Prevalence of juvenile chronic arthritis and familial Mediterranean fever in Turkey: a field study

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA), familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), and Beh?et's disease in Turkish children through a field survey. METHODS: The field survey was based on cluster centering with 2 level strata. A total of 46,813 children were screened. For the diagnosis of chronic arthritis and Beh?et's previously suggested criteria were used. We have developed criteria for the diagnosis of probable FMF. Children previously diagnosed to have these diseases were also defined and included. RESULTS: JCA was found in 6.4/10,000. 2.8/10,000 children were previously diagnosed as FMF (minimum phenotype frequency). Together with the probable diagnosis of FMF, the prevalence increased to 9.3/10,000. The findings were also compared with those of our center. None of the 46,813 children had Beh?et's disease. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of chronic arthritis is similar to the other childhood populations reported. However, FMF has a very high prevalence.     

Evaluation of antioxidant activities of 3 edible mushrooms: Ramaria flava (Schaef.: Fr.) Quél., Rhizopogon roseolus (Corda) T.M. Fries., and Russula delica Fr.

The methanolic extracts of Ramaria flava, Rhizopogon roseolus, and Russula delica were analyzed for their antioxidant activities in different test systems including β-carotene/linoleic acid, 1.1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging, reducing power, and metal chelating activities in addition to their total phenolic and flavonoid contents. In the first case, methanol extract of R. roseolus showed the strongest activity. In DPPH system, the scavenging effects increased with the concentration. The reducing power of the mushroom also increased with concentration. Chelating effect was 96.75±0.28% for R. flava. In the case of total phenolic and flavonoid assays, R. flava found to have the highest phenolic content. Total flavonoid content of R. flava again found the superior to the other mushrooms. Experimental results indicate that the mushroom species evaluated here can be consumed safely. On the other hand, knowing the biological activity of these mushrooms will contribute to the establishment of conscious consumption.     

Investigation of electromagnetic shielding effectiveness of needle punched nonwoven fabric produced from conductive silver coated staple polyamide fibre

In this paper, electromagnetic shielding effectiveness (EMSE) of needle-punched nonwoven fabric produced from silver-coated staple polyamide fibre having a fineness of 1.7 dtex was investigated. This production was carried out at Automatex needle punching line, which consists of carding, cross lapper and needle punching machine. After production, the surface resistivity measurements of needle-punched nonwoven fabric was carried out in accordance with ASTM D 257-07 standard. The EMSE of the as-produced needle-punched nonwoven fabric was determined using a network analyzer as specified in ASTM D4935-10 in the frequency range of 15–3000 MHz. Electromagnetic shielding test shows that needle-punched nonwoven fabric produced from 1.7-dtex silver-coated polyamide fibre has the highest shielding value of 36.53 dB in the frequency range of 15–3000 MHz. The EMSE of needle-punched nonwoven fabric with fibre fineness of 1.7 dtex increased from 11.00 dB maximum to 36.53 dB in the 15–3000 MHz frequency range. It was seen that as the frequency increases, reflection values of the needle-punched nonwoven fabric decrease at floating mode, while absorption values of the nonwoven fabric increase at floating mode in the frequency range of 15–3000 MHz. EMSE results of the needle-punched nonwoven fabric produced from 1.7-dtex silver-coated staple polyamide fibres were compared to carbon fabric and needle-punched nonwoven fabric made from stainless steel fibres.     

Application of Mid-infrared Spectroscopy for the Measurement of Several Quality Parameters of Alcoholic Beverages, Wine and Raki

Mid-infrared (IR) spectroscopy, which is a rapid and relatively small amount of waste producing technique, was used to predict several quality parameters of two types of alcoholic beverages, wine and raki. Mid-infrared spectra of red, rose and white wines and a traditional aniseed alcoholic beverage, raki were collected and relations were established between measured chemical parameters (pH, brix, total phenol content, anthocyanin content, titratable acidity, sugar content, electrical conductivity and some colour parameters) of these beverages and their infrared spectra using chemometric techniques. Partial least square regression provided excellent prediction of total phenol (R ²?=?0.97) and anthocyanin contents (R ²?=?0.98) of wine samples and a good prediction of pH (R ²?=?0.9), brix (R ²?=?0.92) and colour intensity (R ²?=?0.93) values were obtained. Brix, total phenol and sugar content of raki samples were also estimated very successfully (R ²?=?0.99) for raki and good prediction was obtained with pH value. Mid-IR spectroscopy in combination with chemometrics could be a promising technique for determination of several quality parameters of alcoholic beverages simultaneously and rapidly.     

