong correlation was found between the measurements of the three researchers (AA vs. MG: r=0.963, AA vs. GT: r=0.969, MG vs. GT: r=0.963, p

The aim of this paper is to investigate the most efficient ways to apply peer evaluation in writing courses, and a lack of studies on the views of students' experienced difficulties while responding to their peers' papers is the starting point of this paper. For this cause, the case study method was implemented, including an interview conducted with prep-class students (N=37) who attended a writing course for two semesters and a review of literature of related papers written over the past five years that specifically focuses on the ways to develop peer-evaluation skills of students. Both the interview and the relevant previous studies were analyzed through content analysis. As a result of the study, it was found that the challenges that students experienced were because of a lack of ability in language usage and having an avoidant personality, not having clear purposes for evaluation, a lack of ability in dominating the relevant terminology, and having difficulty in finding content and organization related mistakes. Consequently, students need effective training on peer evaluation to enhance their skills beforehand. The suggestions collected thanks to the literature review is expected to be helpful in this respect.

Abstract Background The study aimed to investigate novel biomarkers from the C1q TNF superfamily and evaluate their role in autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases with the goal of identifying an effective biomarker to measure clinical disease activity and assess treatment efficacy. Methods Sixty-one Axial spondyloarthritis (AxSpa) patients and 30 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. The serum biomarkers subfatin, CTHRC1, CTRP3, CTRP6, IL-6, IL-17, and TNF-α and the disease indices BASDAI, BASFI, MASES, and ASDAS–ESR/CRP were evaluated and compared. The patients were then classified, and their serum biomarkers were assessed according to their ASDAS scores and their treatment regimens. Results Among the studied biomarkers, none showed a significant difference between the patients and the healthy controls. Although the difference was not statistically significant, the median values of serum subfatin, CTHRC1, CTRP3, CTRP6, IL-6, IL-17, and TNF-α were all found to be lower in the AxSpa patients than in the healthy controls. Furthermore, once the patients were classified regarding their disease activity, no correlation between the study biomarkers and levels of clinical disease indices was observed. Finally, biological treatments were found to affect the serum concentration of these biomarkers regardless of the level of disease activity. Conclusion Novel adipokines and known modulators of inflammation, circulating subfatin, CTHRC1, CTRP3, CTRP6, IL-6, IL-17, and TNF-α levels may play a role in assessing treatment efficacy, especially in those treated with TNF-inhibitors. However, we failed to demonstrate a correlation between clinical disease activity and serum biomarker levels.