Zonguldak Karaelmas University

About: Zonguldak Karaelmas University is a based out in . It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Copolymer. The organization has 1939 authors who have published 4296 publications receiving 62466 citations.

Potential role of dietary ω-3 essential fatty acids on some oxidant/antioxidant parameters in rats’ corpus striatum

Abstract: Omega-3 (omega-3) is an essential fatty acid (EFA) found in large amounts in fish oil. It contains eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). DHA is one of the building structures of membrane phospholipids of brain and necessary for continuity of neuronal functions. Evidences support the hypothesis that schizophrenia may be the result of increased reactive oxygen species mediated neuronal injury. Recent reports also suggest the protective effect of omega-3 EFA against neuropsychiatric disorders including schizophrenia. This study proposed to assess the changes in antioxidant enzyme and oxidant parameters in the corpus striatum (CS) of rats fed with omega-3 EFA diet (0.4g/kg/day) for 30 days. Eight control rats and nine rats fed with omega-3 were decapitated under ether anesthesia, and CS was removed immediately. Thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) and nitric oxide (NO) levels as well as total superoxide dismutase (t-SOD) and xanthine oxidase (XO) enzyme activities in the CS were measured. Rats treated with omega-3 EFA had significantly lower values of TBARS (P<0.001), NO (P<0.002) and XO (P<0.005) whereas higher values of t-SOD enzyme activity (P<0.002) than the control rats. These results indicate that omega-3 EFA rich fish oil diet reduces some oxidant parameters in CS. This may be revealed by means of reduced CS TBARS levels as an end product of lipid peroxidation of membranes in treated rats. Additionally, reduced XO activity and NO levels may support this notion. On the other hand, although the mechanism is not clear, omega-3 EFA may indirectly enhance the activity of antioxidant enzyme t-SOD. Taken together, this preliminary animal study provides strong support for a therapeutic effect of omega-3 EFA supplemented to classical neuroleptic regimen in the treatment of schizophrenic symptoms and tardive dyskinesia.

Real-Time Control based on NARX Neural Network of Hexarotor UAV with Load Transporting System for Path Tracking

Abstract: The control of equipment such as camera gimbal, Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) and Load Transporting System (LTS) on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) with its own flight control directly affects the performance of the mission in tasks such as tracking the target along the specified path and leaving payloads on the targets specified in the dangerous areas. In this study, neural network based real-time control of a hexarotor UAV is performed so that the payloads on the targets determined by path tracking can be left with minimum error. The Nonlinear AutoRegressive eXogenous (NARX) model of the UAV is obtained after the flight data are passed through the pre-processing, feature extraction and feature selection stages. The obtained neural network model is embedded in the flight control card to realize real time path tracking of the UAV. The three payloads in the cubic structure are both transported by the originally designed LTS and left with the help of LTS to targets on the path. Environmental testing is conducted taking into account the limitations of the physical properties of the LTS and specified path tracking on the autonomously moving UAV, and the impact on proposed NARX control algorithm’s mission performance is examined.

The postoperative analgesic effect of tramadol when used as subcutaneous local anesthetic.

Abstract: Recently, it has been shown that tramadol was an effective local anesthetic in minor surgery. In this study, its efficacy for relieving postoperative pain was evaluated. Forty patients undergoing minor surgery (lipoma excision and scar revision) under local anesthesia were included. The patients were randomly allocated into two groups: In group T (n = 20), 2 mg/kg tramadol, and in group L (n = 20), 1 mg/kg lidocaine were given subcutaneously. In both groups, the injection volume was 5 mL containing 1/200,000 adrenalin. The degree of the erythema, burning sensation, and pain at the injection site were recorded. Incision response, which is a degree of the pain sensation during incision, was recorded and graded with the visual analog scale (VAS) 0-10. After incision, VAS values were recorded at 15-min intervals. When the VAS score of the pain during surgery exceeded 4, an additional 0.5 mg/kg of the study drug was injected and this dosage was added to the total amount. Patients were discharged on the same day. Subjects with VAS > or =4 were advised to take paracetamol as needed. No side effects were recorded in either group except for 1 patient complaining of nausea in group T at the 30th min of operation. After 24 h, patients were called and the time of first analgesic use and total analgesic dose taken during the postoperative period were recorded. During the 24 postoperative hours, 18 of 20 (90%) subjects did not need any type of analgesia in group T, whereas this number was 10 (50%) in group L (P < 0.05). The time span before taking first analgesic medication was longer (4.9 +/- 0.3 h) in group T than that of group L (4.4 +/- 0.7 h) (P < 0.05). We propose that tramadol can be used as an alternative drug to lidocaine for minor surgeries because of its ability to decrease the demand for postoperative analgesia.

Heavy metal contamination in highway soils. Comparison of Corpus Christi, Texas and Cincinnati, Ohio shows organic matter is key to mobility

Abstract: Heavy metal content of roadside soil samples from along the interstate highway systems in Corpus Christi, Texas and Cincinnati, Ohio was measured to as- sess the degree of contamination such soils contain and the likelihood that this contamination can be remobilized. High values of Ba, Cu, Pb, and Zn can be attributed to anthropogenic effects related to motor vehicles, whereas Cr and Ni variations are best ascribed to natural processes. The anthropogenic substances are strongly correlated to the amount of organic matter in the soil. Sequential ex- traction experiments, however, show that this organic matter is not extractable by agents that normally solubilize soil organic matter, so these metals are bound to an in- soluble form of organic matter that is itself probably an- thropogenic. The insolubility of the heavy metals and Ba indicates that these constituents are not likely to move in solution to water supplies, but they would still be subject to physical remobilization by roadway maintenance or even by grass mowing. Inhalation of small dust particles poses a potential health hazard to highway maintenance workers that needs to be assessed.