Aneuploidy index in blood: a potential marker for early onset, androgen response, and metastasis in human prostate cancer

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether the frequency of chromosome abnormalities in peripheral blood lymphocytes defined as the aneuploidy index in blood (AnIB) can be used as a clinical marker of early age onset, androgen response, and metastasis in human prostate cancer. METHODS: Peripheral blood samples were collected from 80 patients with prostate cancer, and chromosome preparations were made from 72-hour cultures after mitotic block. The AnIB of 59 informative cases was compared with several parameters, including age at disease onset, Gleason grade of tumor, clinical stage of tumor, metastasis, and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level. RESULTS: Patients with AnIB levels greater than 3 had a significantly higher incidence of metastasis (P = 0.022), androgen-independent disease (P = 0.002), and early age at disease onset (age at diagnosis less than 65 years) (P = 0.002) compared with the patients with lower AnIB (less than 3) levels. In addition, patients with AnIB levels greater than 5 had higher PSA levels (greater than 20 ng/mL) (P = 0.029) than patients with AnIB levels less than 5. CONCLUSIONS: Chromosome abnormalities can be detected in the peripheral lymphocytes of patients with prostate cancer, and AnIB can be used as an early diagnostic and predictive marker for prostate cancer metastasis and androgen-independent disease.     

Clinical features of Beh?et's disease in children: an international collaborative study of 86 cases

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to characterize the clinical picture of Beh?et's disease (BD) in children. STUDY DESIGN: A questionnaire was completed by five BD specialists from Turkey, France, Iran, or Saudi Arabia. We first reviewed 86 cases retrospectively with a specially designed computerized database and then selected 65 who met the criteria of the International Study Group for BD, which include buccal aphthosis plus at least two among recurrent genital aphthosis, eye lesions, skin lesions, and positive pathergy test. The remaining 21 patients, who had features suggestive of BD but did not fulfill the international criteria, were analyzed separately and then compared with the other 65 patients. RESULTS: BD affected boys and girls equally. The clinical picture frequently included mucocutaneous lesions. Uveitis was less frequent than in adults but carried a poor prognosis, especially in male patients (p < 0.001). The mortality rate (3%) was related to large vessel involvement. Familial cases were particularly frequent (15%). Erythema nodosum and skin hypersensitivity were common in Turkish patients, whereas neuro-BD was more frequent in French and Saudi Arabian patients. Patients who did not fulfill the international criteria had significantly less genital aphthosis (p < 0.01), less skin lesions or hypersensitivity (p < 0.01), and less uveitis (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: BD in children is similar to BD in adults. The high frequency of familial cases calls for further investigation of the immunogenetic factors that may favor early expression of the disease.     

Assessment of occupational exposure to magnetic fields in high-voltage substations (154/34.5 kV)

This work proposes the survey of magnetic field measurements taken in 154/31.5 kV substations in the city of Antalya for occupational exposure assessment. For measurements, three substations have been taken into account, where four occupants are present for each 8 h of shift, which means 12 occupants are present during the day. Operator desks at three different substations read a lowest magnetic field of 0.3 microT at minimum loaded season and reached up to 1 microT at maximum loaded season, which means operators exposed to a magnetic field of > or = 0.3 microT 8 h d(-1). In switch gear regions, maximum magnetic field reading is 23 microT at minimum loaded season and reached up to 70 microT. Outdoor magnetic field measurement at circuit breaker region goes up to 62 microT with respect to operator heights.     

Characteristics of meat emulsion systems as influenced by different levels of lemon albedo

The effect of the addition of lemon albedo on the functional properties of emulsions was studied by using a model system. Oil/water (O/W) model emulsion systems were prepared by the addition of two types of lemon albedo (raw and dehydrated) at five concentrations (0.0%, 2.5%, 5.0%, 7.5% and 10%) to mechanically deboned chicken meat. The emulsion capacity, stability, viscosity and flow properties of the prepared model emulsions were analyzed. In addition, the colour parameters of cooked emulsion gel were determined. The addition of lemon albedo increased the emulsion capacity (EC) and the highest EC value was reached with 5% of albedo added. However, further increase in the albedo concentration caused an inverse trend in the EC values. A similar trend was observed in the emulsion stability (ES) values. Dehydrated albedo (DA) addition caused higher EC and ES values than did raw albedo (RA). DA increased the L^∗, a^∗ and b^∗ values of the cooked emulsion gels. Emulsion viscosity (EV) values were positively correlated with an increase in albedo concentration and the highest EV value was obtained from the emulsions with 10% albedo. Albedo addition did not change the flow properties of the emulsions and, in addition, increased the pseudoplasticity. As a consequence, the use of lemon albedo might be a potential dietary fiber source to enhance the functional and technological properties for frankfurter-type meat products.