The Effects of Partial Replacement of Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag by Ground Wood Ash on Alkali-Activated Binder Systems.

Cement production contributes significantly to carbon dioxide emissions. Alkali-activated materials offer an environmentally friendly alternative due to their comparable strength, durability and low-carbon emissions while utilizing wastes and industrial by-products. Wood ash is a waste material that shows promising results as a partial replacement for Portland cement and precursors in alkali-activated systems. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of ground wood ash on the mechanical properties of alkali-activated mortars. Wood ash was incorporated as a 0 wt%, 10 wt% and 20 wt% partial replacement for ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS). The wood ashes were ground in a planetary ball mill for 10 and 20 min. Sodium silicate (Na2SiO3), sodium carbonate (Na2CO3), and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) were used as alkali activators. The results demonstrated that ground wood ash improved the mechanical properties of alkali-activated systems compared to untreated wood ash. However, the incorporation of wood ash increased the porosity of the binder matrix.

Wood Ash as Sustainable Alternative Raw Material for the Production of Concrete-A Review.

Different ecological binders have been used to minimize the negative effects of cement production and use on the environment. Wood ash is one of these alternative binders, and there has been increasing research related to this topic recently. The wood ash utilized in the literature primarily originates from power plants and local bakeries, and predominantly wood fly ash is used. This review paper examines the use of wood ash as an ecological binder in two different applications: as a cement replacement and as an alkali-activated material. Studies have shown that while increased wood ash content in concrete and mortars can have negative effects on strength and durability, it is still a promising and developable material. Depending on the chemical composition of the wood ash, the strength and durability properties of concrete might be slightly improved by utilizing wood ash as a replacement for cement, with an optimal replacement level of 10-20%. However, there is a need for more research regarding the effects of wood ash on the durability of cement-based materials and its use in alkali-activated materials. Overall, this review provides a comprehensive overview of the properties of wood ash and its potential applications in conventional concrete and mortars, as well as in alkali-activated materials.

Evaluation of the quality of life in patients with arsenic keratosis.

BACKGROUND: Chronic exposure to inorganic arsenic is an important public health problem and leads to hyperpigmentation, hyperkeratosis, Bowen's disease and non-melanoma skin cancers in humans. Arsenic keratosis is the most common skin change that is associated with arsenic exposure. It may be an indicator of arsenic induced health hazards. OBJECTIVE: To determine the needs of patients with arsenic keratosis by evaluating the impact of disease on the quality of life with respect to treatment and provide rehabilitation services. METHODS: A total of 47 subjects with arsenic hyperkeratosis, were enrolled in this crossover study. The demographics, smoking status and the presence of chronic diseases diagnosed by the physician were recorded. Weight and height of the subjects were measured and BMI was calculated. The patients were asked to respond the visual analogue scale and EuroQoL-5D scales for assessing the pain and quality of life impairment associated with arsenic hyperkeratosis. RESULTS: In the study group, moderate to severe problems were reported in 78.7% of patients for pain/uncomfortable condition domains and in 91.5% in anxiety/depression domains. Lower quality of life was reported in those with associated chronic disorders, at an advanced age, in thin patients and in those with severe lesions. CONCLUSION: According to our knowledge, our study is the first one measuring the quality of life in patients with arsenic keratosis in the literature. By this study, we tried to underline the guidance of health services to be developed towards the needs of patients and the need for the development of new health policies by determining the requirements of these patients.

The effect of adropin on lipid and glucose metabolism in rats with hyperlipidemia.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate, for the first time, whether the effects of low-dose adropin administration is effective in rats with hyperlipidemia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty one Wistar albino female rats were randomly divided into 3 groups and fed with high-fat diet for 4 weeks to establish the hyperlipidemia model. Meanwhile, adropin was administrated intraperitonealy (2.1 µg/kg/day), once a day for continuous 10 days. Then, body weights and serum biochemical parameters, adropin, insulin and blood glucose levels were determined. Additionally, in liver tissue, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) mRNA gene expressions were evaluated by RT-PCR. RESULTS: The results showed that intraperitoneal administration of adropin to hyperlipidemic rats for 10 days were extremely effective in decreasing the levels of serum triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and gamma glutamil transferase (GGT) and increasing the levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). It could decrease mRNA expressions of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-6 via regulating the expressions of iNOS. In addition, treatment with adropin showed a significant reduction in blood glucose, serum insulin levels, HbA1c (%), and HOMA-IR, and increase in serum adropin levels. CONCLUSION: Adropin may ameliorate lipid metabolism, reduce insulin resistance, and inhibit hepatocytes inflammation. Thus, adropin had significant therapeutic benefits and could be suggested as a potential candidate agent against hyperlipidemia.

Assessment of arsenic levels in body samples and chronic exposure in people using water with a high concentration of arsenic: a field study in Kutahya.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of skin lesions, which is a health effect of chronic arsenic (As) exposure, and determine the hair/blood arsenic concentrations of people living in Kutahya villages who are using and drinking tap water with a high concentration of arsenic. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 303 people were included in the present cross-sectional study. A prepared questionnaire form was used to collect the participants' information and environmental history. Skin examination was performed on all participants. Hair, blood and water samples were analyzed using atomic absorption spectroscopy. The cumulative arsenic index (CAI) was calculated for all participants. RESULTS: Villages were divided into two groups according to the arsenic level (<20 µg/L, Group I; >20 µg/L, Group II) in their water. The prevalence of skin lesions, hair and blood arsenic level, and CAI were found to be higher in the Group II participants. There was a positive association between body arsenic levels and CAI in the participants of each group. CONCLUSIONS: The number of skin lesions and arsenic concentrations in body samples were found to increase with the water arsenic level and exposure time. We hope that sharing this study's results with local administrators will help accelerate the rehabilitation of water sources in Kutahya.

Characterization of the apelin -1860T>C polymorphism in Turkish coronary artery disease patients and healthy individuals.

To evaluate the association between the apelin -1860T>C polymorphism and plasma apelin levels in Turkish patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). A total of 276 individuals were enrolled in the present study, including 158 patients with CAD and 118 individuals without CAD as controls. The presence of the apelin -1860T>C gene polymorphism and plasma apelin levels were determined using polymerase chain reaction/restriction fragment length polymorphism and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. Significance was set at p≤0.05 for all statistical analyses. The genotype and allele frequencies of interested genes were significantly different between groups (χ(2)=10.2; df=2; p=0.006 and χ(2)=13.4; df=1; p=0.000, respectively). Frequency of CC genotype and the C allele of -1860T>C site was significantly higher in CAD patients compared to healthy controls. We found that individuals with the TC and CC genotypes were associated with an increased risk of CAD when compared with the TT genotype in CAD patients, and the adjusted ORs (95% CI) were 6.50 (1.27-33.0) and 6.39 (1.77-23.0), respectively. Plasma apelin levels were significantly lower in CAD patients compared to control group. Apelin level of CAD patient group having CC genotype of -1860T>C site was significantly lower compared to those having TT genotypes, but it was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). The homozygous CC genotype of apelin gene is associated with high risk of CAD. Apelin gene polymorphism -1860T>C is a significant predictor of predisposition to CAD in in Turkish population.

APJ receptor A445C gene polymorphism in Turkish patients with coronary artery disease.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a disease in which a waxy substance called plaque builds up inside the coronary arteries. Apelin is a novel endogenous peptide with inotropic and vasodilatory properties and is the ligand for the angiotensin receptor-like 1 (APJ) receptor. We aimed to determine genotype and allele frequencies of APJ receptor A445C gene polymorphism in Turkish patients with CAD and healthy controls by RFLP-PCR. This study was performed on 159 unrelated CAD patients and 62 healthy controls. We obtained AA, AC and CC genotype frequencies in CAD patients as 41.5%, 49.1% and 9.4%, respectively. In the control group, frequencies of genotypes were found as 35.5% for AA, 48.4% for AC and 16.1% for CC. We did not observe difference in APJ receptor A445C polymorphism between CAD patients and healthy controls (χ(2) = 2.178; df = 2; P = 0.336). The A allele was encountered in 66% (210) of the CAD and 59.7% (74) of the controls. The C allele was seen in 34% (108) of the CAD and 40.3% (50) of the controls. Allele frequencies of interested genes were not significantly different between groups (χ(2) = 1.57; df = 1; p = 0.225). The frequencies of APJ receptor A445C genotype were not significantly different between control and patients. None of the three APJ receptor A445C genotypes, AA, AC and CC displayed significant difference in CAD patients. We did not find any difference in the clinical parameters except for weight and diastolic blood pressure levels in the AA, AC and CC genotypes of patients. Individuals with CC genotypes had significantly higher weight, systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels and systolic blood pressure than other genotypes, P ≤ 0.05. In addition, HDL-C level was found decreased, but this reduction was not statistically significant. Contrarily, the low levels of weight, SBP, DBP and TC were statistically significant in the subjects with AA genotype in CAD. In conclusion, CC genotype carriers may have more risk than other genotypes in the development of hypertension in CAD, but not AAgenotype carriers. We suggest that this polymorphism may not be a marker of CAD, but it may cause useful in function of the apelin/APJ system and may be a genetic predisposing factor for diagnostic processes and can be helpfull in finding new treatment strategies. We think that it is required to further comprehensive studies in order to make clear this situation in CAD.